Sorry for the long absence. I have updates on the status of my DW8000.
I mentioned previously that I've had my DW8000 apart many times, and
that I tried cleaning the contacts in the key contact assembly but wound
up with even more keys that were sticking on.
So around the holidays I ordered a new old stock contact assembly from
the Netherlands, and eventually got around to installing it, and that's
when I discovered what was really causing the problem.
Apparently one of the times I had it apart to attempt cleaning of the
contact assembly I removed all 20 of the metric machine screws that
attach the contact assembly, and FORGOT TO REINSTALL THEM. The entire
contact assembly was held on by the four screws that hold the RFI
shielding onto the circuit boards attached to the contact assembly, and
the rest of the contact assembly was hanging from those circuit boards.
I was lucky nothing broke. The result was that the contact assembly
was hanging down by gravity away from the part of the keyboard keys that
push on the contacts. It is amazing to me that the thing was working AT
ALL. I have no idea where I put the 20 metric machine screws that
attach the contact assembly, so I had to make a hardware store run to
buy new ones. Once the new contact assembly was installed properly with
the screws and the unit buttoned up, it works PERFECTLY.
As a sidenote, the plastic "towers" for the screws that hold the case
top and bottom together on my unit have become brittle and nearly all of
them have broken over the years of opening the unit up. I went through
it [again] with a 45 watt soldering iron and used leftover nylon
wire-tie pieces as a sort of plastic welding-rod to repair them as I
have done in years past, and it seems to be holding up fine.
Since I moved a bit more than a year ago I've seen my Angel City Turbo
upgrade board but haven't had time to go through things to find it right
now, so I just buttoned up the unit without it for now. When I find it
again I'll install it.
So I did go ahead and install the new contact assembly, but I'm hanging
onto the original contact assembly, as I believe there probably isn't
really anything wrong with it. I'll hang onto as a spare part in case I
ever have a catastrophe.
My volume slider has a little static to it again. I'll go through it
with some contact cleaner. Otherwise, it's working perfectly and I'm
very happy to play it again.
-Mark
On 12/25/11 12:55 PM, Mark B wrote:
> Thanks for your comments.
> Yes, I'm confident the problem with my DW is the contacts in the contact
> assembly. Usually just a second strike of the continuous sounding note
> key is enough to silence it, and tweaking/cleaning of the contacts was
> all it took to go from one note sticking on to multiple notes sticking
> on. Operating my DW from a master keyboard such as a KX88 operates it
> no problem, and every other bit of electronics in my DW is operating
> perfectly. That's the real killer for me is that the ∗only∗ thing
> misbehaving in my DW8000 is a few sticking notes with the key contacts.
>
> I've also considered buying a used inop DW8000 for parts or as an easy
> repair, but right now I have so many keyboards that my wife is starting
> to get ticked: DW8000, DS-8, SG1-D, KX88, and a Poly800 II. I can't
> justify having another keyboard in the house for parts at this time.
> Maybe when I get the garage cleaned out more. :-)
>
> In reply to the other post questioned: Yes, it was straight Coca-cola,
> and it had been in there for some time, along with a fair amount of
> probably cat hair and dust stuck to the leftover suger-syrup splotch.
> But I was thorough and meticulous in cleaning the unit, and it has been
> a smooth operator for nearly 20 years. All traces of cola have been
> long-gone from my DW8000.
>
> With a new old stock contact assembly, my DW should be operating
> literally like new, and I'll feel much better about installing my
> still-new Angel City Turbo board that I've had for around 14 years but
> never installed.
>
> -Mark
>
> On 12/25/11 7:02 AM, mondovermona wrote:
>> Cheers Mark,
>>
>> I now see that you have had a really hard tome with your keys. I have repaired now several DW8000 contact boards which had the same initial problems as yours with long lasting success. But I now learn from you that at some stage in a DW8000's life a NOS replacement is the way to go. Thank you for that teaching. BTW: The source in the Netherlands I can recomment.
>>
>> I apears as if after all your attempts to fix and adjust the contacts their metal's mechanical resistance did "wear out" making it impossible to restore sufficient contact pressure for a safe contact.
>>
>> I would love to post some photos, but am afraid that the photos cannot be so accurate and clear to inform on how the contact adjustment is to be done. But the next time I open up my DW8000 I will shoot some pictures, promised.
>>
>> I can only hope that your "note off" problem is not attributed to a damage of the key-sensing electronics. Did you succeed in "forcing" a "note off" at the faulty contacts by shorting them with external means (i.e. pair of tweezers)?
>>
>> What regards the keyboard, I experience more problems with broken keys. The are prone to break on the tip and, more serious, on the pivot back. I succeeded in glueing the broken parts together. Luckily, the broken off parts tend to be retained in the inside of the case and can be easily retrieved. After the glue is hardened I ues a very small drill to drill a hole through both glued together parts and use a rigid (stainless steel) wire that goes into the holes and glue it into place. As a reinforcement of the fix. Glueing without metal reinforcement does not hold for long, if at all. You might want to do this "surgery" under a magnifiying glass. The most critical thing is the drilling of the hole that takes the wire. For the pivotal end of the keys use a dril of less than 1 millimeter. Pay attentiion to the tempersture of the drill during drilling, else the plasic will melt. When you're finished, place the repaired keys to the high or very low octaves which I think are not
> used too
>> often. My equipment for drilling the small holes and the glues was less expensive than the money asked out there for replacementt keys. A last word on replacement keys: Consider that the recplacment key may not match in color with your own keyboard, in particular if your afre or haven been a smoker...
>>
>>
>> What I would like to say to people here is that it is a good idea to get another used, maybe partly broken, DW8000 as a reserve for futuer repairs. (Having said that I must admit that I have sold every broken DW8000 I bought for "spare purposes" because they all were easy to fix and then I gave them away to (now happy) musicians. The next broken DW8000 I will keep for sure...)
>>
>> Any comments? Please feel free to ask.
>
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