07-26-2013, 11:59 AM
I have both a PageFlip Cicada and an AirTurn BT-105. I've been using the AirTurn for band rehearsals and concerts, and the Cicada only for practising at home, because I could never get the Cicada to respond reliably and repeatably -- sometimes it works perfectly, but other times I need to press the pedal twice before it will register.
While trying to research this online, I saw various reports that the Cicada times out if left idle for a few minutes (different sources report different delay times, typically between 3 and 5 minutes). This partly matched my experience, but it was subjective and I was never sure whether it was a problem with the pedal itself, or whether I just wasn't pressing it far enough to register.
...but recently I've been doing more extensive testing, and I've found a way to reproduce the problem reliably and consistently:
1) open any multipage piece in MobileSheets
2) power up the Cicada and wait for it to connect
3) press the pedals (either direction) to verify that it's working
4) press the home button on the tablet
5) press the MobileSheets icon to resume the app
6) press either pedal on the Cicada; nothing happens
7) press either pedal on the Cicada a second time, and this time it responds exactly as it should
In principle this could be a flaw in the Cicada, not least because the Airturn BT-105 doesn't exhibit the same behaviour -- that one responds to the first press, every time, including after leaving and returning to MobileSheets.
However, I ran through the same test described above with the Cicada and using Adobe Acrobat Reader (which happens to be preinstalled on my tablet, so it made a good point for comparison) -- and with this combination, leaving the app via the home button and then returning does /not/ cause a pedal press to be lost, as it does with MobileSheets.
Hence I suspect that the cause of this problem is some kind of interaction between the app and the pedal.
- Steven
While trying to research this online, I saw various reports that the Cicada times out if left idle for a few minutes (different sources report different delay times, typically between 3 and 5 minutes). This partly matched my experience, but it was subjective and I was never sure whether it was a problem with the pedal itself, or whether I just wasn't pressing it far enough to register.
...but recently I've been doing more extensive testing, and I've found a way to reproduce the problem reliably and consistently:
1) open any multipage piece in MobileSheets
2) power up the Cicada and wait for it to connect
3) press the pedals (either direction) to verify that it's working
4) press the home button on the tablet
5) press the MobileSheets icon to resume the app
6) press either pedal on the Cicada; nothing happens
7) press either pedal on the Cicada a second time, and this time it responds exactly as it should
In principle this could be a flaw in the Cicada, not least because the Airturn BT-105 doesn't exhibit the same behaviour -- that one responds to the first press, every time, including after leaving and returning to MobileSheets.
However, I ran through the same test described above with the Cicada and using Adobe Acrobat Reader (which happens to be preinstalled on my tablet, so it made a good point for comparison) -- and with this combination, leaving the app via the home button and then returning does /not/ cause a pedal press to be lost, as it does with MobileSheets.
Hence I suspect that the cause of this problem is some kind of interaction between the app and the pedal.
- Steven