Q-Link AFTER buttons not working anymore - reason???

Hey there!
So I figured id finally run this by the MPC community to see if somebody with working knowledge of the internal hardware might be able to enlighten me on what may be going on exactly...

In short, long long ago back around 2006/2007 when my MPC was still under warranty i sent it back to Akai to get a new set of pads put in... what they ended up replacing was my pads, the sensors, and also the right side pcb where the majority of the buttons and data wheel reside. Anyways... so when I got it back it worked great, but ever since its return my Q-Links AFTER buttons have been DOA and Ive also never been able to use them inside TRIM mode anymore.... shortly after discovering this I contacted Akai about the issue but they never responded to my query and I eventually just let it slide and lived with the minor issue since it wasnt massively used part of the MPC for me...

Well years later, I find myself from time to time really wishing I had the functionality of those buttons again and so Im wondering if anyone might have a clue as to what would be causing them to simply not function whatsoever??? For the record, the Q-Link sliders do work perfectly fine for automating something like real time pitch, filt, etc. or to adjust a level in the mixer... but for TRIM mode its a no go, and the AFTER buttons have never worked since I received it back a long time ago.

Any idea of what where to start looking first to solve the issue?
Thanks

steezo! wrote:I contacted Akai about the issue but they never responded to my query

Bastards!

It seems you have to replace the tact switches for the Q-Link after buttons. This requires opening the unit up and soldering in some new tacts. It may as well be a cable that´s not plugged in properly...

Has anyone tried to replace tact switches from the Ren to these old MPCs? I hear the Ren switches are sturdier.

Hi,
I really dont think its the tact switches.... I almost never used the AFTER buttons even when they were operational years ago... My assumption is either that Akai technicians did not connect a cable to a PCB completely, or something became inoperable by accident after they fixed my other broken components... Ive taken my 1000 apart before, but i never ventured to take apart the q-link side in order to check the connections yet... I plan to soon since I will be upgrading to fat pads this next month finally hence my post.

...Just trying to figure out where to investigate first for Q-Link buttons that are not working since I only have a general working knowledge of where that part of the hardware might fail.

Thanks

steezo! wrote:I really dont think its the tact switches.... I almost never used the AFTER buttons even when they were operational years ago...

Don´t underestimate Nukai´s archness. Their shitty components break just by looking at them. It´s sad but true.

Best would be to open it up and look for loose connections. Re-seat the relevant cables and see if that helps. If not you should solder in a new tact or at least use some DeoxIT D5 on the old one to narrow the problem down!

Sounds good. Crossing my fingers that its just a cable that needs to be seated tighter. Do you know if that particular cable is accessible from the top or do I need to unscrew the Q-Link PCB in order to get to it? Its been a minute since I last opened this puppy up.

Stoked to report that it turned out to be a cable that was previously not seated 100% into the right side PCB board from Akai's technicians 8 years back when they swapped out my pads and right side pcb.

Soooo happy to have that functionality back, i missed it the most in TRIM mode.

Final result after I fixed and updated everything....
All blacked out w/ Glow in the Dark Thick Pads.