emusonacid!

Hi all,

I've been lurking on this forum since I bought an E6400 Ultra several years ago (did it on a whim, used to have spare cash ).
Never really learned it properly, in fact, turned it on just a handful of times. Every time I did, I was impressed with the fabulous sound of this instrument.
But a few things bother me and prevent it from becoming part of my workflow:
- The data wheel. I did the calibration a few times, and it seems to pass fine - when rotating slowly, 24 clicks are registered. But fast rotation is problematic, parameters advance very slowly or even jump backwards. Does this mean the encoder needs to be replaced, and there's no way around it?
Where do I buy a replacement? (I seem to remember it was eprelectronics.com, but can't find it there now)
- The PSU fan noise - it's quite noticeable and gets tiring after a while. Can you recommend a really quiet replacement fan?
- Finally, does anybody use ZoeOS as an alternative to front-panel editing?

Thanks in advance,
Boris.

Wheel fix

http://www.jsigle.com/musicol/emufix.htm

Fan - search the site - lots of suggestions and SilentX replacement advice.

M

Thank you kalide,

I've seen the page you link to, but was unsure if that's the way to go because of this:

You can try the solution of Dr. med Jörg Sigle (http://www.jsigle.com/musicol/emufix.htm) where you can try to compensate or filter these peaks by soldering two electrolytic capacitors(1 microfarad, 5V or more) in the wire between the contacts of the rotary encoder and the front panel PCB.
This will work for a while but the issue will return the more the contacts within the rotary encoder are worn out again.

The only real solution: replacement of the rotary encoder

Of course I'd prefer a solution that requires just a couple of capacitors, rather than ordering some obscure part from overseas.
I'd still need to find someone better at soldering than myself, though!

Besides the replacement of the rotary encoder you can try to get the D-WAM option for your Ultra and use an ASCII keyboard.
By using the ASCII keyboard for controlling the E4 you would prevent the front panel buttons from wear which results in "double triggers" as described here in the forum.

In more than 95% I use the ASCII keyboard but I also replaced the rotary encoder by a BOURNS ECW0D-Rxx-Bx00xxL.
I actually don't know the exact model, but it was the shaft style "R" (6mm Dia., metric system). The 1/4" diameter shaft does not fit and would damage the encoder knob if you try to put it on the 1/4" shaft.

The ASCII keyboard option is a great idea, but these expansions are nearly impossible to find.
Thanks for the encoder info. I'm still undecided whether I should go all the way (replace the encoder) or the capacitor fix is good enough.

my esi4000 had a similar problem when i picked it up. very frustrating.
but after i used it for a bit, the problem has gone away. the seller had said
he hadn't used it for a long time, so i've figured it was just lack of use.
(he also had the volume knob set up in inverse direction, which really made
me think i'd bought a problem, but recalibration sorted that out!)
now everything works fine.

Thanks human_fly, that's an interesting tip! Currently it's a chicken-and-egg situation: it's so frustrating to use, that I end up not using it at all But if using it will make it work better, it's worth trying.