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Alesis QS7 display problem - random characters


svincent

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I have a QS7 that I have used for at least 15 years, and last night in the middle of a gig, all of a sudden the display stopped working. It displays only random characters, letters and numbers. Otherwise the keyboard seems to operate normally -- I can change patches, play the keyboard, and navigate blindly. But this will be a big problem when it comes to actually editing or going to pages such as TRANSPOSE etc., in the middle of a gig.

 

I have owned and used tons of midi gear throughout the years, and if the LCD display itself is going bad, it ususally just starts getting "faint", or a line runs through it, or characters start dropping out, etc. But the clarity of the display is fine -- it just displays random nonsense (to me).

 

Has anyone had this problem before? Any recommended solutions?

 

TIA,

Steve

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Could be something as simple as a loose ribbon cable. If it has seen alot of gigging, its possible its worked its way loose. Otherwise it could be a controller board or something unsavoury. Take it to a tech in this case.

Might be worth opening her up to have a look see :idea:

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Update on problem: I opened up the case (which I have done a couple of times before to replace fuses and just to look around), and re-seated all ribbon cables. The problem remains the same. I didn't see anything obvious wrong inside.

 

Could it be the backup battery running low?

 

I noticed something of a pattern in the way the display acts: Like I said, it displays seemingly random characters, numbers, and symbols. However, I noticed that it cycles through the same "random" display in a series of five button presses. The same display occurs when I press the Program button, or any of the patch number buttons. Pressing any of these buttons five times cycles through the same five screens of gibberish. On of the five is completely blank, the other four always display the same thing at each "step" of the five-button-press sequence.

 

Just thought that was curious.

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Update on problem: I opened up the case (which I have done a couple of times before to replace fuses and just to look around), and re-seated all ribbon cables. The problem remains the same. I didn't see anything obvious wrong inside.


Could it be the backup battery running low?


I noticed something of a pattern in the way the display acts: Like I said, it displays seemingly random characters, numbers, and symbols. However, I noticed that it cycles through the same "random" display in a series of five button presses. The same display occurs when I press the Program button, or any of the patch number buttons. Pressing any of these buttons five times cycles through the same five screens of gibberish. On of the five is completely blank, the other four always display the same thing at each "step" of the five-button-press sequence.


Just thought that was curious.

 

 

It wouldn't hurt to change the battery. Whether it fixes the display problem is negligible, but worth a try. If that doesn't do it, my moneys on controller board/chip.

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If the synth is behaving normally otherwise, I would suspect the LCD display unit first. They typically have their controller chips built into them, so it's not inconceivable that the LCD's controller has gotten sick and is confused by what the main CPU is trying to tell it. If it's a basic character LCD unit, it's probably inexpensive to replace. It's at least worth a shot.

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Just ordered the replacement display yesterday from Alesis. $59, so not too bad. Even if that wasn't the problem, the display was already starting to go dim, and had a line through it. If the controller chip is on the display unit itself, then I postulate around a 90 percent chance that this will fix it. Thanks for all your advice, and I'll let you know what happens in seven to ten business days.

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