FM3 Repair

Admin M@ said:
The EU has mandated USB-C as a common charging standard, which will impact device design around the globe -- and not just for charging.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/10/24/common-charger-eu-ministers-give-final-approval-to-one-size-fits-all-charging-port/#:~:text=This means that in 2024,recharged using the same charger.
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Yeah, everything is focused on the mobile “big brother in your pocket” present and future.

The best bet is what others have done and create a breakout connector for pedalboards and sacrifice the connector that’s easy to repair/change. Also for many data transmission interconnects people must understand that the actual data transmission contacts create the retention force. They have a limited amount of insertion cycles. The preloads weaken and they the fit gets sloppy. So reducing the amount of plugging and unplugging is advantageous. Also as mentioned all these specs are to follow set guidelines, but manufacturers will push the specs to their “low side” to cut costs. Also as mentioned Fractal didn’t design the USB connector used.

23 years ago I spent hours testing USB connectors and cables for their ability to meet specs. Cycling individual contacts using precision equipment to map their failure points.
 
For what it's worth, when my early 90s tremoverb had issues with the LDRs, Mesa replaced the whole board. It was more cost effective .
 
“Fractal a didnt design the USB connector used”. I keep seeing this come up but they DID choose to use it so that is on them. I love my FM3 and I am currently contemplating buying a second one as a backup since it is the main part of my gig rig. The USB connector is very flimsy and should be more robust on a product of this quality. If mine malfunctions and it ends up costing $500+US to fix it that is not a good value proposition for me and many others, especially if it keeps happening. I don’t know what else can be done but there should be a way to retrofit a more robust connector. This is the Achilles heel of the FM3 in my opinion. A dark blemish on an otherwise stellar product.
 
frankencat said:
they DID choose to use it so that is on them.
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No, the industry has standards, and if you want to use USB you stick to the standards. Trying to skip around them will condemn a product in no time. Fractal did the right thing.

That the industry has seen some changes since the design of Fractal’s hardware doesn’t suddenly make it a bad decision to use those, it just shows that the industry changes, however the electronics industry, or Fractal, doesn’t immediately turn on a dime and throw away inventory or supplies in the pipeline. No company can afford to do that.

The entire product line was conceived years ago. The goal was to maximize the number of parts shared between products. The footswitch PC boards do three switches each. An FM3 has one board. An FC6 has two. An FM9 has three and an FC12 has four. All products use the same LCDs, encoders, side plates, etc., etc. This reduces cost and repair inventory. The FC6 and the FM3 are basically the same enclosure. The FC12 and FM9 are basically the same enclosure. This isn't a huge market. Margins are thin so you have to think of ways to minimize development and product costs. Parts bin methodology is the route we took on this generation." [1]
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frankencat said:
That’s great if you never leave the house and I do use the offset adapter at home, but every time I unplug it to take the unit with me I worry about it. That shouldn’t be.
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Then don’t disconnect the extender, that’s the whole point. It remains in place and the disconnect occurs at its far end, so the stress occurs away from the unit.
 
I wonder what the percentage of USB failures to amount of FM3’s sold really is? I have a feeling it’s a low number. Especially when a certain percentage is likely due to clumsy handling when dealing with mechanical failure. I really don’t anticipate having a problem and not going to worry about it beyond getting a separate adapter if I was going to be using it in a heavy gigging situation.
 
Just a thought, but perhaps if USB is the preferred i/o of choice for daw and gui, some sort of buil
Greg Ferguson said:
Maybe in the future they'll specify a connector that uses magnets, like some of Apple's laptops have for their power, so if the cable end gets hit it'll just detach, and if we're lucky it'll reattach itself, otherwise it's no big deal to wave it near the connector and it'll grab on. That'd require another change in the computing and electronics industry, which takes forever to move in a different direction, so I'm not holding my breath.
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This would be cool. Even on gigs, my extension is still sitting there on the floor. Perhaps even some built low profile extension could be built in so you're not ever plugging in directly to the usb port connected to the circuit board?

Sean Meredith-Jones
 
xSPiRiTx said:
in FM3, the USB port is made differently than in FM9 and AxeFX III
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Not quite.

The FM3 has both the USB-B, which all three models have and is required for USB devices, and it has a USB-A, because it was intended to also allow a storage device and the FM3 would act as that device’s host. The USB-A has never been enabled.
 
smj said:
Just a thought, but perhaps if USB is the preferred i/o of choice for daw and gui, some sort of buil
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Predominately, USB is used for the I/O because it's so simple and supports data and audio. We have other choices with the units, but USB "is right there."
smj said:
This would be cool. Even on gigs, my extension is still sitting there on the floor. Perhaps even some built low profile extension could be built in so you're not ever plugging in directly to the usb port connected to the circuit board?
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There are panel mount USB connectors but they have to be hand-mounted to the chassis, and hand-wired to the board, which slows production and increases cost.

Various types of extensions exist in different orientations, but, even with those, we still have to be careful with the connector and avoid bumping it. My FM9 is mounted toward the front of my Duo 24 board to leave extra room on the back to help keep things away from the back of the unit, like feet. My FM3 currently isn't mounted on a board, but again, I'm very careful around it. And, I ONLY connect the USB cable to it when I'm at home because I know they're fragile.

I'm sure the USB spec. committee had their reasons for specifying that particular design, and they mention quick and easy attachment of the cable, which a more robust and secure attachment would have affected, so we're currently stuck with it. Like Matt said above, the EU has MANDATED USB-C use for products being sold there. Manufacturers don't like having multiple versions of chassis and stocking different parts that don't fit the same holes, so the EU has a strong chance of fixing this problem in a future version of everyone's hardware. We'll see what happens.

USB-C doesn't get rid of the problem of damage to the connector; Perhaps a breakaway plug that is designed to sacrifice itself rather than the connector could be designed. Experience has taught us that the more expensive part will break still. :-/
 
jhpearce said:
Yes, I've had that experience. Last April, the USB port failed on my AxeFX III MKII. I sent it in for repair and Fractal sent it out to a third party for repair. It added a few extra weeks to the repair, but it came back and worked perfectly for a year. Within the past month, the USB port has failed again and I'm shipping it back to Fractal
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Just to give you an update on my most recent USB failure -- Fractal contacted me yesterday to say they've received and bench-checked my unit. Once again, they'll have to send it to a third-party for repair and it'll take the third-party 6 to 8 weeks to swap-out the chip. Just like last time, the cost of bench-checking and repair will be $90 and I'm responsible for shipping both to and from Fractal. It is what it is.

As a last comment, my unit doesn't move from my office. I put it in place and leave it alone, so my two failures have had nothing to do with the USB connector.
 
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