[sdiy] Various and sundry keyboard problems

[Tim Parkhurst]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the responses. Lots of good info, and I appreciate the help.
Here’s kind of a quick summary:

ESQ-1
Unfortunately, a reset didn’t cure the keyboard problem (set of eight or so
‘dead’ keys). The bad keys will sound occasionally, but they are very quiet,
and they sustain forever (the notes sound quietly until I play enough notes
on the good keys to ‘steal’ the voices and shut them off). It could be
several things, but I’ll have to take it apart to really check. In the
meanwhile, it’s working perfectly through the MIDI in.

U-20
Lots of suggestions here. I'm pretty sure this isn't a 'soft problem' that
could be cured by a reset. MIDI in works fine, and sometimes the U-20
keyboard will trigger twenty or thirty times in a second when I press a key
(again, a neat effect if you could control when it appeared). I’ll go back
in and yank the thing apart again (PITA because the keys all come out
separately and are not held by a common, removable bracket), and give the
PCB contacts and the contact strip ‘carbon buttons’ a good cleaning. I may
even try the acetone thing, but I’ll check it on the contact strip material
first to make sure there are no adverse effects. You know, acetone or some
similar solvent may be what I need to rejuvenate the scratched resistor
tracks in those pesky ARP slider pots too. Use just enough to ‘re-flow’ the
resistive material and cover the scratches. If cleaning the U-20 contact
strips doesn’t work, I may try to attach new carbon buttons from other
switches (good suggestion, that one). Otherwise, I’ll dig up replacements.
Got a couple of links/offers on those too, so thanks also to those who
offered. Again, the U-20 works fine through the MIDI in, but the keyboard is
really nice (when it works) and I like the arpeggiator and ‘chord memory’
features (haven’t really tried, but I think those don’t work though MIDI). 

Thanks again, Group!


Tim (Bad keyboard! Now go to your room!) Servo

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein


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