2019-07-05 by Paul D. DeRocco
> From: deanomac5@...
>
> 1. Have a couple of other issues that I could use some help
> on. It appears that one channel is out. When doing the
> channel check, number six doesn't light up. Any suggestions
> on how to start down that road? I simply turned it off so
> that I don't get the every sixth key with no sound, but
> that's not a long-term solution.
Since the chips are socketed, the easiest thing to do is to try swapping them, one at a time, between the bad channel and a good one, and hope the problem suddenly moves to the other channel. Then you know you have a bad chip, and can replace it. Before swapping a chip, turn the instrument off and give it a few seconds for the power supply rail to discharge. If you have a meter, you could check the supplies to gauge how long that takes, but I would think ten seconds should be enough.
> 2. So far, I've not been successful in getting factory
> patches loaded. Tried sysex via midiquest and MidiOX and .wav
> via the MidiOX. The CP just doesn't respond at all. Am
> thinking of trying to find a cassette player (haven't had one
> in years) and trying that. Should it be possible to recored
> the .wav onto a cassette and then load it that way, or...?
Do you have any evidence that MIDI input works at all? Can you set up a basic sound, and then play notes from an external keyboard or MidiOX? If so, the Sysex method should work. You might jiggle the connector between the DIN jacks and the main board, in case the contacts are dirty. Also, I assume you know you need to connect MIDI OUT to MIDI IN and vice versa, since out and in are from the point of view of the two opposite ends.
If you go the .wav route, you definitely won't improve things by adding the distortion and imperfect frequency response of a cassette player between your computer and the Polaris. You may need to fiddle with the volume levels, though. But I'd concentrate on doing it over MIDI.
--
Ciao, Paul D. DeRocco
Paul mailto:
pderocco@...