.....In some fairness, whether or not it's statistically significant doesn't really help me if I'm the outlier. Point was that I know I'm not the only one to have run into some kind of issue, and the response I got from support made it at least feel like it was common enough that they had a prepared response for it. (Kind of like what stub is suggesting about triaging.) Do I know enough to know that the USB chip is literally fried? Of course not. But I know just enough to suspect that there's no significant mechanical strain, or signs of physical damage. And I've used enough USB devices to know that plugging them in shouldn't make my other devices shut off for a moment.
Yep.So it seems like I can:
- Do nothing. Resign to having no USB. Always bring a backup solution.
- Switch back to using my old tube amps and the FM3 is the backup
- Pay a bunch of money and hope it's fixed.
- Pay a bunch of money and get a new one
Not often that people assess themselves that honestly on this forum! View attachment 124080And some people just like to hear themselves talk, whether they have any good info to add or not........View attachment 124080
That message refers to ground loops. They can interfere with connectivity, but they won't fry anything. "Fried" means damaged to the point where it can never work again. Ground loop issues are temporary. They end when the ground loop is removed.Don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that there's risk involved in buying a used device, and that's on me. But at the same time, there's enough stories out there of people reporting the same or similar symptoms. When I contacted support about it, the answer was quick to go strait to "yeah, send it in, the repair is $450" without any troubleshooting, which suggests that it's not an unknown issue. The first link here is the one that suggests that a ground loop from using different outlets can cause connectivity issues.
View attachment 124075
Lol...nice try, but I was referring to @GitGuy513Not often that people assess themselves that honestly on this forum! View attachment 124080
I didn't say it was widespread, and I can speculate all I want to. ¯\(ツ)/¯ I'm not the only one who has had their USB fail on them. And I'm of the opinion that USB shouldn't make other devices flicker. "Is this just me, or a more widespread thing" was literally the point/question of the thread, and I pointed to some things that would make me suspect/speculate that it's a known issue. Given my options, I think it's valuable to try to form a picture of how common these kinds of things are, so that I don't do something like buy another one just to find out it IS a common problem and I've wasted a bunch of money to return to square one. This stuff is expensive enough to warrant being critical about it.widespread problems or design flaws
I'm not anything close to an electrical engineer, I'm not going to claim to know what damage a ground loop can or can't do before it's removed. I just see things that read to me as symptoms of the USB not behaving the way it's supposed to. FM3 + USB = some people have problems. How many people? I don't know. That was the question I'm trying to answer.Ground loop issues are temporary. They end when the ground loop is removed.
This is where I was at up until yesterday. I can live with no USB. Suddenly losing all my settings with no warning or explanation though is a whoooole other thing.The repair was estimated at around $500. So, I am just living with it at this point.
I really don't care about your forum politics or whatever. If we're going to argue, can we at least argue with me, so that I can learn something valuable about the subject at hand?What a sad personality and character defect. Seek help.
Oh Christ, you’re not going to actually rehash this crap here are you?
Yeah, you're probably right. I wasn't expecting a resolution this way, was just hoping to get a wider picture of whether or not reliability was a concern for the average user. Oh well. Forum's gonna forum I guess.Contact support. Your problem cannot be resolved in a public forum.
But I wasn’t.Lol...nice try, but I was referring to @GitGuy513 View attachment 124082
And I’d wager that the majority of FM3 owners out there don’t even post on this forum.Yeah, you're probably right. I wasn't expecting a resolution this way, was just hoping to get a wider picture of whether or not reliability was a concern for the average user. Oh well. Forum's gonna forum I guess.
No worries. I just clarified the statement for the benefit of anyone who might read this thread and think, "Oh, crap! This could fry my USB port?" No, it won't.I'm not anything close to an electrical engineer, I'm not going to claim to know what damage a ground loop can or can't do before it's removed. I just see things that read to me as symptoms of the USB not behaving the way it's supposed to. FM3 + USB = some people have problems.
Better yet; file a claim with PayPal if you are still within your purchase timeframe and get the seller to cover the repair.I think it's safe to say that Fractal has very good reliability. However, that doesn't mean every unit that ever rolled out never had a problem. Also, when buying used you don't know how the unit may have been mis-treated. That's the biggest problem when buying used. The person may be dumping it because they know it's been abused and barely works.
Spend the $450, get it fixed.
In some fairness, whether or not it's statistically significant doesn't really help me if I'm the outlier. Point was that I know I'm not the only one to have run into some kind of issue, and the response I got from support made it at least feel like it was common enough that they had a prepared response for it. (Kind of like what stub is suggesting about triaging.) Do I know enough to know that the USB chip is literally fried? Of course not. But I know just enough to suspect that there's no significant mechanical strain, or signs of physical damage. And I've used enough USB devices to know that plugging them in shouldn't make my other devices shut off for a moment.
On paper, this is the right thing to do. In practice, the cost and headache are difficult to swallow. It's likely to cost me around $500 for the repair, plus whatever the international shipping is from Quebec. Then during that time, I normally use this for two different instruments and three different bands, so I have to work out three backup solutions, since we have shows booked through to November. Also, having no USB means I have no backups, meaning a good chance I lose all my sounds in the exchange.
I had the thought that by the time I pay for repair costs, I could almost just buy a new one and offload this one as-is minus the same repair cost, and it works out to being similar to the same out-of-pocket to at least be left with a warranty.
So it seems like I can:
- Do nothing. Resign to having no USB. Always bring a backup solution.
- Switch back to using my old tube amps and the FM3 is the backup
- Pay a bunch of money and hope it's fixed.
- Pay a bunch of money and get a new one
I do have some backup solutions for now, which are equally extravagant - the plan is, for this weekend at least, to pick another amp to bring along. I normally base my presets on Mark models because I have a couple of those real amps and that tone is my comfort-zone. I've got a V:25 that should cover me if anything goes wrong.In your position, I’d buy another fm3 as a backup, and ship the damaged unit for repair. Then you’d have an fm3 for playing, and and fm3 for backup. Sounds extravagant possibly, but nobody has ever regretted carrying a spare wheel when they got a flat!