Behringer FCB1010 foot controller problems

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emperor_black

Inspired
Hello
I purchased the behringer footswitch in anticipation of using it for the axe. It got here a couple of days before the axe. :lol:

I connected the power supply and am going through all the switches and I see that number 2 and number 3 do not light up. The up and down at the xtreme right also dont but those are for banks and dont light up I assume. So, can anyone confirm if LED's 2 and 3 do light up without connecting the footswitch to anything? I bought this pedal used and its strange other led's work and these two dont. :|

Also, to get this to function completely with the axe, do I need two MIDI cables or one is enough? I know its a silly question and probably two are needed, but I was able to hook up the Boss GT-8 and a Marshall JMP1 with just one cable just fine. Thanks!

Sam
 
You only need one midi cable to control the axe (midi out on the fcb to midi in on the axe). The lights should be working without any cable connected. Since it was used, you should try resetting the fcb to factory defaults. If you don't already have the manual, you can download it.
 
kruzty said:
You only need one midi cable to control the axe (midi out on the fcb to midi in on the axe). The lights should be working without any cable connected. Since it was used, you should try resetting the fcb to factory defaults. If you don't already have the manual, you can download it.
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thanks for confirming one Midi is good enough. I saw that in the manual, but the picture shows a combo amp and was not sure how to make the footswitch work with a axe type device.

Anyways, I already reset to factory and the LED's still dont light up. I think they're broken. :(
 
Yesterday, I tried connecting the FCB to the Axe using just one MIDI cable. It seemed to work for a while and then now looks like the footswitch is broken?

Previously, I had opened up the back cover of the fcb to inspect the LED's that were broken. After staring for sometime, I figured out it would be best to live with the broken LED's and not take out anything else. I put everything back as it was.

When I connected the footswitch to axe, at first, I could cycle through the first 4 or 5 patches, and then the bottom 6 footswitches including the 'Down' are no longer lighting up. Only the top 5 do. Since the factory reset involves holding down button 1, and either 6 7 or 8, I cant do that either. Any ideas what might be wrong? Thanks!
 
the bottom switches dont work anymore. the top ones work fine and even changes presets on the axe. I can change presets in increments of 5 and nothing else. Any ideas? I even opened it up again and made sure there were no loose contacts.
 
Is the UNO chip installed? It sounds like it could have to do with pedal board mode, but I don't really know. Since you bought it used, you should try to contact the seller and see if he has any clues. It's possible it just isn't working and either the seller knew it didn't work or it got damaged in shipping.
 
the first time I plugged in the power, all but the LED no. 2 and 3 were lighting up. It was working fine, I reset it to factory defaults, everything seemed to be working fine. The moment I connected it to the axe, then it started giving problems.

The seller is a used goods seller and has no idea how this footswitch works. :(
 
Not that I'm TOO down on Behringer, they make useful products at a reasonable price.. But having been a repair tech for many years, the stuff that came in the most was Behringer.. The soldering is pathetic. 99% of failures were bad wave-soldering, occasionally a broken PCB where the jack is connected, there is poor strain-relief there... If you have a friend that can solder well, not "I have this ol' Radio Shack soldering iron laying around", but that can really solder, have them take a look. I'll betcha it's just a bad (or a few bad) solder joints.
 
You say after a hard reset, everything worked fine until you connected to the Axe-FX. This seems to all but eliminate any of the mechanical issues everyone here seems to be suggesting. A bad solder joint wouldn't suddenly start working and then stop again nor would it suggest the pedal is defective. Have you read Voes FCB guide? Have you downloaded and tried programmimg your pedal with the Ripwerx editor? If you are attempting to program without a midi interface and a software program, you might as well forget it.

It's unlikely the FCB is defective given what you are describing. A large portion of the time midi problems are user error (mine included.) I suggest you read everything you can find on the FCB1010 and maybe try and find some people in your area who have used it. Also, there is a Yahoo group on the FCB1010 that might have some good information.

If you haven't done so, try the exp pedal calibration procedure. This puts the unit through a self test and will at least tell you if all the lights are working.
 
emperor_black said:
the first time I plugged in the power, all but the LED no. 2 and 3 were lighting up. It was working fine, I reset it to factory defaults, everything seemed to be working fine. The moment I connected it to the axe, then it started giving problems.

The seller is a used goods seller and has no idea how this footswitch works. :(
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Unless the Axe was sending something to the FCB, I'm not sure why it would cause problems only when connected. You're going from the FCB MIDI Out to the Axe MIDI In, right? Also, is the midi phantom power off on the Axe? I don't think it should matter unless you have a 7-pin cable, but I could be wrong.

If the "used goods" seller doesn't know how something works, how can they know they're selling a working product? Maybe it is time to return it, if at all possible...
 
Kruzty,
I just confirmed your instructions and yes I'm connecting the way you have in the post. I am using a 5 pin cable. How do you turn off the phantom power? I looked under I/O and dont see that option.

Yeah, the used seller already refunded me $25 for the two LED's that were the only ones broken before I connected it to the axe. I cant ask him for more.

//S
 
A bad solder joint wouldn't suddenly start working and then stop again nor would it suggest the pedal is defective.

Actually, a bad/cold solder joint can cause an intermittent problem. If your inclined, you can look at the joints with magnification, many times you may be able to spot a problem if one exists here. Use magnification! Many times simply reflowing the joint will result in a total fix. Sometimes, especially on cheaper boards (behringer is cost efficient equipment) a solder pad may lift up from the board and seperate itself from the trace. This can be fixed by soldering a piece of copper wire between the two points. I have worked on several peices of behringer gear and the build quality is simply not the best - not knocking it, I have an FCB 1010 on the way to my house - just relaying my experience in repair. I would definitely check the solder joints. This may not be the problem, but I have seen it more than a few times and it is an easy fix. If you are not skilled at soldering, perhaps a friend who is can help you. Please note that proper equipment and skill are necesary.
 
There are a lot of solder joints in the FCB. :(
And bad solder joints do cause intermittent problems. Although my FCB is fine.
If it was only the leds, those are available for cents and easy to solder in. But somehow I don't think that was the problem in the first place. Try the manual for re-initialization and recalibration. I had that go wrong with my FCB too, re initialization and flashing the programming fixed it. If you care to check that, get a UnO chip ($16 at the most) and see if that might solve it. The upgrade is worth it for the 5+5 stompbox mode and excellent ripwerx programming.

BTW, if the thing is defective after all, you should be able to return it, even after you've already got a part refund. That only corroborates your story of the thing not being in great shape.

Most of the technology in the FCB is pretty fool proof though. Simple mechanics and cheap, time tested, widely available ICs. I bet a technician with a bit of experience could figure this thing out.

Anyway, the Axe-FX can't hurt it. "Phantom power" in the Axe-FX only connects the power from the "phantom power"-jack on the back (the small one above the midi-in) to the 6th and 7th pin of the Midi-in. If there isn't a power supply connected to that jack there is no phantom power on midi. And if you're not using a 7-pin midi cable, it wouldn't be transmitted even if there were power on the jack. That's why there's no switch on the Axe-FX. There are so many different power requirements for midi foot controllers (from 9V DC to 20 V AC) that it's not doable to have this built into the Axe-FX from the start, therefore an external power supply for the foot controller is necessary.
 
emperor_black said:
Yeah, the used seller already refunded me $25 for the two LED's that were the only ones broken before I connected it to the axe. I cant ask him for more.
//S
Click to expand...

If it doesn't work, you should ask for more. You should get a refund and send it back.
 
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