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Woes with Cicida Foot Pedal
#1
I think I am about to give up on the Ciceda foot pedal.

I probably could deal with he fact that it falls asleep all the time (losing bluetooth connection, I think) but just remembering to turn the pages (with the pedal) before starting a new song.

But, at my show last night, the pedal seemed to stop working because I may have inadvertantly pushed both pedals at the same time (an easy thing to do while performing).

Anyone else run into this?

Time to give up on this pedal and buy the Airturn?

Jeff
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#2
.. or maybe a simple wired USB pedal. Mine works fine and I see little point in spending a lot of money for a BT device that is only going to be a metre or so from the tablet.
Graeme

1: Samsung 12.2" SM-P900: Android 5.0.2 
2: eSTAR GRAND HD Quad-Core 4G 10.2": Android 5.1 
3: Home-built BT pedal

Some of my music here
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#3
I actually have the Billlpro pedal (used it with a laptop), but that has problems too. It skipped pages too easily. Also I woud need an adapter.

I have heard very few problems with the BT-105, so I ordered one. I hope this works correctly.
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#4
(08-11-2013, 10:36 PM)jeffn1 Wrote: I think I am about to give up on the Ciceda foot pedal.

I probably could deal with he fact that it falls asleep all the time (losing bluetooth connection, I think) but just remembering to turn the pages (with the pedal) before starting a new song.

But, at my show last night, the pedal seemed to stop working because I may have inadvertantly pushed both pedals at the same time (an easy thing to do while performing).

Anyone else run into this?

Time to give up on this pedal and buy the Airturn?

Jeff

(08-11-2013, 10:36 PM)jeffn1 Wrote: I think I am about to give up on the Ciceda foot pedal.

I probably could deal with he fact that it falls asleep all the time (losing bluetooth connection, I think) but just remembering to turn the pages (with the pedal) before starting a new song.

But, at my show last night, the pedal seemed to stop working because I may have inadvertantly pushed both pedals at the same time (an easy thing to do while performing).

Anyone else run into this?

Time to give up on this pedal and buy the Airturn?

Jeff

I have trouble with my cicada falling asleep but I'm hoping that this new update will end the problem. I've noticed that if I stick to the songs in my setlist it doesn't do it much. It happens most when I pull a song out of the library. Mike mentioned on his update that he was going to stop the bluetooth from falling asleep when you have the program open. I ordered an airturn when I got annoyed during gigs but I sent it back. I prefer using alkaline batteries and being able to press down on the pedal. The airturn does have a greater space between the forward and back pedal but I like the compact size of the cicada. I must admit though that I take my shoes off to use it.
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#5
I had the same issue several months back and it was a few weeks past warranty. Mine would shut off. I emailed and called and was told to return the unit and they would send a replacement. They shipped the replacement the day we spoke and it arrived before they received mine back. No questions asked, no hassels! BTW, they told me that with my usage (about 12 hrs. per week) that a good set of alkaline batteries should last a year!

I have noticed that if I don't turn pages with the pedal for awhile, I have to tap and wait until it "wakes up". I make sure I wake it up before playing a multi page lead sheet.

Steve


(08-12-2013, 07:25 AM)barbaramidwife Wrote:
(08-11-2013, 10:36 PM)jeffn1 Wrote: I think I am about to give up on the Ciceda foot pedal.

I probably could deal with he fact that it falls asleep all the time (losing bluetooth connection, I think) but just remembering to turn the pages (with the pedal) before starting a new song.

But, at my show last night, the pedal seemed to stop working because I may have inadvertantly pushed both pedals at the same time (an easy thing to do while performing).

Anyone else run into this?

Time to give up on this pedal and buy the Airturn?

Jeff

(08-11-2013, 10:36 PM)jeffn1 Wrote: I think I am about to give up on the Ciceda foot pedal.

I probably could deal with he fact that it falls asleep all the time (losing bluetooth connection, I think) but just remembering to turn the pages (with the pedal) before starting a new song.

But, at my show last night, the pedal seemed to stop working because I may have inadvertantly pushed both pedals at the same time (an easy thing to do while performing).

Anyone else run into this?

Time to give up on this pedal and buy the Airturn?

Jeff

I have trouble with my cicada falling asleep but I'm hoping that this new update will end the problem. I've noticed that if I stick to the songs in my setlist it doesn't do it much. It happens most when I pull a song out of the library. Mike mentioned on his update that he was going to stop the bluetooth from falling asleep when you have the program open. I ordered an airturn when I got annoyed during gigs but I sent it back. I prefer using alkaline batteries and being able to press down on the pedal. The airturn does have a greater space between the forward and back pedal but I like the compact size of the cicada. I must admit though that I take my shoes off to use it.
[Image: SF%20Caricature%20Invoice%20Logo.jpg]
Professional Entertainer and Guitar Instructor
Using MobileSheets & Cicada PageFlip since 2010
Teach/Perform about 20 hours per week
http://stevefaltermusic.com
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#6
I have the AirTurn and I don't have any problems (so far). I put it in a plastic bag (bread size, not a Ziploc) so I don't get it all dusty with footprints. I through away the bag each time I use it out of the house.
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#7
Taking my shoe off it is great idea (I had thought about it, but sfalter's post spurred me to try it). I am pretty sure the freezing was due to pressing both pedals at the same time (which should not cause this). Playing without my shoe on does make it easier to avoid that.

