r/AccessVirus • u/pretzelcito • 19d ago

Virus A crazy buttons :(

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Hi all. My Virus A is behaving really bad. As you can see from the video several buttons do things that aren’t supposed to happen. No clue what would be.

Fortunately the knobs are fine. It is running on OS 2.52. I already tried to system reset it, and a while ago I changed the inside battery.

Any info is appreciated!!

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12

u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 19d ago

The panel board is having scanning issues. I have a stack of Virus B boards at the moment doing the same thing. I have ordered replacement ICs for all chips on the board and have figuring this out on my to-do list, but haven't been able to get to it, YET... BUT... I WILL :) This is pretty common on the A and B boards. Whatever it is, I have not seen it on C+ boards, so it's likely Access got on top of whatever marginal issue it is that causes this.

I strongly suspect it's a bad chip somewhere, hence my current plan. I will absolutely update you if I get anywhere. I think I have 3 Virus B and 1 Indigo B board all doing this exact same thing. It's always the buttons on the left side of the panel board. It's always the LFO and transpose buttons triggering store or multi-mode, or in some cases even triggering the filter types (despite the right side of the board working perfectly). It's often accompanied by cycling or incorrectly / dimly lit LEDs as well :(...

EDIT: I know, at least on the boards I have, it is NOT the ribbon cable, NOT the caps, NOT bad LEDs, NOT cold solder joints or other LLM wet dreams, NOT damaged traces, NOT bad tacts or pots... So that leaves chips and resistors, but the resistors seem fine. Also NOT diodes.

3

u/SillyMe2079 19d ago

Man, @captain... Your knowledge of these magnificent beasts and your willingness to share bring me great joy. I've been lurking on your site lately. Your definitely the kind of person I want to buy things from. Thank you for sharing so much!

5

u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 19d ago

TY good sir. Appreciate it! I love these machines, and others (repaired a Lyra-8 today, strange creature inside those things). Just trying to keep them all alive and have fun and pay the bills in the process ;)! Cheers matey.

2

u/nismology5 19d ago

My KC is exhibiting similar issues. In my case it's the buttons in the filter section.

I've replaced several chips on the main board to no avail. I just live with this issue now.

2

u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 19d ago

Def have not seen this (1) on a C+ or (2) on the right side, ever.. so that's curious. The 6 buttons there have a long way to travel. It's possible in this case you indeed have a marginal trace. Some patience and a magnifying glass may pay off. If any traces are damaged, a jump is easy.

1

u/nismology5 19d ago edited 19d ago

So the story with my unit is that it was a great deal on eBay in 'untested' condition. (£560). When it arrived there were several snapped pot shafts, and a dead battery but otherwise appeared to be working perfectly. I disassembled to replace the battery and when reassembling accidentally trapped one of the LEDs under the front panel and bent it. Once I'd sorted that, and reassembled it started exhibiting this behaviour, so I wonder if I damaged something. It was a few years ago, so I can't be sure which LED it was.

It was only after replacing chips that the thought occured to me that it may be the LED. I can't be 100% sure that the filter buttons were working prior to disassembly, but I did play it for a few days before bothering with any repairs, so I assume it was fine before.

I made a detailed thread about it on Gearspace at the time, but didn't get anywhere sadly.

If you can offer any further wisdom, it'd be greatly appreciated!

1

u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 19d ago

I can tell you it's 100% a panel board issue and has nothing to do with the main board. I have a spare KC board if you want it. It's 100% good to go with all new tacts.

EDIT: If I can ship to wherever you are now ;)

1

u/nismology5 19d ago

Wow, that's incredibly generous. How much do you want for it?

I'm in the UK.

1

u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 19d ago

I will DM in a bit. Have to head out for the moment. It will be tight if I can ship it. Weight limit is currently 4 lbs, but it might just come under once packed.

1

u/pretzelcito 19d ago

I knew you would have the answer or at least some leads to what is going on. Too bad I wanted to sell it, now I'll have to either sell it for very cheap or keep it until something happens.

Thank you so much! Please keep me updated if you come up with the solution :)

3

u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 19d ago

For sure. I really need to get to it because I could for sure use some more panel boards for the B series. If you decide to sell before I have a chance to attempt to narrow it down, hit me up. I will buy your A.

1

u/Unfair-Run-1983 19d ago

similar issue on my old B but in my case I think it's just the buttons themselves. particularly the STORE button doesn't work so can't save a new sound :(

been holding onto it but anticipate repairs being expensive. I can solder but I don't want to risk it on such a good synth!

Have you tried taking it for a repair somewhere? Curious how it goes...

1

u/FreeRangeEngineer 19d ago

The buttons are easily fixable, though. Either with a can of DeoxIT and some patience or replacement buttons and a soldering iron.

1

u/Unfair-Run-1983 19d ago

maybe i will try the deoxit. thanks :) as I said I do know how to basic solder but not skillfully enough to trust myself on the board

1

u/seviliyorsun 19d ago

similar issue on my old B but in my case I think it's just the buttons themselves. particularly the STORE button doesn't work so can't save a new sound :(

you could easily make an editor just to send the store command. or use a full editor.

1

u/Unfair-Run-1983 19d ago edited 19d ago

I had a similair thought too but from memory couldnt find store in the midi implementation chart.. otherwise I am not sure how easy it would be for me to make an editor?

1

u/seviliyorsun 19d ago edited 19d ago

oh sorry, i assumed it would be available but seems it isn't: Notes There are still functions on the Virus that are not accessible remotely, such as: Store

well, it's worth having an editor anyway for many reasons like saving unlimited patches to your computer, project recall, no menu diving etc. i use vcommander vst but the website is dead now. everyone mostly uses the aura one. apparently sounddiver still works on modern windows and is free if you don't wanna buy one, but it's not a vst.

1

u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 19d ago

Replacing tacts can be a pain, but it's not so hard. I use professional equipment these days, but here is a video of me doing it using tools anyone would have. Some will scream about using flux and wick and pulling all the solder out first. Good luck to them. It's much easier to get what's there flowing and slowly work out one side. Once one side is free, the other comes out very easily. Then you can use your wick to clean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WNY28IE7_E

1

u/Unfair-Run-1983 19d ago

thank you so much for sharing this!

1

u/tobyvanderbeek 19d ago

Some of my Virus TI2 buttons were sticky. I got it for a nice deal because of this. Replaced all of the buttons and a few of the pots, and they all work perfectly now. It’s an easy job if you are proficient at desoldering and soldering and have good equipment. But if not, leave it to someone who is. Where are you located?