NS3 Compact - Programs change on their own!

[ericL]

Hi there forum,

I've started noticing a really troubling issue on my NS3 Compact which I've seen mostly in Song mode when I'm using several programs and switching between them (program buttons 1-3). The board will randomly change programs without me touching the panel. This can be very jarring during a song when the sound abruptly changes.

I've had prior issues with this NS3 documented here that were of a similar nature though seemed to go away on their own, almost as if an OS update fixed the prior problem. I can't reliably play gigs with this NS3 for now, so I'm porting my recent sounds over to my backup NS3 Compact.

nord-stage-forum-f3/jinxed-more-ns3-pro ... ml#p119796

I made a short video that shows the problem and it happens pretty often, like every 30 seconds or so, though in no apparent order. I believe maybe there's an issue with those program switches. Has anyone seen anything like this? I tried searching without any results.



Thanks,
Eric

[DJKeys]

Hi, Eric-

I saw an intermittent problem like this on my NS3C where the drawbar display would indicate a change, but I hadn't touched any of them. I turned of the unit and worked each drawbar back and forth for while and have not seen it again.

Does this happen in Program mode as well with Live 1=5? I would turn the unit off and work each button repeatedly a number of times, maybe there is a small piece of dust or debris causing the problem-

-dj

[ericL]

Thanks dj, that's a good thought about maybe the buttons have some kind of debris. I may shoot some compressed air in there or maybe open up the panel and have a look from inside. It pains me to think of needing to send this off for service somewhere for such a random and obscure (yet very disruptive) problem.

Thanks,
Eric

[Muzz61]

Hi Eric

I am currently having the same problem on my NS3 88 in Song Mode. Exactly the same as in your video - program will randomly change in mid song. Not good for gigging!

Eric, did you have any luck resolving this issue?

Have a good day!

Murray

[ericL]

Hi Eric

I am currently having the same problem on my NS3 88 in Song Mode. Exactly the same as in your video - program will randomly change in mid song. Not good for gigging!

Eric, did you have any luck resolving this issue?

Have a good day!

Murray

Sadly, I have not taken time to dig deeper into the issue. I have a backup NS3 that functions properly and I've been using that one for the few pandemic gigs I've had the past couple of months. Probably over the upcoming holidays, I may look into opening up my older NS3 and trying to blast some compressed air around those buttons as a start. I'll keep you posted. Please share if you come across any remedies.

Thanks,
Eric

[ericL]

I wanted to bump this 3+ year old thread after I found it...I had a few weird things going on with one of my NS3 Compact units over time...one of them being the one here in this thread and another one where the Split menu would randomly come to the forefront and preclude any additional changes on the panel, unless I toggled the power switch off and started fresh...and then it would still come back in a minute or two.

All of this led me to keeping the "problem child" NS3 Compact (which was an early unit) as ONLY a rehearsal/backup instrument, and my newer NS3 Compact for gigs.

Over the years, I've experimented with De-Oxit spray on the older NS3 and I've been very reliably using it with ZERO problems now over a year or more. I think there was maybe some kind of crud under the buttons that was causing these random error situations.

I am always a little bit tentative about the situation and will try as hard as I can to keep my newest NS3 as my primary gigging board...yet I love rotating them and I have a few newer projects where I don't always have the most current Programs/Songs loaded into the most reliable unit.

All of this to say that I made a breakthrough with the contact cleaner and I'm happily playing shows with both of my NS3 Compact units.

[CanIHazKeys]

Hey Eric (by the way, my name is also Eric L... it must be, like, sychronicity, bro )... when you say that you had a breakthrough with "contact spray", what exactly do you mean? If you remember from the thread I posted, my issues with my NE6D started when a swarm of gnats all got attracted to the bright glowing white keys during an outdoor festival nighttime set, and the next day I was blowing clouds of dead ones out from between every conceivable crack between keys and switches/buttons. I have tried canned air on several occasions since then, hoping something would fly out of there, particularly around the bank "page down" button and the "octave up" button, as those are the buttons that will sometimes seem to continaully and repeatedly press thmselves. But no luck.

Is the "contact cleaner" the De-Oxit spray you mention in your last post? How are you using it, or how did you use it, that has solved the problem for you?

Appreciate it, gad I found this forum. Really hoping I don't have to send it off, but if I do, now would be the best time to do so because we have a few weeks off of gigs. I believe the nearest Nord certified repair person is in a city about 2 hours from me, so I could actually drive there rather than mail my Nord. But still tryinbg to determine whether they'd be able to do anything, and before that, if I can just do something myself.

[ericL]

That's cool, two people named Eric L that play Nords!

As for the "breakthrough" - yes, it was DeOxit contact cleaner spray and I used several healthy blasts of it around the problem buttons. In my case, this was the program buttons and the split buttons. These were buttons that had been randomly changing between each other without any button presses. I have not had a single additional problem since then, and it has been a few years.

Another more recent breakthrough with DeOxit was on a Roland XV-3080 rack unit I picked up earlier this year. The power button had some pesky behavior where it would get stuck in the off or on position, randomly yet often enough to be concerning. I sprayed some DeOxit around the power button and it behaves normally now.