Korg Poly800/EX800 Users

"stream of consciousness" is absolutely the kindest way anyone has ever told me I tend to prattle on :)  
I'm not going anywhere.  I'm growing fond of this forum and I still have lots of work to do on my poly800. Also being a man of modest electronics repair skills, I'll require much more advice I'm thinking.

Cheers
-Davey the Ham Fisted American

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Jason Adkins <jason_ralf808@...> wrote:
>
> Bummer you got the thing working coz I will miss your stream of  
> consciousness,because I thought I was the lyrical one on this group/
> 
> On 21 Jun 2013, at 13:50, daveyray913 wrote:
> 
> > " …didn't mean you fucked your mother" Ha! So glad I misinterpreted  
> > that.
> > You are right of course. I'm married to one of those `women' things.  
> > And they can be quite hysterical at times (no offense to any ladies  
> > on this forum).
> > If my Little Casio SK-1 wasn't in such rough shape, I'd consider  
> > circuit-bending that! It is a fun & cheap little toy, and it was my  
> > very 1st keyboard when I was 13-ish.
> >
> > I started digging into the Poly last night. I found some very  
> > interesting things inside: A couple moth cocoons, a 5 cent nickel  
> > (now THAT could have cause serious short circuits), and a tiny round  
> > wad of duct tape. Why? From its shape I guess it was wadded up and  
> > put into a rubber boot of one of the key contacts that was no longer  
> > depressing far enough? I took it in to have the joystick repaired  
> > once; it had to be the service tech that did that, it wasn't me.
> >
> > I think I can move the patient out of ICU and into the recovery  
> > ward. I did the isopropyl and cotton swab trick and got all the key  
> > contacts working again. I ordered 4 replacement keys and also fixed  
> > a crackling/misfiring ¼" output jack with a little solder.
> >
> > I think it's almost time to order me a Hawk800 kit.
> >
> > Exciting!
> >
> > --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Jason Adkins <jason_ralf808@>  
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > no I didn't mean you fucked your mother I meant ALL women are
> > > Hysterical...
> > > Regarding the SK1,Casio always makes great gear,I used to have one
> > > myself,i love the drum sounds in that (like i love the Vl-Tone) and
> > > the 4/6/8-bit sampling is interesting my first sampler then another
> > > home keyboard Yamaha VSS-100 I think (crap) then an Akai X7000 great
> > > but used bloody 2.8inch quickdisks as storage and had a stupid way  
> > of
> > > giving it 6 seperate out's,was a 13 pin din to 6 jacks,nightmare to
> > > solder up and kept needing repairing.
> > >
> > > The Poly800 is worth bothering with,its real analogue not virtual  
> > and
> > > has as I have said a million times before you can tell the  
> > difference.
> > >
> > > J
> > >
> > >
> > > On 20 Jun 2013, at 17:28, daveyray913 wrote:
> > >
> > > > Ha, are you getting cheeky with me mate? I may be misinterpreting.
> > > >
> > > > Yea, I'm pretty certain it was my mother, not my girlfriend. Greek
> > > > king of Thebes, Oedipus, I am not.
> > > >
> > > > The gear on the floor was drown in black, sooty, very hot water  
> > for
> > > > over 2 hours...it had no hope of functioning ever again, and  
> > besides
> > > > the prolonged heat melted part of the DX11.
> > > > Trust me, I know dead when I see it. I do still have one other  
> > item
> > > > that survived even though it melted a bit.. a Casio SK-1 …still
> > > > works too.
> > > >
> > > > It's pretty obvious which keys were broken; they were sticking  
> > up at
> > > > Picasso-esque odd angles.
> > > >
> > > > And besides, this all happened a long time ago, I just happen to
> > > > still have my poly800 and recently have been feeling nostalgic
> > > > enough to try and fix it.
> > > >
> > > > "...And this is where I met the leprechaun... He told me to burn
> > > > things."
> > > >
> > > > --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Jason Adkins <jason_ralf808@>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Hysterical mother,Hysterical girlfriend take your pick..
> > > > > Yeah I'd def want to see a big photo of a firemans boot on  
> > your Poly
> > > > > 800 then we could tell which bit might be broken.
> > > > > The moral of this story is:- don't burn your house down.
> > > > >
> > > > > The stuff that got wet,should actually function once dryed out
> > > > > especially that DX11 which only got slightly wet,ok yiou might
> > > > have to
> > > > > do some cleaning up ,contacts erc but should be ok I'd guess  
> > most of
> > > > > your stuff is DC ? If so they might work if dryed out.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On 20 Jun 2013, at 15:37, daveyray913 wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > Luckily the Poly was in a 1/2 exposed basement studio. I don't
> > > > think
> > > > > > the smoke hit it too hard. It was tossed about 8' out a near
> > > > ground
> > > > > > level window, so it was more of a hard slide than a fall I'm
> > > > > > guessing. (I didn't see, I was busy on the street trying to  
> > calm
> > > > my
> > > > > > hysterical mother) Then...it was kicked/stomped on by  
> > fireman I
> > > > > > guess to get it out of the way(BTW: all we Americans are ham-
> > > > fisted,
> > > > > > that goes w/o saying :) ) It did get a little wet. Anything I
> > > > had on
> > > > > > the floor /leaning on a wall i.e.: a DX11, a drum machine, a
> > > > couple
> > > > > > amps, a few effects pedals, etc. were in a foot+ of water and
> > > > > > trashed. I did my best to clean up the few items that  
> > survived the
> > > > > > fire the next day.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks for all the assistance. Nothing left now then to  
> > decide on
> > > > > > which mod path to take once I have it fully operational. After
> > > > > > everyone's assistance I guess I'm not bothering with the  
> > tape load
