PBC Power Cycling - HELP!

Terry Richalds

Well-Known Member
This weekend I played a nine song set and 3 separate times - the PBC appeared to reboot or power cycle - sending me back to the top of my setlist after a few seconds of silence. The rest of my pedalboard did not power cycle. The 1 Spot seemed to be securely plugged in to the PBC as well as the outlet under my board. Sounds weird but I felt like it was happening when I would randomly graze a couple of preset buttons with my foot simultaneously. Anybody else experience this!?!? HELP!
 
The first thing I'd try is to power the PBC separately, with its own adapter, to see if anything changes.
 
I helped my friend set his PBC up last year and MULTIPLE times over a several hour period, I would touch the switches on the PBC by hand (we had his board sitting on a table) and as soon as I touched it, the power would cycle. I could touch the metal housing of the PBC first and it wouldn’t do it. And my friend could touch it with no issue. Only when I touched a switch on it directly. The problem was repeatable every time. We finally narrowed it down to static electricity.

It appears the PBC is static sensitive. Since moving it out of that very specific setup (board on table, standing on carpet where static would develop, etc) he’s had no problems that I know of.
 
I helped my friend set his PBC up last year and MULTIPLE times over a several hour period, I would touch the switches on the PBC by hand (we had his board sitting on a table) and as soon as I touched it, the power would cycle. I could touch the metal housing of the PBC first and it wouldn’t do it. And my friend could touch it with no issue. Only when I touched a switch on it directly. The problem was repeatable every time. We finally narrowed it down to static electricity.

It appears the PBC is static sensitive. Since moving it out of that very specific setup (board on table, standing on carpet where static would develop, etc) he’s had no problems that I know of.

Thanks @shoelesscraig - I'm thinking that's what is going on. Sometimes when I hit my switches in a certain way like on the left side of the PBC... a switch on the very right will engage. I suppose I'll fiddle around with the environment I'm playing in as well as how much I drag my feet haha! :D
 
Make sure that the case screws are all tightened, as well as the nuts on the switches. This insures that the case is well shielded, and that goes a long way towards helping with static issues.
 
Ok I'll go through and meticulously try to tighten everything on my PBC. Last night I had a 12 song gig and the PBC power cycled about 7 times - sending me back to the top of my setlist every time. Even in really critical moments. Pretty awful...

For today's set I put a different 1Spot on it from off the pedalboard and it did the power cycle a couple of times. Then I did my own test and drug my feet on our wooden stage and sure enough - as I just hovered my feet above the PBC buttons - it power cycled yet again. After that I made it a very specific point to not drag my feet and just stomped around - it did NOT power cycle for the last 4 songs.

So I can sure try to remember to N E V E R drag my feet haha - but that's pretty tough to control perfectly. Also at my church several volunteers utilize my board and have it happen to them occasionally as well.

If I make sure all of the case screws and switch nuts are tightened and apparently the power supply isn't the problem - what should be the next step in my gameplan? I have a HUGE conference and 6 Easter services coming up and would love to get a breakthrough in assurance that it won't happen again... :(

HELP!

(I've attached a photo of my board - see anything that concerns you with hardware or wiring?)
 

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This is really strange. I've had my PBC for almost 5 years and have never had it power cycle, and there is tons of static in my bonus room in the winter. I've only ever powered it with Voodoo Labs or Strymon power.

What are the wall warts powering?

My guess is that you're drawing more power than the 1Spot can provide, or there's a grounding issue allowing the static to cause problems, and a higher quality power supply would solve the problem.
 
Just weird - I've tried 2 different True Tone 1Spots and I believe those output around 1,700mA. Should be good. I've also owned mine for 3 years and powered it with a 1Spot the whole time. Not sure what's changed.
 
Ive experienced static discharge reboots as well. If I recall, it was while connected to a computer... Its never been an issue normally. Never on stage. Strymon Zuma here.
 
I'm not sure what to do about this at this point. I don't know why your PBC is so sensitive to static. If we had it here, I would open it up, make sure all internal screws are tight, and that the external case screws are all tightened as well, so that everything is making good contact. I would probably do some measurements to make sure that the ground connections are good. If that's not it, I guess we'll have to replace it, but we won't have any new units for about a month.
 
Ive experienced static discharge reboots as well. If I recall, it was while connected to a computer... Its never been an issue normally. Never on stage. Strymon Zuma here.

