War of the Ants not working?

Helpdesk
1

Dear You.
My War of the Ants suddenly seems to give up. It’s not, at least to me, producing any pattern.
Is it broken, or am I doing something wrong here? Been successful with this patch before.
Grateful for all help.

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2

Mine also stops working after a couple of minutes. So far I know its because of the temperature (which is not really hot anyway) but, you can check if thats the case on your system.

So turn up your system and wait for WoA to stop working, and the point a fan to it and see if it comes back to life! I suggest you temporary removing the fluxus so you have more effective cooling during these tests I proppose.

3

Luix!
Cheers mate…
I did follow your advice, but unfortunately it didn’t create any difference at all.
But hanks again.

4

Try adjusting the trimmer on the rear of the module. My guess is that it is set too close to the avalanche threshold, which is effected by temperature. If you nudge it a bit, you should restore functionality. My advice is to adjust it while powered on, after it’s had a chance to warm up. Adjust the trimmer just until you see the noise again, then stop.

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5

Thanks, for the the advice. Unfortunately I have already returned it - which is a pity cos I need it… But again thanks.

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6

Here’s a guide for correcting the “no noise visible” issue for future readers.

  1. Unmount your module so you can access the rear PCB, but leave it connected to EuroRack power supply. Monitor the “White noise” output jack.
  2. Wait for 5 minutes or so, so that it warms up to operating temperature. Grab a small philips screwdriver.
  3. While monitoring the output, adjust the trimmer highlighted in red in the below image. Turn it slowly until you see noise reappear on the output jack. Stop.
  4. Power off your system. Wait a bit. Turn it back on and verify that the noise output still looks good. It should, as long as you didn’t over-adjust the trimmer. If not, make another tweak and try again.
  5. Should be all good now!

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7

Upon recommendation from Chad and Lars, I just used a standard trimmer tweaker (not philips head—a straight blade plastic insulated tool similar to GC Electronics 8608). Worked great, just like the old-fashioned blue plastic trimpots.

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8

Thanks, this was very helpful. One of my WotAs needed the trimmer treatment, as its noise was fading in amplitude after a few minutes of patching, every time. So happy I didn’t need to send it in.

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