guitarhiromu Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Hello All: Been loving my Helix, but for the past couple of months, I've had this issue where when I start up my Helix, all of the scribble strips are blank/black. I have the bottom row of switches set to snapshots, and the top rows set to IA. When the blank scribble strip issue pops up, I get sound from the Helix (my default snapshot), but I cannot do any switching. I can cure this, by turning the unit off and back on, but it's becoming more of an issue, because this is occurring more often lately - I would say once out of every 3 or 4 times I turn on my Helix. And it's usually, when I haven't switched on the Helix in a day or so. Anybody else having this issue? I am running FW 2.21. I don't believe I had this issue with previous FW, or if I did, it was certainly not nearly as prevalent. Any thoughts, ideas or fixes would be appreciated. Thinking of sending my Helix in to be checked out. Thanks, GH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Are they all blank? I've seen it quite a few times where people inadvertently get into Stomp Mode and don't have anything assigned to the footswitches, so all the scribble strips are blank. The MODE and TAP switches would still have text above them, in that case, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-grimm403 Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Rack or Floorboard? I have a rack that had a similar issue try a new cat5 cable or switching the cat 5 ends and jiggling it. Mine ended up being a broken cat 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarhiromu Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 Thanks for the replies. I have the floor version. And yes, all the scribble strips are blank, including tap and mode. Again, it’s an easy fix, since the problem goes away, if I turn the unit off and turn it back on, but it’s still quite annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarhiromu Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 One thing I should note, I’ve been turning the Helix on and off with a power strip that I have sitting near it. Not actually turning the Helix on using its power switch, but turning it off and on with the power strip. I was just thinking that this could be causing the problem. When I get the blank scribble strips, I toggle the unit off and on with the Helix power switch and the scribble strips come alive. Could it be that using the power strip to power the Helix on and off be the root of the problem? I will test at my rehearsal space tomorrow. Could turning the Helix on and off via power strip vs turning it on and off with its own switch make such a difference? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbuhajla Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 One thing I should note, I’ve been turning the Helix on and off with a power strip that I have sitting near it. Not actually turning the Helix on using its power switch, but turning it off and on with the power strip. I was just thinking that this could be causing the problem. When I get the blank scribble strips, I toggle the unit off and on with the Helix power switch and the scribble strips come alive. Could it be that using the power strip to power the Helix on and off be the root of the problem? I will test at my rehearsal space tomorrow. Could turning the Helix on and off via power strip vs turning it on and off with its own switch make such a difference? Any thoughts would be appreciated. That shouldn't make a difference. You should open a support ticket with Line 6 so they can resolve the issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Have you re-flashed the firmware? Might solve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarhiromu Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 Hello, Okay - tried turning the unit on and off without using the powerstrip. Still had the issue - now it's worse - when I turn the unit on and off, I cannot get the scribble strips working at all. So, I have all blank scribble strips every time on boot up. I re-installed the FW. Fixed the issue on one boot up, then, same issue began to persist. I guess the unit needs to go back to Line 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Hello, Okay - tried turning the unit on and off without using the powerstrip. Still had the issue - now it's worse - when I turn the unit on and off, I cannot get the scribble strips working at all. So, I have all blank scribble strips every time on boot up. I re-installed the FW. Fixed the issue on one boot up, then, same issue began to persist. I guess the unit needs to go back to Line 6. Sounds like it's a loose ribbon cable connection or something like that inside the unit. But, yeah, open up a support ticket, and they'll take care of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarhiromu Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 Just wanted to post an update. Thank you to the guys in Customer Support, you guys are great! After speaking to several members of the very helpful support staff, I sent my Helix in on a Friday (they received it at Line 6 on Monday). I got my Helix back on the Saturday of the same week. I live fairly close to Line 6, so I’m sure this helped. Everything works like it should again. Thanks to Line 6 for the quick turn around and overall great service. The Helix missed one live gig during that time, and I have to say I missed it quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Great Ending to a sad story!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.