Roland Roland Jog Wheel Fix VS880 DAW Jog Wheel Encoder Hack
Intermittent, jerky, glitchy jog wheel encoder on the Roland VS880 digital workstation is a common problem – it renders the machine difficult to operate – there are software workarounds but even those are problematic as I have witnessed myself trying to create one with a CTRLR controller and sysex. A replacement part is difficult to find and fairly expensive for the UK. I did find one but it was used and with postage would cost over £40
[Note: I take no responsibility for any damage or problems that occur if you undertake this fix – it is relatively simple but of you are unsure of soldering and taking apart your machine this is not for you.]
I decided that the only solution was to take the machine apart and see what I was dealing with. I’m not a electronics expert purely DIY amateur at best but I had tried everything else and really wanted to get the most from the VS880.
Parts needed:
Sourcing map 360 Degree Rotary Encoder Code Switch Digital Potentiometer 5 Pins 15mm D-Shaft 2Pcs
- Some wire old
- Solder and soldering iron
- Screwdriver
- Hot Glue(personal choice)
Turning the Roland VSS80 over
I removed the screws below – you can see where I removed them, you only need to take those ones out to remove the the bottom plate. This gives you access to the insides of the machine.
To get access to the jog wheel encoder
We need to remove the power supply – check that you have unplugged from the mains first.
[2nd Note: I take no responsibility for any damage or problems that occur if you undertake this fix – it is relatively simple but of you are unsure of soldering and taking apart your machine this is not for you.]
There are 4 black screws – these are the ones that attach the power supply to the machine – ignore the gold ones.
The frame for the power supply will need a gentle wiggle to remove, it will come out but be gentle.
Roland Jog Wheel Fix Hack – VS880 DAW
You” need to undo the encooder/jog wheel on the front of the machine – taking off the wheel will expose the nut – keep the washer and nut safe.
Inside the machine we need to unhook the the jogwheel from the board itself – be gentle. It should come out with a gentle wiggle. Hold the green plug – don’t pull on the wires.
As you can see I broke my original encoder after attempting to see the part number. This is of no consequence to our hack/fix – you’ll need to remove the old potentiometer.
From the image below you can see I have solder wires to the old circuit. You could possibly clip the wires and solder directly to the potentiometer – I did it this way to I could have the cable extended outside of the machine for testing.
The used wires I found came form an old electrical item with a block I could clip my potentiometer into so I could test – this would allow me to switch the wires around if needed.
If you want to solder you can connect the wires directly by following the markings on the original assembly board.
Put everything back together – start with the encoder – the encoder I used is slightly smaller for the nut and washer so I used the old washer in combination with the new washer and nut to get a snug fit. I also had to adjust the centre line when I added the plastic jog wheel as it was slightly off centre which meant it scraped a little on the sides. Some gentle finessing fixed the problem.
This worked for me and even though this is probably not the best workthrough you will have seen I hope it can give you an idea of how to fix this problem.
I should have taken pictures at the beginning but I wasn’t sure if this would work. Anyway hope it helps
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[Note: I take no responsibility for any damage or problems that occur if you undertake this fix – it is relatively simple but of you are unsure of soldering and taking apart your machine this is not for you.]
Adventures with the Roland VS880 – CF Card and CF to IDE Reader