PADS WEARING OUT???? HERE'S A SOLUTION

Whats up guys?

I had a problem with the sensitivity of pads 1 and 2 on my mpc. I aquired the MPC 2nd hand on ebay, so i have no clue how the previous owner banged the pads...but i haven't been too rough with em, so i was kinda upset about the sensitivity.

I opened up the mpc and took a look at the pad sensors. Well, it looks like they indeed have a graphite pad on the sensor. It appeared that the graphite was a little worn down. Though just a little worn, it still affected the sensitivity by ten fold. Well, here's the solution.

If any of you are familiar with putting computers together, you'll know what thermal grease is. Well, i applied a layer of thermal grease over the graphite pad, and leveled it out. This created a thicker compound pad for the rubber pad to trigger, thus improving sensitivity.

Its not working 100%, but its pretty damn close. And its ALOT cheaper than paying 16 bucks for a new pad. Thermal grease is available at most stores that you can get computer processors at.

It's workin great for me so far...more news if i run into any problems with it!

PEACE!!

HHmm, is the pads like how joypads are? with the magnetic contact in em?

whoa, nice mannen! kan du inte posta en picture tutorial kanske? sånt är poppis här...

Peace

this sounds awesome, i might just order some thermal grease now.

do you think there's any likelihood of it damaging anything?

pretty brilliant workaround there, man

Disclaimer: I haven't opened my MPC to look at the pads. My unit is in a mission critical app right now so I don't want to open it up at the moment.

I'm kind of wondering about this. Thermal grease is nonconductive. The graphite inserts on elastomer keypads (eg cellphones) are conductive to bridge the exposed fingers on the circuit board. Generally crud, grease etc between these two surfaces interferes with the button operation. For this kind of contact, disassembly and cleaning is usually the answer.

But I am talking out my a**. I don't have a clue how the MPC pad is constructed, and I should just shut up and go look at it. Test all goops on uncritical areas though. Some products eat plastic for breakfast. Thermal grease is designed for metal on metal.

Well, to answer yours questions...

Thermal grease is a non-corrosive compound.

The pad on the sensor isn't magnetic. Instead its a rubber-like pad. All it does is create a a solid surface connection between the sensor on the board, and the rubber pad that you 'hit'. So in no way, it shouldn't corrode anything, and it wont affect any connections due to the fact that no electrical surfaces are exposed.

The black pad that sits on the circuit board apeared worn out in the middle. So i aplied a 1mm layer of thermal grease over the pad to improve connectivity. Works great!

I'm lookin at it this way...in the condition they were in, i would've had to completely replace pads. If this method to fixing it has a side effect, then whatever i buy new pads...but if not i fixed it for cheaper. They dont work like brand new, but they're pretty close. I just had to mess with the sensitivity curve a lil, but it works great!

i would also like to see a picture tutorial just to make sure i dont mess anything up. that would be really helpful and i would love you for it.

and im just wondering, if you set the pads to full level now, are they like new pads? meaning, do the pads trigger every time now, or is it still a hit or miss?

enigma, this is a really sick idea. what type of thermal grease did you use, or is it all the same?

i think i'm going to try this on one of my pads.

brilliant!

can you replace pads yourself, or do we gotta send mpcs in for that?

outta curiousity,,,

yea u can change pads yourself, if its anything like da 2000xl open up tha top panel and peel em off and put the new ones in

Yo whats up guys

I'll put a pic tutorial together sometime soon to help you all, but it really is simple. Just take the top off of the MPC, and unscrew the panel that the pads sit on, and pull the cables off of it so you can pull it off.

Then you'll see these black 'clamps' that hold the rubber pad on the sensor, so unfold the tabs that secure them with something like a small screw driver and pull the pads off. This might take a little coaxing. But be gentle.

From here all you have to do is apply a thin 1-2mm layer of thermal grease on the black pad that sits on the sensor. You'll know what i'm talking about when u see it.

And to answer the question regarding the effectivness of this...

The pads hit everytime. You still have to hit them slightly firmer, but they hit. No completely dead pads.

I'm sure the outcome will vary from person to person, but i reassure you, this works!

And about the thermal grease, all thermal greases are the same. You can even get thermal pads, which are just squares of the grease kinda dried up in a pad form. That might work as well.

what's the consistency of this stuff? would we have to grease our mpcs frequently?

This would be a one time deal...unless of course u beat the crap outta your pads. Then there's no fixed solution no matter what u do

GOOD SH!T ENIGMA!

PS. If you need a picture tutorial, you shouldnt be opening your mpc.

i think i'm going to do this on a couple of my pads immediately. hell, i could always just wipe off the grease, right?

really good stuff for your first couple posts. keep it up, you're already a guru in my opinion. this has been my only issue with the mpc 1000 - and i've just dealt with it because there's no use bitching about something you can't change.

then, when it turns out you've kept quiet and you CAN do something after all, you look that much smarter.

thanks again, fam.