I still have to make sure the pedal is working before I start each song, but, other than that, no problems during rehearsal last night (I ordered the BT-105, so I will end up with both).
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#8
Has the BT 105 solved your problem? My cicada still falls asleep at the most inopportune times. I always make sure it's awake before I start a new song and usually pull one up out of a set list instead of the library because it seemed like that helped but I'm in the same situation I was months ago in that I can only use the tablet for gigs where I'm playing by myself. Rather sad.
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#9
I tried the Airturn, but I could not get it to pair with my tablet, so I sent it back. Also, I tend to want to use the "repeat" feature (holding down the pedal) to get to the end or the beginning of the song. So, to me that is a big benefit of the Ciceda.

Yes, the Ciceda still goes to sleep between songs. I try to load each song from the last page to it force me to use the pedal at the beginning of each song (I had to do pretty much the same thing when I used my old laptop in order to make sure the pfd for the songs was fully loaded, so I am sort of used to this).

There is only one time I am sure of that the pedal stopped functioning in the middle of a song. I think that was because I pressed both pedals at the same time. So, now I take my left shoe off (or both shoes If I want to feel balanced). So, now I can feel the pedal, so I shouldn't have that problem (of hitting both pedals at the same time).

So, I am hoping all these accomodations allow me to use the Ciceda without a problem. (I don't think the MS update really did anything.) I have been playing more jazz standards lately, with small charts (1 or two pages), but I am concerned I will run into problems with bigger charts I used with some Billy Joel songs). Fingers crossed (also I am trying to be more ready to turn pages with my finger if I need to).
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#10
I agree that the update has not helped stop the disconnect between the cicada and mobilesheets. What I have noticed is that if I make a setlist and load the whole thing and play that way it hasn't -so far- fallen asleep while I play. I don't like loading my whole set list though cuz I'm never sure what song I want to play next. Also, the pieces I play most often rarely fall asleep on me. It's much more likely to happen on a piece I haven't played lately or regularly. When I taked to cidada they told me that they're working on a model that can be connected with a wire too, not just bluetooth. Maybe that will solve the problem.
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#11
I guess that makes sense, that it only happens when you load a new song (and if all the songs in a set list are loaded it won't disconnect when you switch songs). I don't use setlists (because I don't want to skip to the next song by holding the pedal down, as setlists are currently programmed to do) and I might be concerned loading the full setlist into ram.

As long as it never disconnects in the middle of a song (in cases where it was connected when I started the song), I should be okay (I have to train myself to always check that the pedal turns the pages before the song starts).

Actually, I own a billipro pedal (they are relatively inexpensive) that is connected via USB cable. The problem with that pedal (they all seems to have some problem) is it is very easy to hold the pedal a split second too long and skip over pages. Even though I have the Cideda set up to allow repeat pages (and use it to skip quickly to the beginning or end of the song by holding a pedal down), I don't have a problem with inadvertant page turns.

Hmm, you know I recently ordered an adapter (female usb to male micro usb). When I get it, maybe i will try the billipro again. Since MS has a bunch of pedal settings (I think including a setting how long you have to hold down the pedal before it repeats page turns(?)), maybe that will fix that weakness in the Billipro pedal.

(09-02-2013, 02:29 AM)barbaramidwife Wrote: I agree that the update has not helped stop the disconnect between the cicada and mobilesheets. What I have noticed is that if I make a setlist and load the whole thing and play that way it hasn't -so far- fallen asleep while I play. I don't like loading my whole set list though cuz I'm never sure what song I want to play next. Also, the pieces I play most often rarely fall asleep on me. It's much more likely to happen on a piece I haven't played lately or regularly. When I taked to cidada they told me that they're working on a model that can be connected with a wire too, not just bluetooth. Maybe that will solve the problem.
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#12
It really blows my mind that I haven't been able to reproduce the problem with the cicada pageflip falling asleep on any of my tablets. Perhaps the only way I will see it is if I get my hands on the same tablets as you two. What tablets are you two currently using? I'm really curious to see if the keyboard commands just aren't sent properly to MobileSheets or if the pedal really is falling asleep and doesn't send a command. George over at PageFlip support guarantees that the problem is not with the pedal, but I really wonder if he verified that with a number of tablets, or just one.

Thanks,
Mike
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#13
I have a Toshiba Excite 13. I hope that helps.


(09-02-2013, 04:24 PM)Zuberman Wrote: It really blows my mind that I haven't been able to reproduce the problem with the cicada pageflip falling asleep on any of my tablets. Perhaps the only way I will see it is if I get my hands on the same tablets as you two. What tablets are you two currently using? I'm really curious to see if the keyboard commands just aren't sent properly to MobileSheets or if the pedal really is falling asleep and doesn't send a command. George over at PageFlip support guarantees that the problem is not with the pedal, but I really wonder if he verified that with a number of tablets, or just one.

Thanks,
Mike
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#14
I have a samsung galaxy note 10. I have 700 pieces in the app. Maybe that enters into the picture.
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#15
By the way, although I think using the (USB connected) Billipro seems to resolve my problem (having the cut out in the middle of performances and fear that it would happen was too much), there is a wrinkle you shoudl be aware of.

The Billipro (USB) pedal seems to stop working when then tablet goes to sleep. In order to wake it up, I have to pull out the USB and put it back in. Then it starts right back up (as of now, I have not noticed it losing the connection in the middle of a song or even in the middle of a MS session).

I figured I would let you know because maybe it would give you some insight into what is going on.
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