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Re: broken Echoplex footpedal



At 7:53 PM -0800 12/26/99, kameleyon wrote:
>Hello fellow loopers, been a while since I last posted...
>
>Anyway, the _second_ Oberheim Echoplex footpedal that I have owned has 
>broke
>like the first one...it just died and quit sending any signal to the rack
>unit. Have there been many other reports of the Echoplex footpedal dying
>like this? What can I do/buy/yell at so that I can get a working, 
>dependable
>footpedal for my 'plex? Thanks guys!
>

Hi-

the echoplex footpedal is an extremely simple device. We designed it that
way on purpose so  users would be able to fix it very easily themselves
should anything ever go wrong. (you sort of expect a footpedal will take a
lot of abuse....). Also, so users could make their own custom
pedals/controllers if they like, which many people have done.

If you know how to use a screwdriver, you can probably fix half the things
that might go wrong with the echoplex pedal. Beginner level soldering
skills would take care of anything else. There's really not much to it.
You'll find more info about the pedal in the echoplex pedal tutorial at the
looper's delight site:

http://www.annihilist.com/loop/tools/echoplex/echopedals.html

You'll also find info there about how to make your own pedal, which would
also be useful in fixing one.

Since you are saying the pedal is not sending anything to the rack, that
pretty much rules out a failure of one of the switches. I'm assuming the
buttons on the front panel of the rack unit still work fine? That would
mean the switch circuitry in the rack is fine, since the same stuff is used
to read the front panel and the footpedal. That just leaves the connection
between pedal and rack. My guess is it is some simple problem with the
cable you are using, or maybe the jack on the pedal or rack.

First, make sure you are using the right kind of cable. Should be a very
ordinary patch cord, mono, 1/4" jack type. Don't use one of those idiotic
cables with the shields disconnected on one end, they won't work either.
Just your basic, cheap-o cable is all it needs. If that's ok, you might try
swapping in a different cable to see if that fixes anything.

If that doesn't help, check the jacks on either end. Make sure the contacts
haven't gotten bent or anything. You might try using some contact cleaner
in case they are just dirty.

hope this helps,
kim

______________________________________________________________________
Kim Flint                   | Looper's Delight
kflint@annihilist.com       | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html
http://www.annihilist.com/  |