I recently replaced the encoders on my Xpander and it was not that difficult to get the caps off the encoders. they should come up with a slight amount of pressure. The tricky part is that they are fitted very tight with very little "space" between the cap and the rim of the encoder shaft (at least mine were fitted very tight. It may vary from unit to unit). I had to use an exacto-blade and carefully work it underneath the cap edge as to not damage the encoder or the cap itself. Once I got the blade under the edge, I only had to apply a small bit off pressure to lift them off.
Also make sure you use the right desoldering technique when replacing the actual encoders. The old solder on my Xpander was difficult to get off on a couple of the encoders, and eventually I had to clip a couple of them which made it diificult to get the new ones to get a solid connection. I eventually got a stable solder down. Long and tedious work though.
good luck. Its worth it in the end. I love the feel of new encoders on the Xpander. They are still detented, but nowhere near as loud and "clicky" as the originals were. Much smoother and quiter operation. And they turn much faster while still giving pecise movement when slowed down.
On Saturday, March 23, 2013, orangefunk wrote:
Thinking of replacing the encoders at some point as one of them is out and another is intermittent. I have the excellent Xplorer software but functions like pan position aren't possible from it.
But I am having some concern about how to remove the caps from the current encoders. The ones on my Matrix 12 feel like they are glued on and won't budge a millimetre. How are they fastened? Should they come off easily?
Best regards