> > > > > > function much longer, I'll make one more effort with the
> > > > suggestions
> > > > > > given, then move on. Besides, I'm still battling getting the  
> > keys
> > > > > > fixed, and contacts cleaned etc. It will live again by golly!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I'll photo document my progress for posterity and keep anyone
> > > > who's
> > > > > > interested posted.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks for all the assistance!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Michael Hawkins
> > > > > > <korgpolyex800@> wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > There's a mod that you can do that puts an EX800 ROM "on  
> > top" of
> > > > > > the original Poly ROM. And you use a switch to flip from one  
> > or
> > > > the
> > > > > > other ROM's. This allows you to keep all of your Poly-800  
> > joystick
> > > > > > goodness etc while also getting the sysex ability when you  
> > need
> > > > it.
> > > > > > You power off, flip the ROM select switch, power on, do your
> > > > sysex.
> > > > > > Then power off, flip the ROM select switch, power on, do your
> > > > > > keyboard, joystick thing. Not a bad idea at all, for its time.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > The biggest problem with fires is the awful damage that
> > > > happens if
> > > > > > electronic stuff is exposed to thick acrid smoke. Did your  
> > Poly
> > > > get
> > > > > > affected by the smoke or was it the fall from a great height  
> > that
> > > > > > messed it up? If it's smoke damage then I would say it's a  
> > miracle
> > > > > > the dang thing still works at all. And fixing smoke gunge  
> > covered
> > > > > > PCB's and parts is a professional job unless you like  
> > dipping your
> > > > > > hands in solvents and other carcinogenic stuff. Soap and water
> > > > and a
> > > > > > long drying time might be worth the trouble.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > The tape switch problem you have is NOT the reason you can't
> > > > get a
> > > > > > tape dump to load properly. As long as you can get the thing  
> > into
> > > > > > Tape mode (which you can) and it stays that way for the  
> > duration
> > > > of
> > > > > > your dump, then the switch is good enough. Get some de-oxit  
> > and
> > > > most
> > > > > > likely you'll find your tape switch will be fine after some  
> > de-
> > > > oxit
> > > > > > treatment.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > The Poly-800 schematics (found in the download section of  
> > this
> > > > > > group) are good enough for the EX-800. Especially with  
> > respect to
> > > > > > the tape circuit section, they're identical.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Yes, the HAWK would fix your tape problem because the HAWK  
> > has
> > > > no
> > > > > > tape functions at all. They are all replaced with sysex and  
> > MIDI
> > > > CC
> > > > > > implementation. I do agree that you ought to try to  
> > stabilize your
> > > > > > patient before you try to transplant a HAWK into it.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Your Poly is functioning which tells me it's not  
> > "knackered".
> > > > > > Banged up a bit sure, who wouldn't be after a multistory throw
> > > > by a
> > > > > > ham fisted American firemen!
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > So I would say, give your patient some more TLC. Don't  
> > sweat the
> > > > > > tape problem too much. And if you can make her reliable then
> > > > maybe a
> > > > > > HAWK brain transplant might be worthwhile.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Mike
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > ________________________________
> > > > > > > From: daveyray913 <sinisterthewicked@>
> > > > > > > To: korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
> > > > > > > Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 3:30 PM
> > > > > > > Subject: [korgpolyex] Re: New Member: (constant Load ERR.)
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Â
> > > > > > > Ya, she's in rough shape, but I'm not quite ready to give  
> > up.
> > > > > > After I cleaned it up this week and started fixing the broken
> > > > > > keys... it doenst look TOO bad. The couple patches I manually
> > > > > > programed are loud and clear and sound good...
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > What I really want is to MOD it, make it useful in my band  
> > as a
> > > > > > gimmicky piece of nostalgia, but I'm nervous installing Hawk
> > > > into a
> > > > > > 'knackered' 'board as you put it. (I love your vernacular  
> > btw).
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > But I guess HAWK800 would fix the problem too...with it's  
> > much
> > > > > > improved Midi Sysex? I could forget about the tape interface/
> > > > lack of
> > > > > > Mk1 sysex altogether.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Silly question: Where do I aquire an EX-800 ROM? & Wouldnt I
> > > > lose
> > > > > > Joystick control?
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Decisions, decisions....
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Gordon JC Pearce  
> > <gordon@>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > On Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 04:08:25PM -0000, daveyray913  
> > wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > I'm also installing a dedicated memory battery on board,
> > > > SO I
> > > > > > can at least manually load patches and not worry about  
> > losing them
> > > > > > when the C batteries fail.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Didn't you say the keyboard was knackered? Why not just  
> > bung
> > > > an
> > > > > > EX800 ROM in and load them over MIDI?
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > --
> > > > > > > > Gordonjcp MM0YEQ
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
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> > >
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