MVP-8400 External Buttons

Brad.Odegard

I've been having an intermittent problem at one customer site with the external buttons on an MVP-8400 failing to work. Soft buttons with the same channel ID's work fine, indicating that the code is running correctly. Rebooting the panel seems to clear the problem until some random time in the future.

I spoke with AMX tech support yesterday, and was told that this has been observed by a few of the Tech Support guys on their panels. Engineering is aware of the problem, but it hasn't been a "hot-button" item for them because they haven't had any trouble calls from customers. Apparently I'm the first "field install" to report this problem which will hopefully elevate the emphasis on this bug.

Has anyone else run into this problem?

Brad

vining

disregard!

DHawthorne

I have had this issue many times with several customers. One of my customers insists on a panel replacement if it happens to him too often on the same panel, and it's a considerable load on the profit margin for both me and AMX.

I have narrowed it down to the center button in the nav cluster on the right. It gets stuck. Regardless of the little spring in there, it sometimes does not release pressure on the button below, and this locks up all the remaining hardware buttons. Jiggle that center button a little, and everything works again.

Though this almost always frees everything right up, my one customer refuses to accept it as a permanent solution. I believe, in his way, he is trying to pressure AMX to re-engineer the things by making them replace his panels. I dutifully supply a replacement, and send his old one in for repair, get a new case and buttons if it's worn, and try to re-sell it. His last one is now my bench test panel.

If it were just this one customer, I would say he just has too heavy a hand on that one button, but I have had several customers complain of it. The others are willing to jiggle it to get going again, and once I explained it to them, I haven't heard from them again. I believe, after some regular use (and not really all that much), the membrane of that button loses just enough flex that the dome doesn't pop back into position all the time. This button issue and the way-too-easy wear on the plastic cases are a huge problem with this panel series. They need a chassis re-design badly, and I am certain all of us are losing market share over it, especially now that C has a panel that looks pretty near as nice for a third the cost.