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Controller Freezes


jaybee77
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I have the Helix Rack and Control.

using FW 2.21 - updated when released and the update procedure correctly followed and rebuild done.

All has been good until last night.

 

I pressed on the control to change up to the next bank and nothing happened. then the control froze none of the switches worked.

Waited awhile and it unfroze. tried changing a preset which it allowed but the next press on footswitch to change to another preset and it froze again - none of the foot switches responsive!

tried reconnecting the cable at both ends, tried a new cable too - no change you can press one switch and then the next press  on another switch and it frozen again.

 

Whilst frozen - If i make changes via the rack eg change preset - the control not echoing the changes made.

 

After various testing via powering down and back up - this problem is for all of the settings via control be it changing snapshots, bank, presets, stomp mode etc...

and any setting change on the rack not shown on the control.

 

I went into global settings - footswitches page.

I noticed if i made a change to any of the settings on the footswitch page the control worked perfectly - but as soon as i leave the global footswitch page and return to the main home screen - the control freezes up again. so that leads me to believe it might be a bug rather than hardware problem.

 

Have tried another cat 5 cable - problem still persists.

 

My next line of thought -

Is there a reset method for the rack and control? see if that fixes it.

 

if that doesnt fix it then my questions are:

 

is the problem Hardware or firmware. If firmware bug - what do i do. do i need to wait for this bug to be fixed in the firmware release, eg 2.3, post native release could still be sometime away?

If it is hardware error - is it the control or the rack where the problem resides?

 

Very frustrating - been building up patches and ready to go record next week for three weeks... bam it not working properly... suddenly realize how dependent you become on this device - it is the central hub of all the work.

 

here's hoping a reset can fix it.

 

anyone experienced this issue?

anyone any thoughts?

 

any one at line 6 any advice how to proceed with this?

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Thanks for the PM.

 

......

 

had already done the full firmware update as per the step by step instructions and updated the control when prompted and did the rebuild.

 

I have two pedals plugged into the back of the control.

Exp 1 + toe switch = Mission SP1-L6H

Exp 2 = Boss FV 500L - as volume pedal.

using a neutrik rean Y cable  - with a mono cable going from the tip mono (black) plug of the y cable into the Exp 2.

this works fairly well although occasionally the volume moves about - so this in itself is something i need to figure out a better solution for?

 

i tried unplugging the cat 5 cable from the control... didnt change the situation.

......

I use a Boss FV-500L foot pedal attached to the back of control Exp 2 socket.

unplugging and re plugging the cable from the back of the FV solved the problem...

 

what would be the cause of the problem here - clearly the pedal being TRS and the helix using TS ?

What is the best way to connect a TRS foot volume pedal like the Boss FV to the helix?

....

This pedal situation been causing headaches through out. the mission pedal has too short a movement to be a good volume pedal. but then the boss fv pedal, although it has nice range of movement in build, when used with the helix you have to depress someway before you pass 0% and it reaches 100% a fair way before the end of travel.

wish there was a way for these pedals to work with helix, for there to be a workable cabling method and for helix to sense the full range of the pedals.

 

....

 

wish for line 6 to release a version with two pedals built in, with toe switches - so then we could get away from trying to get pedals to work with it or paying £100 - £150 for a mission pedal..... given that two pedals would cost £200 - £300 on top of the cost of the control... line 6 could offer a two pedal version and charge more for it as we got to pay more to have expression pedals that work with it anyway.
And yes i know it wouldn't fit in a rack draw unit - but the wight of a rack mount and the rack and the pedal and the draw is overkill to move around...
would rather have a two pedal version in a soft carry case...

 

I will try your tip of connecting the pedal to the rack rather than to the control as it may be more stable

 

thanks

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Are the freezing problems you are experiencing with the Helix Control unit occurring only when external Pedals (and their connecting cables) are connected?

 

 

It would seem so - unplugging the cable from the back of the FV and plugging back in again has solved the problem.

but it leaves the worry of when it will do it again - if it was mid song it would be a nightmare!

 

So its a question of how to connect the boss FV500L which uses a TRS socket, to the control exp input which is TS

 

What is the specific cable i need.

 

 is the Y cable im using the same as what people are making at home for the pedals to work? or does the ring need de-soldering - but would that just make it a TS cable - a TS cable doesnt work with the FV500 and the helix

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So its a question of how to connect the boss FV500L which uses a TRS socket, to the control exp input which is TS

 

What is the specific cable i need.

 

 

if it's anything like my ZOOM pedals I use with my Helix Rack/Control, I ended up making a custom cable. TS at the Helix end, and TRS at the pedal end, where the connector from the Tip goes to Ring, Tip is void, and Sleeve is normal.

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Thanks Peter - thats great info to know - will get on to modifying a cable and give it a go.

