GarrySimmons Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Does the Helix LT have an automatic brightness control of some sort on it? If so, where is the sensor and how does it work? My display is F'd up and it acts like the brightness control (if there is one) is wildly maxed out. Everything is badly washed out to the point of being useless. I had a local guy replace the "LCD UI" board which has the display itself and no change. THANKS for any info you can provide... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 3 hours ago, GarrySimmons said: Does the Helix LT have an automatic brightness control of some sort on it? Not that I am aware of. 3 hours ago, GarrySimmons said: My display is F'd up and it acts like the brightness control (if there is one) is wildly maxed out. Everything is badly washed out to the point of being useless. I had a local guy replace the "LCD UI" board which has the display itself and no change. Did you open a support ticket with Line 6 and show some pictures and/or video of the problem? Maybe get their take on the problem? Was the local guy a Line 6 service rep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarrySimmons Posted February 22, 2022 Author Share Posted February 22, 2022 Thanks for the reply. I didn't recall the brightness changing when it worked normal, but now mine is screwed and I can't test it. It sure behaves like a brightness control is set way too high. I did open a support ticket and it was worthless. They just said to get an RMA# and send it to them to look at. If not under warranty, I could use an authorized Line6 repair shop. Since I happened to have an authorized Line6 repair shop an hour from me, that's what I did. Of course, that just means he has access to parts. I don't know if he can actually call someone at Line6 to get troubleshooting help. I don't think he actually knew anything about the Helix design. But he does fix a lot of music gear and has good reviews. The Helix is just a handful of circuit boards. Super easy to access and swap out aside from the white glue crap on the connectors. I have mine open right now. I suspect the official Line6 repair center would just be swapping out entire boards as well. Heck, I could do that if I could get the parts. What I need is someone that actually knows how it works so I don't waste my money on swapping out a board that doesn't solve the problem. What's odd is that nothing else is wrong with it. It sounds fine. The USB works. All the switches, encoders, etc work. I can edit/change patches with HX Edit. I just can't use the display to see settings, or stomp box status, or the tuner. The snapshots view is semi-usable. My issue is that it will cost the better part of $100 just to ship my Helix to California (and back). Their hourly rate is double my local guy. But maybe (?) they would actually know what to fix? What if they just randomly swap boards until it gets fixed? Am I on the hook for all the new parts that didn't solve the problem? The cost of the display board was $75 and the guy only charged me for an hour to swap it out ($40). It really is a piece of cake to get in there and swap out the boards. So I'm desperately trying to get some info on what board is F'd to know what to get fixed. There are two inductors labeled "151" on the IO board and one of them looks not quite right compared to the one next to it. I have no idea what it controls. Pretty much all the other stuff look pretty tiny and not a candidate for repairing a board aside from a few caps. Right now, it's just an $1100 door stop and that makes me very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 13 hours ago, GarrySimmons said: Since I happened to have an authorized Line6 repair shop an hour from me, that's what I did. Of course, that just means he has access to parts. I don't know if he can actually call someone at Line6 to get troubleshooting help. If he's an authorized repair shop... of course he can call Line 6. They don't want people fixing their stuff ad hoc.... they want it diagnosed and fixed right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarrySimmons Posted May 31, 2022 Author Share Posted May 31, 2022 I figured that I would close out the thread with the resolution. I sent my Helix LT to the Line6 repair facility in CA and it came back a few weeks later, all good to go. No complaints on the repair or turn around. According to the customer service guy on the phone taking my payment info, they replaced the main board (which feeds the display board) which is the most expensive board in the unit. Cost for the repair was $275 which included return shipping. Due to the size of the packaging, it was subject to dimensional shipping, so it cost me $65 to ship it there (UPS, insured). So total for this was $340. But that doesn't include the $120 I spent with the local repair place that failed to repair it correctly. They just swapped out a perfectly good display board. Plus a tank of gas driving an hour each way to the place. I tried contacting them after the failed repair and no response. Almost like out of business type no response. Sigh... Bottom Line: Aside from the painful shipping costs to send a broken Helix to CA, I would recommend sending it there unless you're sure your local, authorized shop, is familiar with the unit, can do the job properly, and will guarantee their work. Lesson learned. 1 1 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.