Help with fader replacement

[Ayrik]

Has anyone out there ever replaced a fader on the ProControl? I'm wondering if it's an easy plug and play switch out, or, should I just leave it to the pros. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! I'm trying to avoid any down time. Thanks!

[Chris Lambrechts]

there's a couple of threads on this I believe so a search might do you some good too but here's the essentials :

1. It is not that big a deal providing you do not have 2 left hands and most importantly have the right tools ... like the proper screw driver to loosen up those little screws.

2. it's best to be 2 people when doing it because at some point when you have taken out all of the little screws you will want someone to lifts up the board ... kinda like the hood on a car ... better to have a second person to keep it open ... unlike a car the procontrol does not have that stick inside to keep it open.

3. be carefull when lifting 'the hood' ... lift it on the front and not further then say a 45 degree angle ... the ribbon cables attached inside might get damaged if you treat it carelessly.

4. essential maybe ... even before you order a new fader is that you determine wether it is realy the fader that's the problem ... I mean ... I suppose you have a faulty fader and that's why you posted the topic in the first place.

5. how to determine if it's a faulty fader :

a. the obvious fader tests : in the utility pages of the main unit there's a number of tests you can run.

b. maybe try reinitialising the unit ... I've seen one case where the fader tests showed what appeared to be a broken fader but reinitialing the unit solved the problem .... slim chance maybe but just in case

c. if all this failes : open up the unit and try switching the fader ribbons with one that works ... for example ... say fader 2 has a problem ... switch the ribbon for fader 2 with fader 1 ... (the ribbons hooked up to the motherboard I mean) that way fader 1 becomes fader 2 and vise versa ... if now fader 1 is still working fine and fader 2 (now hooked to fader 1 on the motherboard) is still broken you are 100% sure it's the fader. If the fader 2 works properly hooked up to position 1 on the motherboard you will know that the problem is on the motherboard and not the fader ... in which case you'll have to return the unit for repair.

That's about all I can think of right now .... try the search .... might come up with some more tips.


good luck

[Chris Lambrechts]

oops .... forgot about the original question ... euh ... no it is not such a big deal ... ones you're inside you loosen the fader screws (on the top of the board) ... loosen the ribbons that attaches it to the motherboard (inside) and you can pop it out quite easily ....