My Q-Tron Scorched!

I plugged in my Q-Tron this evening - the first chance I've had to do so in a few weeks - and poof: the effect does not work. It operates in bypass - quite nicely, I might add - but not when the effect is engaged. I tried swapping cables, swapping power supplies (with that of my BMS, as they are identical), and ran it by itself (without the other effects in my loop), and no dice.

To say the effect is fried, at this point in the post, is premature. However, when I opened up the bottom, to see if it had indeed scorched, lo and behold: at three points on the board, there were slight discolorations - trace amounts of a dark brown (the PCB is green). And when I smelled it - burnt circuit boards emit an odor - my worst fears came true. I took it to a more knowledgeable man in the field of electronics and electrical equipment, and he confirmed my suspicions.

What could I have done wrong? And how can I be sure that this doesn't happen again?

 

Nobody else touches my pedals. They're out of the way, so there's no real need to.

 

How on earth can two identical power supplies, with precisely the same voltage, cause a pedal to fry?

 

I have sent my Q-Tron, along with my never-functioning Russian Bassballs, to EHX. I should either receive some information about the state of my pedals, or, if I'm lucky, the pedals in working condition, within the next two weeks. There will be a solution to this, I promise.

 

There is one possible explanation: A couple of weeks prior to the post, Wisconsin and Iowa were obliterated by floods and thunderstorms. While my house and my stuff were relatively unaffected by the floods, the thunderstorms might have done something. My BMS was unplugged at the time, because I was going to get it modded (I've since decided against it). But, my Q-Tron was plugged in, and that was plugged into the surge suppressor, into a GROUNDED extension cord, and into the wall. The problem with this is, why would only my Q-Tron be affected, and other items, such as the Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble, which was plugged in, and uses a 9V adapter, remain unaffected?

I only swapped them after I first noticed problems, for the purpose of eliminating all of my possibilities.

And, no, I don't have a cat anymore. I rather enjoyed my last cat, but my sister had a baby, and he had to go (something about cat litter and Down's Syndrome - neither of her two children have this). The previous cat was a more approachable, pet-like cat, and she kind of...died...

 

How long did it take, from the moment you sent the pedal, to the moment it was back in your possession, for them to do the repair work? I'm at exactly two weeks, and nothing.

 

Did you ever hear the one about the guy that wished for everything he wanted, and it managed to happen? Well, it doesn't happen. But, remember how I wanted my Q-Tron back? I got it yesterday. Since the package came while I was helping my brother pack up a U-Haul, or while we were disturbed by the late Heath Ledger's rendition of the Joker, I was unable to test it last night. And, since I just got back to my house five minutes ago, after a long, perspiring day, and five hours in a car, I don't want to right now. I'm going to do so tomorrow, and I'll finally get to meet the REAL Bassballs.