FR8 keeps restarting when I switch it ON.

[HiTechBiniou]

Hi everyone and especially Ventura and Jerry PH.

On a outside gig yesterday, my FR8 re-started right in a middle of a performance. I though it was because it was very hot outside (28C) but today in my climatised studio, it did it again. Worst, now, when I switch it on, it keeps looping the re-start and wont start at all.

My FR8 is broken and I can not use it for any gigs!

Any help well appreciated.

 

[Ventura]

i can only speak generally on the FR8

battery problems are known to cause strange behavior..
aborted re-starts are known to happen from below threshold voltage on some models

is the battery fully charged ? the battery may have a dead cell.. can it be
taken out and can an FR8 run on just the power supply with no battery inside ?
maybe Jerry knows that answer

at least this is something you can try, though i am told it is not easy
getting into the battery compartment

good luck

 

[HiTechBiniou]

i can only speak generally on the FR8

battery problems are known to cause strange behavior..
aborted re-starts are known to happen from below threshold voltage on some models

is the battery fully charged ? the battery may have a dead cell.. can it be
taken out and can an FR8 run on just the power supply with no battery inside ?
maybe Jerry knows that answer

at least this is something you can try, though i am told it is not easy
getting into the battery compartment

good luck

Thanks Ventura and BTW how are you doing? We use to chat a lot on the alt.sqeezebox Usenet forum long time ago... Yes, I am doing a battery recharge as we speak and will try taking the battery out and run it with only the AC cord.

 

[HiTechBiniou]

ARHhhh! Nope, after charging the battery, no luck. After removing the battery and run with only AC cord, no luck either.

Seriously, I can NOT live without my FR8X. I love it so much when it does work. I don't even have an acoustic accordion anymore...

 

[JerryPH]

Time to call the Roland repair center in Richmond Ontario. When you do call them, be straight, be calm and ask how they could best help you. Expect some potential issues with getting parts, and be ready to for possible nice surprises, but also for possible high expenses for repairs/parts replacements if needed.

Roland - Support - Service & Repair - Repairs and Parts

Repairs and Parts

www.roland.com

A couple years ago the jack board failed on my 8X. Parts cost was likely total $1600. I called first, made arrangements then *drove* from Montreal to Toronto, spent the day there and they fixed it and had the parts on hand to repair everything. They treated me SUPER fair... I ended up paying under $100 for everything.

I am not saying the same would happen to you, but if you don't try and at least talk to them, you won't know.

 

[HiTechBiniou]

Hi JerryPH and thanks for your reply.

Yes, I am aware of your (lucky) story with Roland Canada Services because as you can recall, when I first got my FR8 from eBay in 2019, I too had a jack board issue. You can read about my jack board journey story at the end of this (long) post. I was told then that they DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE. I could not just drop there and hand them my FR8. They stopped doing this... You where lucky Jerry.

Anyway, let me share my story here. My FR8 is back and running OK (I hope)

My Story:

Thank you all for your feedback.

Well, the next day after this original post of mine, I have a big story to tell you.

First, a clarification: Since August of last year, I play outside once a week in the summer and the distance from the parking lot to the place of performance is 600 meters on an asphalt surface with cracks and imperfections. I have a trolley with two rubber wheels but the blows are still quite felt. I may have shaken my FR8 too much! I know a wheeled cart is not recommended for accordions but I thought an electronic FR8 would be more resistant... That said...

During the 2 days period when the FR8 was restarting in a loop, it sometimes happened that it would turn on. For example, after removing the USB key. But that was only short lived.

I once tried to do a reset by pressing the left and right arrows SET buttons simultaneously while turning on the FR8. So, I briefly got the message: "resetting... don't shutdown your FR8" or something like that and a fraction of a second later, it shuts down and restarts after 5 seconds in each startup. Ex. I turn on, it restart every 5 seconds. It doesn't even have time to go to the 4th (blue) window which shows the packs we have installed.

At that point, I was very worried!

Several people pointed to the probable cause of a hardware connector (real and mechanical connector inside the FR8) that was unplugged or partially unplugged due to the asphalt bumps.

So I have :

1. dismantled the grille: push all the connectors I could reach
2. Disassembled the keyboard part and pushed in all the connectors I could see and reach

I put it all back together.

I start up and VOILA! My FR8 boots normally!

BUT THE BELLOW IS AT FIXED MAXIMUM without me being able to vary the intensity even if it is programmed at X-LIGHT!

