Masterpiece 108 Lighting Desk problem

[Smiley]

I have been happily using my Masterpiece 108 v.3 unit for a while now with little to no problems (some altered fixture positions done by the gremlins). The last two times it has been used I am having problems with it. It has not been subject to dampness, spillage or any other mishaps.

 

The problem is that when it's powered up pads 1 to 18 do not respond to touch after the 'All Off' key press has been carried out. All other keys funtion perfectly. They all illuminate when I enter S.U.A.L. mode. I noticed if I press the Future pads together I hear a feint click inside & eventually get key pad illumination once again by touch. But then the C3 chase keyboard lights up without any button contact & all pads freeze on there last setting. Chase keyboard C3 does not illuminate when the S.U.A.L. is engaged (it has once).

 

Because of this gliching it's too unreliable to use for any functions at the moment. I just wondered if any one had any ideas on what is happening. I thought at first I had enabled something to lock me out as the pads are sensitive. I beginning to lose faith in what I thought was a reliable desk.

[philis]

I beginning to lose faith in what I thought was a reliable desk.

 

It's been 10 years since I used a masterpiece so can't help greatly with you problem though I'm sure someone can only to say the unit I was using back then did seem to have a mind of its own B-)

 

as a side note at the ABTT show a couple of years ago I saw that pulsar were controlling the fixtures on their stand with a grandMA utralite even though they had Masterpeices on display :P

 

Phil

[Smiley]

as a side note at the ABTT show a couple of years ago I saw that pulsar were controlling the fixtures on their stand with a grandMA utralite even though they had Masterpeices on display

 

 

If nothing else I had a laugh at that, ** laughs out loud **. I just came in from trying in again in the workshop. At first it was doing the same then stared working but when any pad 9 was touched chase C3 activated again. I have just disabled a large amount of relatively unused keys & the last three on / offs have been totally working without any errors. Something's playing up. I will leave it on overnight & give it another prod tomorrow.

[Jamtastic3]

It sounds to me that you need to speak to Pulsar themselves and tell them your problems. You could have a software problem or something has happened to the componants inside the board.

The only time something went wrong with a MP108 I used was when I downloaded a show on a corrupted card. The card scrambled all functions and thus made it non responsive. The only way to solve it was to use a clean card and load a non existant show. Now that I have a 216 though, I don't need to load cards anymore since it can hold 8 shows anyway

[Smiley]

I remember reading a post on here regarding hot, humid enviroments. I just tried plugging in a hot air blower power tool, warmed the surface pad area & low & behold, everything works.

 

Are they that sensitive to heat & cold. The workshop is not hot but on the other hand it's not very cold or damp either. As I do not work in fixed installation the kit is loaded onto the van where it may remain for a whole day sometimes. Most venues are not that warm on arrival either. It never occured to me that the contacts may not operate correctly. It looks like a new bit of kit on site is a hot air paint stripper tool too warm up my board before operating it.

[Jamtastic3]

I don't think the Masterpiece reacts to sudden changes in heat (ie hot humid conditions, or cold environments). It was designed to be used in nightclubs, band venues and small theatre applications yet ironically it's design doesn't exactly work well in these situations.

[pritch]

It looks like a new bit of kit on site is a hot air paint stripper tool too warm up my board before operating it.

 

From a longevity point of view, can I suggest a hairdryer? I can see things going horribly wrong if someone gets distracted whilst using a paint stripper!

 

Some people might argue that a melted Masterpiece wouldn't be a bad thing, mind...

[andylights]

I had a drink spilled over one of my MP108's...I was really pleased...that I didn't have the Pearl up there that night!

Obviously the desk went nuts and I had to run for an hour or so on standalone, until another night closed down the road and I could temporally swap desks.

 

The point of this is, that after thoroughly cleaning the top panel with a (very slightly) damp cloth, the desk was left to dry for a couple of days. Most of the pads worked fine, but a couple were still going bonkers, gentle use of a hair dryer, not only around the top panel, but inside around the faders as well, slowly sorted it out. The tiniest droplet of moisture could cause all sorts of strange behavior. As can excessive humidity.

 

I would recommend cleaning the top panel with IPA and some switch cleaner for the faders. If you still have the same pad playing up, it's possible there is a dry joint between the pad and the PCB, if you don't know what your doing, I don't recommend you try to have a look. This may also be why using some heat resolves the problem temporally.

 

HTH

 

Andy

[ben.suffolk]

Are they that sensitive to heat & cold. The workshop is not hot but on the other hand it's not very cold or damp either. As I do not work in fixed installation the kit is loaded onto the van where it may remain for a whole day sometimes. Most venues are not that warm on arrival either. It never occured to me that the contacts may not operate correctly. It looks like a new bit of kit on site is a hot air paint stripper tool too warm up my board before operating it.

 

The touch pads work via change in capacitance when you touch them. Its possible for damp to get inside the material used to make the touch surface, and thus in between the two sides of the capacitor.

 

I have a unit that lives in a control room that gets very cold in the winter, and it exhibits the same problems. Warming it up with a halogen heater before use is the cure for me.

 

I spoke to Pulsar about it some while back and the only fix was to replace the front panel, which is sill money just to buy from them and replace yourself. So I live the with heater solution.

 

Regards

 

Ben