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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Howdy,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I have experience getting busted Orchestrons
back to a working condition, however I don't have experience with a dual-manual
version. I think it's safe to say that the Orchestron is quite the mechanical
challenge, much more so than a Mellotron for example which is pretty
straightforward. The last one I resurrected had a non-turning thingey too, the
cause being that it sat for so long that the rubber drive wheel got a dent in it
from resting on the motor spindle, and just sat in the dent as the spindle
turned (causing the dent to get bigger, of course). I managed to extract the
wheel on its shaft, and then chucked it up in a drill and spun it while filing
away at the perimeter until the dent was gone. This of course made the wheel
diameter a little smaller, but that's OK since the motor spindle is a conical
shaft and the pitch adjustment (which moves the spindle along the drive wheel to
catch a bigger or smaller diameter) had enough range to make up for it. If the
dent is too deep, the wheel diameter may have to taken down to the point where
the instrument no longer is in the proper pitch range, which would be a
non-reversible error.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">The removal of the wheel and shaft was a dicey
operation in itself, with lots of bending of metal and nylon parts to what
seemed to be almost the breaking point. A mistake in any part of these
procedures would result in a broken part, and the prospect of finding a new part
is daunting. The chassis and drive assembly may be identical to that of the
Optigan, a fairly rare but not impossible-to-find beast. One could sacrifice an
Optigan to get an Orchestron running I suppose, which would be somewhat of a
shame (Optigans are very cheesy, so cheesy that they're cool IMHO).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Did both drives go out at the same time? I
assume they're duplicate assemblies on the dual manual version (i.e. two Optigan
chassis) so it seems strange that both would go out at the same time, unless
it's the sit-for-too-long syndrome. But then again maybe they're linked
somehow...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Anyway diving in to an Orchestron takes a kind
of a go-for-it attitude tempered by a feel for what is safe or
reversible. It would be difficult to advise what action to take without
knowing more. Are the motors spinning? (Maybe they're fused and the fuse blew)
If the motors spin, are they contacting the drive wheels? Another thought,
perhaps it's a mechanical problem in the engage/disengage linkage. If the motors
spin and the drive wheels are resting against them, are they still because
they're stuck in a dent? I'd be happy to advise if you could narrow it down
some.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">p.s. I know now where to find spare light bulbs
- Vons! :)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">- Gene</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=SRRecords@aol.com
href="mailto:SRRecords@aol.com">SRRecords@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=synth-diy@dropmix.xs4all.nl
href="mailto:synth-diy@dropmix.xs4all.nl">synth-diy@dropmix.xs4all.nl</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, December 21, 2004 6:52
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [sdiy] vako orchestron</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>Hello all.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My Vako Orchestron is not working and I was wondering if anyone could
supply some help. It lights up etc., but on both manuals (i.e.,
keyboards) the "thingies" inside do not spin, and thus no disk would move were
I to put one in. I'm not a technical expert, but if someone can help get
the parts a'movin, then I might be able to save my beloved machine.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>JMask</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>