There, I have no choice but to do a RESET and a complete TEST of the software and components.

So I push down both left and right arrows under SET and restart the FR8.

A blue screen appears with lots of instructions to follow and tests to perform. I do them all especially the one that re calibrates the bellows sensor.

Up until it gets stuck on the MIDI screen. I was instructed to plug in my MIDI cables but they where already plugged in. I've tried unplug and plug them back in but nothing works. I can't even get out of this screen. So, I decide to shut down my FR8.

The startup is normal and my bellows is normal too but I hope all the rest is OK too.

My FR8 is back! But this bug still left me very worried!

I knew it couldn't be a faulty "JACK BOARD" problem as it is often the case with faulty FR8 because I changed it for a new one in 2020. Not me but a guy (Pierre Jean) who works for Serge Duchesne here in Quebec. What a mess this story is too! Let me share my jack board story...

I bought my FR8 in 2019 on eBay from the USA but my FR8 had a lot of problems which put me in a very embarrassing situation on my gigs.

I made the Magog-Verchère (where Pierre Jean lives) trip 4 times and each time, Pierre Jean (the electronic technician who does this as a hobby) does some work on it for me and charge me for the repairs each time. At the end, I had doubts about whether my JACKBOARD worked or not because I didn't know the FR8 yet and I thought the MIDI function had problems. I decide to order a brand new one from Serge Duchesne who sells it to me for $638CAD. Got it a month later.

A week after getting my brand new JACK BOARD, I went to Pierre Jean again in Verchère, Quebec so he can install the new JACKBOARD but he insists on keeping my used jack board which I had paid for the repairs! I was never able to get my used jack board back! They kept it (Pierre Jean and Serge Duchesne). I've never seen that. It is a common practice in the industry to always return used parts to the customer. I wanted to keep it as a backup in case there were any issues like I had this week.

But this time, it was not the jack board luckily.

I hope my FR8 won't fail me in the middle of a contract like it happened to me last Saturday.

But as of today, no more casters knocking on the asphalt cracks and bumps! I will carry my FR8 on my back with my Hohner backpack and carry my chair with my arms. We'll see if I can cover 600 meters...

Thanks again for your valuable feedback and I hope my story helps others.

 

[Ventura]

Thanks Ventura and BTW how are you doing? We use to chat a lot on the alt.sqeezebox Usenet forum long time ago...

Hey Mario..

glad to catch up to you again

last we chatted you had opened up a Piano shop ?

well you have had more than your share of problems with your FR8,
i hope it stays reliable for you now

i still say the original FR7 is the most reliable of all the models

if you watch the New York and Philadelphia Craigslists, occasionally
one of those wonderful Sprung wheeled accordion cases from Bell
pops up for sale (sometimes with an old accordion in it that is worth
less than the case)

these are still the best ever.. big coil springs between two aluminum plates

i also have a soft pneumatic convertible Dolly/Cart, and it is pretty
gentle too, though i always lift slightly the front when in Cart position
over bumps, while the back wheels are 10" and very soft and forgiving

Soft switching devices like our modern Rolands have a long list of things
it checks when you ask it to turn on, and all systems must report correctly
or else.. but there is little feedback for which particular system is negative
or having a problem

i do miss the old days when half our Amplifier tubes could blow out and
we would still have enough power to finish the gig
(my Altec's were phenomenally reliable) and maybe the Cordovox would lose
one note or the Vibrato would get strange, but we could still play !

ciao

 

[JerryPH]

Hi JerryPH and thanks for your reply.

I could not just drop there and hand them my FR8. They stopped doing this... You where lucky Jerry.

Anyway, let me share my story here. My FR8 is back and running OK (I hope)

Hey Mario, a long story BUT it has a happy ending and I am glad of that. In time, thanks to the simple fact that it is an electronic instrument, all 8X are going to fail... sad but true. My recommendation, as a professional, don't place all your eggs in one basket, meaning not only to find a backup 8X if it is that important for you, but more so... practice and work to be functional with an acoustic... JUST IN CASE the digitals fail you.. Just my 2 cents.

That part about not getting your old parts back... super odd. Dishonest mechanics do that and then install your old part on the next car (because it was not defective in the first place). I don't know if this is what they are doing, but a bad part is a bad part and SHOULD be in a bag with your accordion. Roland Canada asked me if I wanted my defective board, I had no desire to keep it so they tossed it in the bin in front of me.

