Bizarre Stepper behavior

[jcrowley]

Hello,

I seem to be having difficulty with the stepper system.

Yesterday (014/16/2025) I removed my organ bench and reset three magnet positions for the Hall switch system from MIDI Boutique. I did not remove the switches - I only removed and reset the magnets on three notes (they would turn off when deployed, especially when more weight was put on the key.

I got that all fixed. Then I moved the pedalboard on it's end to do a yearly cleaning under the pedals and to install edging on the platform. I did not unplug the wires (MIDI and POWER) because they are quite long, I got the edging on - waited for the glue to dry (so about 24 hours), then moved the pedalboard back in place and stored the wires correctly. I am not pinching any wires when I placed them back.


The only thing that I changed was I removed a toe stud and replaced it with a Bluetooth page turner. I also shut the Toe stud daughter board off after removing a piston. I do not even use the pistons so it wasn't a deal-breaker. That is for a later date.

The problem is now that everything is back together and during rehearsal the stepper system is randomly changing the stops. It isn't even going through the stepper sequence, just turning stops on and off and only when I am playing the pedal. The manual stops do not change and they are the correct stops for the sequence. I can reset the stepper frame, but it does the same thing when I try to start over again.

Thanks,

Jeffery

[mdyde]

Hello Jeffrey,

Probably your MIDI console is sending some unintended MIDI messages that are configured to trigger some functions within Hauptwerk.

On the General Preferences screen in Hauptwerk, try turning on the "Diagnostics: log all MIDI messages received and sent" option. Then as soon as the problem next occurs, use "Help | View activity log" and look near the end of the log to see what MIDI events were received and which Hauptwerk functions they triggered.

[jcrowley]

I think that I have found the culprit.

I stated that I did not unplug anything, but when I pulled the pedalboard out to look at the connections - Voile! Low and behold the MIDI cable is not just nearly severed at the rubber tension 5-pin plug. It is smushed for a better word.....

The more I thought of this I thought how can this be a software issue, because something was causing the wires to short out or send false signals.

The crazy thing is that I have the controller attached to the treble side of the pedalboard in a little corner pocket with a hand-built protective box around it. Both the DC power and the MIDI Cables have plenty of room to maneuver around. Apparently not. So I purchased a 90° plug on both sides of the MIDI cable to eliminate any strain on the wiring.

Of course I had to get this on Amazon because pretty-much no one has a 90° MIDI Plug - even Stillwater, Guitar Center all had to order the product. Yay for Jeff Bezos Boo for the other "musician based companies" and me.

Thanks!

[mdyde]

Thanks, Jeffrey.

Excellent. Hope that fixes it.