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Has Anyone Sent Their Pod Hd To R3fx.com For Footswitch Upgrade?


bmoyer
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Just wondering if anyone has had experience with getting their PO HD foot switches upgraded by this compnay, r3fx.com.  My foot switches have become pretty unreliable lately and I see it getting worse.  r3fx.com purports to replace them with better, longer lasting switches but someone out there must have used them by now and I'm curious what your experience was.   Frankly, it's hard to imagine having a Line6 repair shop just put in new switches that are just going to wear out again in short order.  Thanks!

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  • 1 month later...

The footswitch issue had been driving me nuts. Some of them just wouldn't latch, I couldn't use my tap tempo, or the looper as the switches were so unreliable so I took my HD500 apart. If you have basic electronics skill they are easy to repair. 

 

First thing to try is remove the bottom plate cover (the two middle screws aren't necessary to remove) and set to one side. You'll see two PCB strips at the bottom of the unit pertaining to the footswitches linked together by a ribbon cable.

 

Work on one at a time. Remove the two hex nuts and gently, working from one end to the other, unclip the PCB from the plastic prongs. Make sure to keep the unit upside down at all times to prevent the springs falling out of the footswitches.

 

Once you have the PCB free, spray some PCB contact/switch cleaner (it evaporates after cleaning) on the small microswitches (one at a time) and depress them a few times. Work your way through each PCB strip and refitting is the reverse of removing them.

 

If this hasn't cleaned the switches and restored them back to operation. You can find tactile microswitch parts here: 

 

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/switches/tactile-switches-accessories/tactile-switches/?sort-by=default&sort-order=default&view-type=List

 

Line 6 probably won't give you a part number but some simple measuring and common sense (and some decent soldering skills) will see you with new switches.

 

Obviously any work you carry out on your own device will probably invalidate your warranty so bear that in mind. However, I decided to research and experiment as my unit is out of warranty and thought "If I'm going to send it off for new switches I may as well have a go myself first".

 

Thankfully the cleaning has solved the issues for now on my unit. I have to say though that the switch system is pretty susceptible to dust debris and malfunction. The microswitches are tiny and like those that you find in a mouse button! I'm surprised that Line 6 chose this system considering these are meant to be on the floor (presumably the dirtiest place in any given room) and they are going to be trodden on (presumably by people wearing shoes that might be dirty!) 

 

Anyway, I hope this helps some people as I was having trouble getting some help with this issue for a long time! 

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123brummer - thanks for this detailed reply.  my soldering skills are lacking, but i can certainly give the cleaning a go in hopes of avoiding the switch replacement.  glad to know it solved your issues, so that's promising,  i find actually the footswitches that are troublesome are the very ones that get used the most, so we'll see - it could be they're worn out. R3fx.com charges $100 for complete replacement with sturdier (or at least heftiier parts) for $100 so that's really not a lot considering.

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  • 3 weeks later...

problem solved!  Thank you 123brummer.  I did exactly as you laid out using a contact cleaner/lubricant (Radio Shack) and voila the switches are behaving.  $10 and done.  Now it should work fine until I succumb to the upcoming HD500X :o .

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  • 6 months later...

Ive ordered the DL-4 Mod from R3FX.  I was pleased with the quality but it was shipped to me with defect after about 2-3 weeks of waiting.  The unit was sent back within a week, and once I sent him an email on when I should be getting my unit back, he replied saying he was out of town until friday.  


In summation, the quality is good but beware of defect in the finished product and untimely customer service.  Just not worth it in my opinion


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  • 6 months later...

I am very gentle with all the switches on my Line 6 stuff(HD500/M13 and before that  the old floorboard).They are not meant to be stomped on just tapped.I have done a few repairs on the M13.Not too tough.I have considered doing the switch upgrade myself but I keep switching back and forth between my M13 and HD500 .I also open them up once in a while and blow the dust out of them with compressed air BEFORE I use any cleaner or do any soldering.My Boss GT10 on the other hand I can put my entire weight on and it will still work LOL!!! Soundwise though I have not used it since I did a bass gig back in May.After that back into storage it went.

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Word of caution for anyone D'ingIY (doing it yourself :-):

 

First, I got my contact cleaner at a local Radio Shack, and boy does that stuff come out in a full blast.  So it sprays way more than you need, even with the straw attached.  And it is a combination cleaner and lubricant, not just a cleaner, so it gets very oily.

 

Second, it sprayed so much volume, it actually got into the layers of my display.  I turned it on after my cleaning job and the display had blobs seeping in from the edges that looked horrible.  So I ended up taking the display apart to dry it out the oil.  It actually took 2 times, which was very frustrating.

 

But hey, the switches have worked great ever since.  They don't go bad necessarily, they just get flaky from dust, grime, whatever.

 

And lastly, the button mechanisms themselves (not part of the switches) have solid mechanical stops, so I don't think you have to worry too much about stomping on them too hard to cause damage.  They're protected pretty well.

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And lastly, the button mechanisms themselves (not part of the switches) have solid mechanical stops, so I don't think you have to worry too much about stomping on them too hard to cause damage.  They're protected pretty well.

The actual foot switch does not physically touch the circuit board.  It pushes down on a spring which makes the contact.  What ends up happening along with the dust and grime is the spring gets compressed and does not impart enough force to the circuit board even at full travel.  If and when you take it apart for cleaning, be sure to either replace the springs or just expand them a bit so they work like new again.

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