Serge Duchesne was NEVER a team player. I know him back from the early 70's when I was a member of Marcel Proulx's "Les Accordeonistes" (I believe he even took music/accordion lessons from Proulx, he was an amazing instructor of mine for many years. Proulx himself was a student of Carmen Carozza and Charles Magnante). Duchesne was often invited to join the orchestra, the most he ever did was ONCE play while strolling for us during an intermission, he never wanted to play in the orchestra.

Even at 13 years old, I found him odd/different and did not interact with him as much as others.

Man, this Pierre Jean dude... definitely not a Roland authorized tech, I'd not give him access to my 8X if he was the one paying me... 'nuff said about this gent.

Just a small note about my experience, I did not just drive there and go "surprise, I am here, fix my 8X"... lol. I called and made arrangements with them. There was also a comment made that due to the fact that this was an 8X that was bought in Canada (the original owner bought it from Nantes music store in Montreal and I have the original invoice), they would honor the warranty, even if expired AND past warranty date, so they checked if they had the part in stock, which it was and a few days later I drove down on the pre-arranged date and they took care of me.

Mayby I *was* lucky, but they are a Roland authorized repair center and they should have been able to help you in some way... I think at the time you were not open to sending it to them or something like that, right?

 

[Ventura]

actually, i am thinking the more practical "backup" for an 8
is simply a 4x

 

[Pbraido]

Hey Mario, a long story BUT it has a happy ending and I am glad of that. In time, thanks to the simple fact that it is an electronic instrument, all 8X are going to fail... sad but true. My recommendation, as a professional, don't place all your eggs in one basket, meaning not only to find a backup 8X if it is that important for you, but more so... practice and work to be functional with an acoustic... JUST IN CASE the digitals fail you.. Just my 2 cents.

That part about not getting your old parts back... super odd. Dishonest mechanics do that and then install your old part on the next car (because it was not defective in the first place). I don't know if this is what they are doing, but a bad part is a bad part and SHOULD be in a bag with your accordion. Roland Canada asked me if I wanted my defective board, I had no desire to keep it so they tossed it in the bin in front of me.

Serge Duchesne was NEVER a team player. I know him back from the early 70's when I was a member of Marcel Proulx's "Les Accordeonistes" (I believe he even took music/accordion lessons from Proulx, he was an amazing instructor of mine for many years. Proulx himself was a student of Carmen Carozza and Charles Magnante). Duchesne was often invited to join the orchestra, the most he ever did was ONCE play while strolling for us during an intermission, he never wanted to play in the orchestra.

Even at 13 years old, I found him odd/different and did not interact with him as much as others.

Man, this Pierre Jean dude... definitely not a Roland authorized tech, I'd not give him access to my 8X if he was the one paying me... 'nuff said about this gent.

Just a small note about my experience, I did not just drive there and go "surprise, I am here, fix my 8X"... lol. I called and made arrangements with them. There was also a comment made that due to the fact that this was an 8X that was bought in Canada (the original owner bought it from Nantes music store in Montreal and I have the original invoice), they would honor the warranty, even if expired AND past warranty date, so they checked if they had the part in stock, which it was and a few days later I drove down on the pre-arranged date and they took care of me.

Mayby I *was* lucky, but they are a Roland authorized repair center and they should have been able to help you in some way... I think at the time you were not open to sending it to them or something like that, right?

Hi Jerry I had a similar experience with my 8X Dallape that I bought for a very good deal from someone in Montreal who didn’t use it or like it - the jack board started giving me problems so I called Roland repairs in Richmond Hill I believe Kaz was the repair Tech and said they had the board there and to bring it in I paid $100 for the repair which is a minimum charge and they changed the jack board and it’s been good since - cross my fingers. I believe the accordion was originally bought from Andersons Accordions around Burlington

 

[JerryPH]

Hi Jerry I had a similar experience with my 8X Dallape that I bought for a very good deal from someone in Montreal who didn’t use it or like it - the jack board started giving me problems so I called Roland repairs in Richmond Hill I believe Kaz was the repair Tech and said they had the board there and to bring it in I paid $100 for the repair which is a minimum charge and they changed the jack board and it’s been good since - cross my fingers. I believe the accordion was originally bought from Andersons Accordions around Burlington

Good morning! Yes it was Kaz that worked on mine, the man is a mag9cian and really knows his stuff.

 

[JerryPH]

actually, i am thinking the more practical "backup" for an 8
is simply a 4x

For me, backup related to exact copy, the 4x has too many differences and adjustments to accommodate, but that’s just me.