[sdiy] FB D. Smith support concerning encoders behaviour

[Benjamin Budts]

Thought you guys might be interested in the feedback I got from Dave 
Smith Support concerning the rotary encoders and their erratic behaviour.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	RE: erratic behaviour of rotary encoders on your products ?
Date: 	Wed, 3 Feb 2010 14:31:45 -0500
From: 	Technical Support <support at davesmithinstruments.com>
To: 	Benjamin Budts <mailing at gigaspeeds.be>
References: 	<4B65594F.2000104 at gigaspeeds.be>



Hi Benjamin-

Thank you for your interest in our products. 
It does sound like the instruments you tested may have needed some attention on the encoders. 
I don't know how new the Prophet and the Mono Evolver keyboard were, but we have since changed encoders and manufacturers to a more reliable source.

The MoPho and the Tetra use identical parts for the encoders, as well as the Evolver desktop. 
These are Panasonic detented encoders. 
The Tetra and MoPho also share the same encoder code, so they should have behaved exactly the same. 
With virtually any device that uses rotary encoders, it is possible to turn the encoder faster than the software can interpret the data, so it is likely that is what was happening on some of them.

The PE editions of our instruments were a response to customer feedback. Some customers prefer potentiometers with 270 degrees of rotation rather than endless encoders, so we made the PE edition as a result. 
The "performance" parameters have all been changed to pots which allows you to do things such as smooth full range filter sweeps and the like, while the "data entry" parameters such as the modulation section and similar remain (now detented) encoders for easier data entry.

One last thing to note is we always stand behind our products and we do everything we can to help our customers if there is ever a problem, whether your instrument is 6 months old or 6 years old we will always make it right for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Many Thanks,


Tracy
Dave Smith Instruments