[sdiy] Feline synthesis problems

[Wayne Dubois]

I never thought I'd be relating this story on this list, but it seems
appropriate.  Probably the most bizarre electrical problem I've ever
diagnosed in all my years a tech.

About a lifetime ago, (OK, 20 years or so), I drove used Plymouth Valiant
which I had enhanced with a new-fangled *digital* bi-amped Sony car stereo.
One day, it started to spontaneously switch channels... but only when I'd
turn a corner (usually left)!  At first it only happened occasionally but
got worse as time went on.  After a while, I began to notice when I was
re-tuning it that there were large sections of the FM band that the display
would skip!  It finally got to a point where I couldn't retune back to my
favorite stations. Needless to say, I was in a mild panic, knowing that this
was a digital unit and that whatever the problem was, it wasn't going to be
simple.

Finally, it got bad enough that I pulled the unit out of the dashboard and
proceeded to disassemble it on my kitchen table.  What I found was that the
main PC board was partially covered with a somewhat concentrated liquid with
a *very* distinctive odor.  (Being a cat owner at the time, I immediately
recognized it for what it was, (although I"m still somewhat puzzled as to
how it got there in the first place.)  After I'd disconnected and remove the
PC board, I discovered that several of some of the finer etches had actually
been eaten away from this stuff (cat urine being quite corrosive, I guess).
Figuring I couldn't to any further harm at this point (and figuring that
this wasn't covered in the warranty), I washed the board thoroughly with
water and detergent, dried it with my mom's hair dryer, and meticulously
attempted to repair the damaged etches with small bits of resistor leads
bridging the corroded bits.

After cleaning and reassembling it, I re-installed it back into the car and,
lo and behold, it worked perfectly (and continued to do so until it was
stolen about 6 months later.)  I'm guessing the 'deposit' was made by one of
my felines that had developed the habit of sleeping in the front seat of the
car, although I still can't figure what motivated him to back up and squirt
that particular part of the dashboard.  Needless to say, I always kept the
car windows rolled up after that, and never had a reoccurrence of the
problem.

 - w

On a somewhat related issue, since it seems several of us share a common
'problem' (workbench + feline's), I'd be interested in knowing how some of
you deal with that.  I'm in the process of setting up my workbench and I
don't have the option of putting it in a room where I can simply close the
door and not allow access.  Cat's being naturally attracted to lot's of
small, easily batted parts I can see problems in the future trying to keep
everything together (and the cats safe from consuming same.)  Any thoughts?


----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Wentk" <richard at skydancer.com>
To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 5:58 AM
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Feline synthesis problems


> A millennium or so ago when I used to have a synth repair gig in a music
> store, I'd see all kinds of weird and occasionally wonderful examples of
> that species called The Public. And their synth problems.
>
> One of my favourites was the JX3P that wouldn't stay in tune. Now, the
JX3P
> used DCOs, so pitch drift wasn't supposed to be an option. But the thing
> would howl like a banshee when you tried to play anything. [1]
>
> Very strange. I opened it up, poked around some and then noticed that
there
> was a definitely a not very synth-like - well, smell - coming from
> somewhere inside.
>
> Okay. People do weird things to keyboards. Using them as an emergency
> restroom wasn't one I'd come across before. So I decided to do the smart
> thing - pack it up back in its box, wash my hands ten times, and pass it
on
> to the guys at Roland. And ask the guy who owned it (a rather dorky toy
> shop owner who wasn't popular with anyone in the store) what the story
was.
>
> But one of my colleagues beat me to it. We'd all been snickering
childishly
> about the thing, then toy shop guy came in. In a futile attempt at looking
> at least somewhat professional we stifled any guffaws and stopped the
jokes
> about porcelain synthware. 'How's the synth?' he asked. We explained it
was
> beyond the reach of our small and humble outfit and was going back to the
> big guys. Then the conversation drifted, as it often did with him.
>
> A few paragraphs later one of the guys I was working with asked 'So - how
> are the pets?'
>
> It turned out the toy shop owner was also a cat owner. In fact he had five
> of them. Cats like warm places, and the top of a JX3P can definitely get
> quite cosy when it's been on for a while. So warm cat -> relaxed cat ->
> very relaxed cat -> unique synth problem you'll never see mentioned in a
> service manual.
>
> Moral - it's not just stuff going in at one end you need to worry about.
> Stuff coming out the other can be a synth problem too.
>
> Richard
>
> [1] Yeah, I'm guessing the extra fluid component provided a leakage path
> for the digitally controlled charging cap. It looks like a reasonable
> theory, but to be honest I'm glad I'll never really know for sure. :)
>
>
>