Rhodes Chroma Polaris

I just finished reseating my ribbon cables and all of the contacts work.  Even A1 - 12 through to K1-12. 

Well, I haven't turned it off yet.  When I do so, I turn it on and poof...

I'll get G and B at once, when under B it'll skip to H  and then move on to I when I push the next number.

|I have finished reading 5,000 posts on vintagebbs about the Chroma and realize I may be slightly screwed here.  Revision 5.  No o-scope.  No tech repair guys within serious mileage.  May need to re-calibrate this sucker.  Found the 3 power supply trim pots as well as the other 2 on the mommy board.

Cleaned all of the junk off the traces and did a full inspection but am no repair tech.   Replaced the face plate by Paul and it seems to work fine.   It's something else that is definitely whacky.  Been inside this beast more times than I wanted to be.  I'm going to leave it on all night to see if it burns out or "burns in" like we say in the PC world.

When I did the diagnostics and adjustments, I had to constantly turn it off because it hung on a whim.  At least I know all the LEDs work!  I was trying to get a set of patches in but the tape process was a bust and my Midi connection sux at the moment.  I have Sound Quest 11 but can't get the Polaris to talk.  I may have found that answer out but won't know until the other issues are addressed.

Aha!

I think I know what it going on. A power issue. Power supply? I didn't do anything to it since I posted the last message and the panel went poof again. The power supply heat sink was pretty warm. I did not turn it off as mentioned. My suspicion as correct. This beastie hasn't seen usage in about 13 or so years...

Is there a way to check those trim pots without being a rocket scientist or should I invest in a power supply? As we know I invested into this already and it's worth the $ for the replacement. I can get one now. Also a transformer, but I don't think it's that or it wouldn't go on. Like my damn Mirage that puked on me and I need a transfromer for that bee-yatch... rarer than hen's teeth.

Any ideas now?

Tracy


--------------------------------------------

On Thu, 5/17/18, adirondack_pc@... [chromapolaris] <chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Subject: [chromapolaris] A Different Question
To: chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, May 17, 2018, 11:15 PM


 









I just finished reseating my ribbon cables and all
of the contacts work.  Even A1 - 12 through to K1-12. 

Well, I haven't turned it
off yet.  When I do so, I turn it on and poof...

I'll get G and B at once,
when under B it'll skip to H  and then move on to I
when I push the next number.

|I have finished reading 5,000 posts on
vintagebbs about the Chroma and realize I may be slightly
screwed here.  Revision 5.  No o-scope.  No tech repair
guys within serious mileage.  May need to re-calibrate this
sucker.  Found the 3 power supply trim pots as well as the
other 2 on the mommy board.

Cleaned all of the junk off the traces and did
a full inspection but am no repair tech.   Replaced the
face plate by Paul and it seems to work fine.   It's
something else that is definitely whacky.  Been inside this
beast more times than I wanted to be.  I'm going to
leave it on all night to see if it burns out or "burns
in" like we say in the PC world.

When I did the diagnostics and adjustments, I
had to constantly turn it off because it hung on a whim. 
At least I know all the LEDs work!  I was trying to get a
set of patches in but the tape process was a bust and my
Midi connection sux at the moment.  I have Sound Quest 11
but can't get the Polaris to talk.  I may have found
that answer out but won't know until the other issues
are addressed.

Long winded, I know....  If anyone
has the heart, empathy or even sympathy to guide me along
I'd appreciate it.  I'm forgetting the other 2
problems for now because they may get fixed in the
process.
Thanks for
reading my manifesto....
TracyWannabe Polaris
player











#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304 --
#yiv4208589304ygrp-mkp {
border:1px solid #d8d8d8;font-family:Arial;margin:10px
0;padding:0 10px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mkp hr {
border:1px solid #d8d8d8;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mkp #yiv4208589304hd {
color:#628c2a;font-size:85%;font-weight:700;line-height:122%;margin:10px
0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mkp #yiv4208589304ads {
margin-bottom:10px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mkp .yiv4208589304ad {
padding:0 0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mkp .yiv4208589304ad p {
margin:0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mkp .yiv4208589304ad a {
color:#0000ff;text-decoration:none;}
#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-sponsor
#yiv4208589304ygrp-lc {
font-family:Arial;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-sponsor
#yiv4208589304ygrp-lc #yiv4208589304hd {
margin:10px
0px;font-weight:700;font-size:78%;line-height:122%;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-sponsor
#yiv4208589304ygrp-lc .yiv4208589304ad {
margin-bottom:10px;padding:0 0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304actions {
font-family:Verdana;font-size:11px;padding:10px 0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304activity {
background-color:#e0ecee;float:left;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;padding:10px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304activity span {
font-weight:700;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304activity span:first-child {
text-transform:uppercase;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304activity span a {
color:#5085b6;text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304activity span span {
color:#ff7900;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304activity span
.yiv4208589304underline {
text-decoration:underline;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304attach {
clear:both;display:table;font-family:Arial;font-size:12px;padding:10px
0;width:400px;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304attach div a {
text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304attach img {
border:none;padding-right:5px;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304attach label {
display:block;margin-bottom:5px;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304attach label a {
text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 blockquote {
margin:0 0 0 4px;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304bold {
font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;font-weight:700;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304bold a {
text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 dd.yiv4208589304last p a {
font-family:Verdana;font-weight:700;}

#yiv4208589304 dd.yiv4208589304last p span {
margin-right:10px;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:700;}

#yiv4208589304 dd.yiv4208589304last p
span.yiv4208589304yshortcuts {
margin-right:0;}

#yiv4208589304 div.yiv4208589304attach-table div div a {
text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 div.yiv4208589304attach-table {
width:400px;}