 

many thanks for your help today much appreciated...

 

loving this helix - such great sounds and just starting to get a real grip on how to fully use it...

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I have the same problem! I posted about it a while ago but got no responses so I thought it was only me. I have the Helix rack and controller with a Mission expression pedal with the toe switch. Disconnection and reconnecting both cables from the Mission expression pedal seem to fix the problem for me too. The fix lasts until I power down the unit and power it back up so now it's just a routine thing I do until somebody figures out what the problem is.

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That's interesting that the same problem occurs with mission expression pedals... I thought it was because of the boss fv pedal being incompatible with helix but to hear the mission pedal also causes the error means line 6 will be wanting to figure what's going wrong with the control and expression pedals. Shouldn't be paying £150 for a mission pedal and 350 for control and them causing a freeze of control... that's £500 which is Half the full price of the helix floor unit which has an expression pedal in built!!! As a rack user I feel I pay more for less ... there it is!

there really is an issue all round with expression pedals for helix rack and control... either need a control with built in foot pedals or ability to plug in pedals without this whole fiasco of rewiring cables and volumes jumping about and control freezing up. You expect better for the money invested. Otherwise a brilliant product. Hope long term line 6 have a solution to these expression pedal woes... be it a firmware or hardware solution!

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I have the same problem! I posted about it a while ago but got no responses so I thought it was only me. I have the Helix rack and controller with a Mission expression pedal with the toe switch. Disconnection and reconnecting both cables from the Mission expression pedal seem to fix the problem for me too. The fix lasts until I power down the unit and power it back up so now it's just a routine thing I do until somebody figures out what the problem is.

Can you confirm your having a problem of the control freezing due to a mission pedal being attached and disconnecting is the only way to solve it?

Do you use any other expression pedals..

If so Are they also connected at the same time of the control freezing up?

 

Interested to clarify if this bug is with mission pedals as well as other brand pedals or just with incompatible other brand pedals?

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Can you confirm your having a problem of the control freezing due to a mission pedal being attached and disconnecting is the only way to solve it?

Do you use any other expression pedals..

If so Are they also connected at the same time of the control freezing up?

 

Interested to clarify if this bug is with mission pedals as well as other brand pedals or just with incompatible other brand pedals?

 

It seems to be an occasional issue with other brands as well.

 

It seems to go away if you connect directly to the Rack instead of Control.

 

They are aware of it and are working on it.

 

That said, if it's debilitating for you, you should open a ticket. The more info they have the better, I expect.

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The Mission is the only expression pedal I have. I tested and tested this over and over again and having the expression pedal connected was the culprit but I don't have another expression pedal to determine if it's a Mission problem or general expression pedal problem. The controller hasn't froze for a while since disconnecting and reconnecting the expression pedal is part of my regular routine everytime I power up.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am having exactly the same issue over the last few days. Latest firmware etc.

I have 2 Roland EV5 exp pedals and a boss fs-5u in the toe pedal jack

It was so bad yesterday at rehearsal I couldn't switch patches or snapshopt... it would lock the controller nearly every time, though the rack would still work fine

I WAS able to use stompboxes and attached exp pedals with no problem.

Unplugging the cat 5 from the control and plugging it back in would solve it. 

 

just now, however, wouldn't you know it, I can't get it to do it. Everything working fine at the moment, but this is the kind of intermittent issue I can't have while gigging...

 

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Rack/Control beta tester here.

 

They are aware of it, because I've experienced it and have been in a very productive back-and-forth on it.

 

I have also made them aware of this thread so they can see what all y'all are experiencing.

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Great

I filed a ticket too

I'll let you guys know when / if it starts happening again if will try to isolate causes / fixes if possible

(My guess, it'll be caused by high pressure gigs and cured by being at home alone) 

;-)

Cheers

Russell

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Just a thought

Has power been ruled out?

 

Since your using a rack I'm going to assume there is a power conditioner/voltage regulator in the chain?

Is the controller running off of conditioned power?

 

I have the floor unit but if I was having this issue with a computer the first thing I would rule out is

the power. But then I live in an older house. I run Power Conditioners/Voltage Regulators in front of everything

electronic ;)

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  • 9 months later...
17 minutes ago, rpossum said:

FYI ... to anyone thinking about updating to this firmware version... the locking Control Pedal issue is back

It is still, thankfully, very rare, and even better, I have it on good authority that it is completely solved in the next firmware update. In fact, I know it is solved... for a fact... so, hang in there...

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yeah... strange for me... After v 2.21, I've never had it again... now with  2.54 it's back so bad my Helix is completely basically a brick

ruined my rehearsal the other day and has me in a bit of crisi mode for an upcoming gig

I'm currently trying to roll back to a previous firmware to see if it helps

I hadn't updated since before 2.50, so I'm hoping to try a few and see if they help 

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