In my friend’s scenario above, he WAS connected to a PC as well. Maybe that’s the culprit? Not sure. Good observation though.
 
It doesn't sound like it's the case here (I think?) but there can be ground loop issues with the USB connection, especially if it's long. I bought a USB isolator from Amazon and it fixed some ground loop noise issues here in the lab. There's a post somewhere on here about it. I haven't specifically seen it cause reboots, though.
 
It doesn't sound like it's the case here (I think?) but there can be ground loop issues with the USB connection, especially if it's long. I bought a USB isolator from Amazon and it fixed some ground loop noise issues here in the lab. There's a post somewhere on here about it. I haven't specifically seen it cause reboots, though.

Good to know about the ground loop isolator for USB. Interesting. I don't use it for sound when connected to a computer...so no big deal to me. ...and the reboot only happened a few times. I was just adding some log data for information. It happened those few times when I walked up to the unit and went to hand touch the buttons where it turned off and rebooted. It was after I flashing a program change and I attempted to press the buttons to make sure it did what I just programmed...lol. Normally, I'm pressing buttons with shoes so static typically won't be an issue.
 
I tightened all of the screws and nuts on my PBC and I ordered a Strymon Ojai to power it. Maybe I'll have better days ahead.
 
Below is an unlisted YouTube video that I uploaded showing my PBC power cycling 2 different times due to static.


It's pretty brutal. Notice that I drag my feet a few times to help generate the static.
When I'm playing Live I don't TRY to drag my feet but inevitably it happens - also to other people that use my board Live.
Whenever it happens it sends my PBC back to the top of my setlist after a couple seconds of silence. :(

Things I've tried...

1) I ordered a Strymon Ojai to power it instead of the 1Spot I was using (still power cycles)
2) Tried a DIFFERENT 1 Spot and a different room with different power (still power cycles)
3) Bypassed my pedalboard Neutrik outputs and just plugged straight from the PBC to my amps (still power cycles)
4) Tightened all of the PBC's external screws and switch nuts (still power cycles)
5) A different IEC cable to the side of my board (still power cycles)

My board...

- Temple Trio 21 board with Neutrik input and output jacks soldered to George Ls plugs
- Temple Audio IEC AC Mains Micro Module unit feeds power to Voodoo Lab PP2+ and Strymon Ojai underneath board
- Loops wired up with George Ls patch cables and Switchcraft TRS jacks for the stereo loops
- Midi Solutions Quadra Thru box feeding all MIDI devices
(Not sure if it matters - my PBC right output jack doesn't have the washer nut on it because it didn't come back with one after the first time I sent my PBC in for other repairs)


This is a new problem as I have had my PBC since 2016.
Hypothetically if it is NOT the PBC's fault - is there anything else that could be causing the static reaction?
Could a grounding issue somewhere else on the board or in the loops be causing it?
I'm at a loss right now. I have huge gigs in April and this darn $4,000+ pedalboard is failing me. :confused:
I've attached some photos of my board in case you Ron or anybody else can see something concerning and can help me troubleshoot.

I'm sorry to be a bother... just don't know what to do...
 

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What about removing the PBC from the board and checking to see if it does the same thing. Paths of multiple grounding points are diminished. You're going to have to take the PBC off anyways if you're sending it back for repair. I wouldn't use it in the state it's in right now anyways...too unpredictable.
 
Ok I removed the PBC from the pedalboard and it still power cycles due to static of some sort.
Heres a video of it happening OFF of my pedalboard...


Ron - you mentioned before that the case screws and switch nuts need to be tight for good contact.
Everything seems tight. I attached a picture of the right Output washer missing
Not sure if that could affect anything and this power cycling issue is also new.

Suggestions?
 

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Looks like the washer was on there originally. If that jack is used, without support, it can stress an internal board and potentially damage traces or solder points. I wonder if it’s static resetting the board or if it’s the flexing of internal components which may have a bad connection point.

I think at this point it would be best to have Ron look at it for repair. Just my .02.
 
Yeah, probably best to email us at support at rjmmusic dot com and we can set up an RMA.
 
Looks like the washer was on there originally

Yes the washer WAS on there originally. Didn't come back with one after the first service I sent the PBC in for. Didn't think that would be an issue and needed my PBC back on the board for a coming gig. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Ok I'll email y'all. Thanks!
 
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