#yiv4208589304 div.yiv4208589304file-title a, #yiv4208589304
div.yiv4208589304file-title a:active, #yiv4208589304
div.yiv4208589304file-title a:hover, #yiv4208589304
div.yiv4208589304file-title a:visited {
text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 div.yiv4208589304photo-title a,
#yiv4208589304 div.yiv4208589304photo-title a:active,
#yiv4208589304 div.yiv4208589304photo-title a:hover,
#yiv4208589304 div.yiv4208589304photo-title a:visited {
text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 div#yiv4208589304ygrp-mlmsg
#yiv4208589304ygrp-msg p a span.yiv4208589304yshortcuts {
font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:normal;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304green {
color:#628c2a;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304MsoNormal {
margin:0 0 0 0;}

#yiv4208589304 o {
font-size:0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304photos div {
float:left;width:72px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304photos div div {
border:1px solid
#666666;min-height:62px;overflow:hidden;width:62px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304photos div label {
color:#666666;font-size:10px;overflow:hidden;text-align:center;white-space:nowrap;width:64px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304reco-category {
font-size:77%;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304reco-desc {
font-size:77%;}

#yiv4208589304 .yiv4208589304replbq {
margin:4px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-actbar div a:first-child {
margin-right:2px;padding-right:5px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mlmsg {
font-size:13px;font-family:Arial, helvetica, clean,
sans-serif;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mlmsg table {
font-size:inherit;font:100%;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mlmsg select,
#yiv4208589304 input, #yiv4208589304 textarea {
font:99% Arial, Helvetica, clean, sans-serif;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mlmsg pre, #yiv4208589304
code {
font:115% monospace;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mlmsg * {
line-height:1.22em;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-mlmsg #yiv4208589304logo {
padding-bottom:10px;}


#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-msg p a {
font-family:Verdana;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-msg
p#yiv4208589304attach-count span {
color:#1E66AE;font-weight:700;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-reco
#yiv4208589304reco-head {
color:#ff7900;font-weight:700;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-reco {
margin-bottom:20px;padding:0px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-sponsor #yiv4208589304ov
li a {
font-size:130%;text-decoration:none;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-sponsor #yiv4208589304ov
li {
font-size:77%;list-style-type:square;padding:6px 0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-sponsor #yiv4208589304ov
ul {
margin:0;padding:0 0 0 8px;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-text {
font-family:Georgia;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-text p {
margin:0 0 1em 0;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-text tt {
font-size:120%;}

#yiv4208589304 #yiv4208589304ygrp-vital ul li:last-child {
border-right:none !important;
}
#yiv4208589304

You need a multimeter to check the supply voltages, don't touch the trimmers as your voltages can go out of spec and damage the guts.  But do get them verified before anything else.  

Basic reseating of connectors can help many synths that have been unused or stored in dampness etc. for some time... of course when the synth is unplugged and given time to power down etc.

> You need a multimeter to check the supply voltages,
> don't touch the trimmers as your voltages can go out of
> spec and damage the guts.  But do get them verified before
> anything else.  

I have a Fluke 87V MM at the ready. I guess I just don't know which leads to put where on the spots to check. A little homework will help, of course. Positive / negative / black / red, those things. This is my weakest spot. Very few to none of the tech types around where I live now. Plenty when I lived in Albany. I have a friend who knows how to use the Fluke but has little patience lately.

> Basic
> reseating of connectors can help many synths that have been
> unused or stored in dampness etc. for some time... of course
> when the synth is unplugged and given time to power down
> etc.

Yes, Basic computer concept used with synths. Been doing that for 25 years. BUT. Haven't reseated everything in the synth. I think it needs a full breakdown - unscrewing, connectors checked / aired out, etc... all parts. There could be something as simple as a washer touching something it's not supposed to be or a shorted / broken cable. That's why I haven't jumped on buying the power supply yet. I need to have the patience and focus to spend 2 - 3 hours with it, like I did with the face plates mentioned below.

> Did you mention whether you made it
> over to the main host site for the Chroma Polaris, which has
> tons of technical details and insights for you to review? 
> It'll give you a much better starting point for
> follow-up questions etc.

Yes - Homework done. That's where I got the diagnostics and info. The last button on the Chroma page has the Polaris stuff. I can't do some of the diagnostics because it won't let me. I even did a RESET. It's probably not calibrated all over the place, but when I play a patch (scratch patch), it plays fine, is in tune and is like it's not broke after the RESET. Tried to load patches from cassette and no go. Tried from Sound Quest and Midi Ox also. Barf... Once again, need to document this.

> How about the lengthy series of videos
>by Syntegrator?
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT0KHv-WcwY&list=PL83CA5910E261AB4E%c2%a0

Absolutely religiously. As I was doing the face plates, I followed it closely and it took me about 2 hours to redo it. I did it very slowly. The ribbon cables are seated properly and lined up with the connectors. I can aired the connectors. I wonder if I need to Deoxy them? The last cables were toast and crumbling. All the LEDs light up and the pads (buttons?) all work after reseating the top left motherboard and firing up the synth. I even searched the traces for any odd solder or traces connected with gunk not supposed to be there, connecting them by accident.

It's when I leave it on for a period of time that poop starts to happen. I did the LF-D-3 (?) LED diagnostic and then poof! most of the lights went out. Locked up - I think... I have to document this further.

So, I am going to take it apart - slowly. This I know how to do. And be able to put it together! hehehehe...

I really like the sound of the synth. It has some oomph... that's why I'm acting like a child and making a fuss here. LOL!

Thanks for the help and reminders.

Tracy