HX Effects - Stopped working = Dirty connections (ribbon cable inside)?

[tele_jas]

A few weeks ago, my HX FX glitched out on me.... Only a few of the screens were showing, bank up/down were in the wrong spot, the screen(s) were all flickering and it was un-responsive on certain blocks (footswitches).

 

I sent it to a semi-local, licensed, Line 6 repair tech and finally got it back yesterday. 

 

He said he fully expected to find broken solder joints, or some burned-in spots on the circuit board.....But, instead there was a ribbon cable that connected two circuit boards.... He disconnected that, blew compressed air and then deox-it inside the connections, plugged it back in - and it worked!?!?

 

I have never dropped the unit, or let it "clunk" on the ground or fall over.....I've never let it get cold and hot (condensation). 

 

I'm now worried about it's reliability at a gig (yes, I still get to play 1-2 gigs each weekend).

 

Has anyone else had this issue?? Is it common?? Should I be concerned about this happening again??

 

I got this to replace my big pedalboard.....  I don't want to bring my pedalboard with me for a backup now?

[C4TH]

That’s interesting. I’ve had my HX for around 2 years and never had any problems, until recently.

The third scribble strip on mine stopped displaying, similar to what happened to yours. I unscrewed the unit, put it back together again, and it fixed the issue. Could have been a loose connection, condensation issue, etc.

But to your question, I’ve found the HX to be very reliable. It’s been the centre of my rig and has never let me down at a gig, so far.

It’s the same as any other type of equipment. There’s always a chance it might let you down, but there’s nothing inherently unreliable about the HX.

As far as a backup, I carry a small pedal train nano, with a few essentials, just in case. Tuner, overdrive and delay. It’s enough to get me out of trouble. But I’ve never used it so far.