Stadium and EX-1 Dead zone on toe position

[adicm]

Hi there.

I searched the forums and all the similar post have no answer, so I'll try again:

I have an EX-1 connected to the Helix. I notice that it have a dead zone at the beginning of the toe position (flat position). When assigned to a volume, I have to move the pedal some degrees to start seeing changes on the vol parameter. This menas that it takes some mechanical displacement to go from 100% to 99% and then it start to go down lineally. 

I tried with a Bespeco pedal (basically the same as the EX-1 but with wires instead the connection board) and find out the same. I added a small pot to the Bespeco to calibrate the pedal to toe limit and add some resistance to eliminate the dead zone, so I artificially set the max toe resistance (with the second pot) to 99% hopping that going from 99% to 98% would be immediately, but it seems that the helix is dynamically recalibrating to any max resistance value and adding the useless zone, now, between 99 and 98. I searched all menus and cannot find a way to modify or eliminate this dead zone. 

Does any one have a hack to solve this, or is it a "feature" (that I don't really like)?

thanks in advance

[gbr13697]

Any modeller can only calibrate the range over which there is a change in resistance. If there is pedal travel over which resistance does not change, it can't be calibrated. The dead zone can't be eliminated via calibration because the modeller can not detect it or map it. Many pedals have dead zones because of poor design and engineering. I have 3 Boss expression pedals with dead zones at the heel end amounting to 25-30% of the pedal travel.  

A work around is to insert a pad under the pedal treadle to physically stop it travelling into the dead zone. Less travel, but it all does something. Otherwise you will have to get a better pedal. I use Fractal pedals which function perfectly.

[adicm]

Thanks. I tried a physical limit but when Helix turn on, it recalibrates and creates a new dead zone, now with the new resistor value as max.  That now is 100% and takes some travel to go to 99%. The limit was originally set to keep the pedal at 99%. In any case, I'm not quite sure if the helix recalibrates "on the fly" as (I need to confirm) the limit seems to lose the effectiveness after a while, even with the device on. 

I think the EX-1 has a 10K pot. my Bespeco have a 20K pot. Both pedals works ok within parameter range, both  have similar dead zones, so, the helix is capable to calibrate different pot values. With my additional pot (5k), the max value on the bespeco went to around 24K, calibrate to 100%=24k, down the pot to 99% with new value of resistor (it went to around 21K. It is the electrical equivalent to a pad) and seems to work, until it doesn't and the dead zone returns at the new max value. I think is not necessarily a mechanical or electrical limitation of the pedals but maybe the calibration routine of the helix.

 

[gbr13697]

Hook the pedal up to a meter, and move it slowly from heel to toe. Pay particular attention to where the meter reading stops moving. There is no calibration that can accomodate and map an area of travel where the resistance does not change. Adding an extra pot or resistor will not change that.