axon lovers unite

Started by musicamex, October 24, 2014, 09:31:03 AM

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musicamex

Im curious how many axon users are still out there.  I love mine and want to keep them going.  Is it possible to make a registry here and keep our machines singing?

Like for instance, what is a good source for memory battery replacement?

A piezo triggered axon in multi split mode is unrivaled imho.  It is a shame terratec didn't make a floor model to appeal to a gigging musician.  Had they done that they would still be in the mix imho.

Riffin

Elantric

#1
Member "Arkieboy" knows the most about Axon here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=4775


Here is a link to battery replacement
http://web.archive.org/web/20151002144859/http://me.ineptum.home.comcast.net/~me.ineptum/ax-100/battery/

http://me.ineptum.home.comcast.net/~me.ineptum/ax-100/battery/

Replacing the battery in an AX-100
The Axon AX-100 guitar-to-midi converter uses a NiCd battery to power its CMOS backup memory. Eventually this battery will stop working and you will lose whatever setup you had stored and you will have a hard time replacing the battery. Here's how I replaced mine.
The original battery
The original battery in my AX-100 was an Emmerich Z2A which is a 2.4V 65mAh NiCd battery. A Google search for "65mAh nicd" turned up some stuff in Poland and Germany and some other places, but nothing nearby. Try it yourself. Emmerich actually brags about producing non-standard batteries if you can believe it.
Update: It's now 2008. I clicked the "try it yourself" link above and behold, 65mAh NiCd batteries are now available for about $1+shipping on my continent, although they're 1.2V so it would still take two of them.
The original battery was soldered onto the main circuit board. This is bad design for a couple reasons: it is not convenient to replace, and if it leaks it may take out something on the board with it.
The new battery
Since I couldn't find anything on the same continent in a 65mAh NiCd, I went with two 1.2V 110mAh NiCd cells from DigiKey. I've bought a lot of stuff from DigiKey and like them a lot.
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/P-11AAH%2FA7/P109-ND/6652?WT.srch=1&WT.medium=cpc&WT.mc_id=IQ65015717-VQ2-g-VQ6-40609416435-VQ15-1t1-VQ16-c

The two cells together make a 2.4V 110mAh battery.
The battery holder
The new cells are 1/3AA size. I couldn't find any battery holders for these, so I got an enclosed battery holder for 2 AA batteries at my local Radio Shack.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062252&filterName=Type&filterValue=AA

I hacksawed out 2/3 of a AA battery worth of length, which was conveniently equal to the section between the two springs, and super glued the holder and cover back together after doing some sanding on the cut edges to make sure everything was straight and even and would fit back together nicely.
Unlike the AA batteries the holder was designed for, the new batteries do not have protruding buttons on the positive end to make contact with the holder's metal tabs, so I compensated by putting solder blobs on the holder's metal tabs. Now I have a very nice enclosed battery holder that shuts securely with a screw, and the batteries will be easily replaceable, and if anything leaks it should be contained.
The finished battery holder is really quite cute. Here it is with the cover removed:


   Photograph of shortened battery holder
Increasing the charging current
Since my new 110mAh battery was greater capacity than the 65mAh original, I thought it would be appropriate to increase the charging current in approximate proportion, since that seems to be what NiCd batteries want. The battery charges through 2K2 resistor R21. I paralleled it with a 2K resistor. This more than doubles the current, to maybe 2mA, which is still pretty weak since a real trickle charge for a 110mAh NiCd would be about 5.5mA.
One end of the new 2K resistor is soldered to the left end of D21, the other to the positive battery lead:
   Closeup photo of how new resistor was added


Installation

I spliced some wires onto the battery holder's wires and covered the splices with heat shrink tubing for insulation and strength, and bound the wires together with heat shrink tubing for neatness. I snipped out the original battery, left the leads for soldering to, and soldered away.
Here it is with the daughtercard removed:
   Overview photo of complete installation

Because I soldered onto the original battery leads instead of using a removable connector, I used velcro to attach the battery holder inside the case so it can be easily removed with the main circuit board should the need arise, e.g., to replace power supply capacitors.
Conclusion
Yes, it was time consuming, but I'm happy with the results.
Disclaimer
If you attempt this or any other modification to your equipment and mess it up, that is entirely your responsibility.

arkieboy

Hi Musicamex


I still use my Axon occasionally - I just don't do the in-your-face synth thing as much as I used to.  The combination with my Brian Moore iGuitar was the best tracking I have ever had from a guitar synth, and the configuration was pretty flexible.  Although I still have a soft spot for my old GM70/G707 combination which while slow, was a very solid tracking platform


Steve
Main rig: Barden Hexacaster and Brian Moore i2.13 controllers
Boss SY1000/Boss GKC-AD/Boss GM-800/Laney LFR112

Other relevant gear: Line 6 Helix LT, Roland GR-33, Axon AX100 MkII
Oberheim Matrix 6R, Supernova IIR, EMu E5000, Apple Mainstage, Apple Logic, MOTU M4

musicamex

Thanks for the replies so far.  Elantric, how many of you are there?  It amazes me how fast and thoroughly you reply.  I love the battery idea.  I was thinking of doing something similar with a pair of aaa eneloops and swamping the excess v with a trim pot, but this solution looks excellent too.  When i measure the v when a stock axon battery starts to fail it is below 1.5v, so i suspect maybe the range of what will actually work might be greater. I still have 3 left i got from terratec while they still had them and they held up well in the refrigerator in a pill bottle.  At least last time i looked.

Steve, i too think the axon 100 mk11 and even the old blue chip is the best of the 13 pin choices out there.  I built my synth guitars going back to 2005 when i found piezos worked best for me.  I still have some piezo elements left over from early experiments building saddles.  I hope more axon aficionados chime in here.

All the best from sunny (hot) mexico, riffin

GeePeeAxe

I decided to keep my AX 50 because it is really fast and accurate.
Sold the VG-99 because it was a major disappointment regarding midi conversion.
Maybe one day Roland releases a unit like the VG-99, with 2 models and dual signal path AND MIDI but FAST and ACCURATE.
Until this day I'll use my faithful Axon, which works fine with Windows 7 64bit and my other midi gear.

musicamex

Other than a little test time during a NAMM show i have little experience with the AX50.  I have an old Blue chip AX 100 with the Yamaha soundcard and the last breed AX100mkII with the stock, so so soundcard powering an emu proteus 2000 with the composer  soundcard.  They are in the same small rack with a vg99, a helicon voice live gtx, a jam man looper and several control pedals.  It provides endless fun when i finally get to that part of the day.  This mini rack is by the side of my bed, less than an arm's length away.