Where to get keyboards?

[Roger Horton]

High Bill!  I too am a newbie on this list.  I have been struggling with the
same problem for some time here in the UK.  So far I have come up with the
following, which may be of limited use to you, but of interest to DIYers in
the UK. 

BTW, this message is looooong!  I have deliberately included a lot of
information to save people calling these very busy contacts.
 
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W.D.Greenhill Ltd
1 Oxford Road,
 Rochford,
 Essex, 
 England, UK
Post code:  SS4 1TG
Tel & fax: (UK)  (0)1702-546195
email: WDGLtd at aol.com
Web:  www.mitatechs.com/greenhill.html

Bill Greenhill is based in Rochford, Essex, here in the UK.  He runs a
one-man business providing support for lots of people around the world who
require parts for organs, synthesizers, etc. 

I am sure Bill will not mind me saying this, but he is a fountain of
information and expertise;  he is extremely helpful (and, as a consequence,
very busy).  If you know what parts you require in terms of manufacturer
then Bill is well worth contacting.  If he cannot help directly, he may be
able to help you with the names of possible contacts in your part of the
world.  If you do not know what you want, then please respect Bills time and
don't waste it by calling him!

BTW, Bill is thinking of retiring sometime!  If you are knowledgeable in
this subject and interested in taking over his business, give him a call.
It would be a shame if all the kit he has in stock is trashed.

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 J&N Factors
 Pilgrim Works,
 Stairbridge Lane,
 Bolney,
 Sussex,
 England, UK
Post code: RH17 5PA
Tel & fax:  (UK) (0)1444 881965 Monday-Friday (I think it may be mornings
only).

Due to the high shipping costs, this may be of interest to UK people only
due to shipping costs.

J&N are dealers in surplus electronics and electrical items who advertise in
well known DIY electronics magazines here in the UK.  I recently discovered
that they had an interesting 3-octave keyboard item in stock.  I obtained
some to look at and decided to order more.  Despite the age and condition,
these appear to be just the sort of item I have been looking for in terms of
building experimental keyboard systems.  The condition of the units vary and
quite a bit of work may be required on them, but unless I can find a better
cheap source of keyboard assembles (any help would be appreciated), these
should be adequate for my needs.

The details I have are as follows:

The boxed product I have obtained is:
ORGAN MASTER KEYBOARD
Echo Keyboard and echosoft Organ Master software for Sinclair Spectrum
computers. Built for Currys (electrical retailers in the UK).
"The ECHO music system consists of a range of software and hardware
peripherals for the production of sound and music for microcomputers.  The
range has now been extended to cover the Sinclair Spectrum 128K machine."

The ECHO keyboard description:
Black metal case with brown plastic end-caps.  3-octave C-to-C  37 full size
keys.
Keys are one-piece plastic attached by a metal coil spring at the rear of
the key.
The keys are mounted on a one-piece plastic frame.  A PCB containing a
bus-bar in 5 sections, plus associate diodes, is fixed beneath the frame.
The key-contact assembly is very basic;  each key contact is a straight wire
at 90 degrees to one bus-bar.  These wires are some sort of straight thin
metal soldered to the PCB at one end and located in a hole beneath each key.
Pressing and releasing a key makes or breaks contact with the bus-bar. 

I do not know who manufactured the key-board assembly, but the following
information is moulded into the frame:

I.A.T.A.R.   ???  possibly has more letters, but a hole has been moulded at
this point.
N. 231181
Made In Italy

die-sucker
TRIS STAMPI
Montelupone -MC-


The main PCB is stamped with the letters "IS".

Notes:
1. These units appear to date from the 1980's.
2. The condition varies due to length and type of storage.  Some units
appear to still be in their original factory plastic wrapping, while others
appear to have been returned to Currys as DOA.  Some boxes are complete (in
terms of manual, software, etc.), some incomplete.  Box condition varies a
lot!
3. The units come unchecked.  I have 30 units; two or three have been
slightly damaged by water.  Best bet for buyers is to go direct to J&N and
pick what you want (they have several hundred of these things in stock). 
4. The frames appear to be cut from longer units.
5. It should be relatively easy to join sub-assemblies to make longer
keyboards.
6. The key-contacts and PCB may need replacing.  I am talking to Bill
Greenhill (see above) about suitable key-contacts.
7. Last known cost was about 5 UK pounds each, plus shipping.  Due to the
weight and box size of these units, the shipping costs are quite high.

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I hope this helps someone.  Apologies if the above information is already
known to this list, but I have been unable to access the archive (doesn't
seem to be working on the Web site I tried).

BTW, is there an FAQ for this list?

If anyone in the UK can furnish me with other sources of parts (keyboards,
key-contacts, chips, etc.)  please e-mail me direct (or to this list if new
information).

Enjoy!

Roger
e-mail: r.l.horton at hud.ac.uk

> ----------
> From: 	Bill Campbell[SMTP:wcampbel at peganet.com]
> Sent: 	27 June 1999 22:02
> To: 	synth-diy at mailhost.bpa.nl
> Subject: 	Where to get keyboards?
> 
> I am a newbie to this list. I used to do a lot of work on
> synths in the late 70s, mostly modifications to MiniMoogs
> (e.g. adding sync) and also repair work on Moogs and Arps.
> 
> My question is: where can I obtain keyboards for home
> built projects? I've looked around the net but haven't
> had any luck locating a source.
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> =Bill Campbell=
> Ft. Myers, FL
>