Korg Poly800/EX800 Users

Hi

I'm the original owner of my Poly800 mk1. It was my first synth! It's in pretty good
physical shape overall, but unfortunately it has seen better days. There seem to be some
very knowledgable people in this usergroup, so here is my situation.

Short; it's not making any sound, when it occasionally does make some noise on it's own
it's distorted as if the presets are corrupt and the sound does not always reflect any input
played on the local keyboard, and the MIDI has stopped outputting data.

My Poly800 worked great for many years. It saw some outdoor use when I was in
highschool marching band; once when we traveled to Canada to perform, I forgot my
keytar strap, so we ended up duct taping the keyboard to my band uniform. When we
marched, it rained, and the Poly800 did get a bit wet but not too bad. It worked fine for
many years after that.

I also had some alkaline batteries in it that I forgot about and they leaked, but the leakage
does not seem to have traveled outside the battery compartment. Inside the keyboard was
a bit dusty but there is no visible corrosion (a common problem in Hawaii, where the
keyboard (and myself) had been living the past years). I cleaned out the insides with some
compressed air but that hasn't solved my problem.

I'm not sure what exactly is wrong as they keyboard appears to be functioning OK (powers
up, can hear the headphone jack amplifier power up (just the click of it being powered up,
no excess noise), and when I attempt to flash it using a .WAV file of the original casette
data it says 'GOOD'.

However, the keyboard does not trigger the sound. Usually there is no sound, but
sometimes there is some spurious random output, like the DCO or VCF or something is
getting a corrupt/random 'preset' and the VCA is not usually responding to keyboard
input. It will sometimes audibly respond to the keyboard input, but the sound will be
accompanied by the noise generator going crazy or some random DCO output. Then the
sound will all stop and cut out suddenly. It usually won't make any more noise or respond
to the keyboard at all again, until I put it away and try again some other time.

The sequencer does advance per each note, and on the occasional output that does
respond the keybed/DCO's will seem to track accurately, so I don't think it's a problem
with the keybed itself.

I was just using it as a MIDI controller until that stopped sending any data, which lead to
my discovery of the audio problem. :(

I've tried flashing it a number of times, with all the write switches enabled (and in various
permutations; e.g. just program data). I've used a couple different .WAV files. The unit
claims to get a 'GOOD' flash. I had some trouble flashing it when I was trying to check up
on the MIDI and battery situation a while ago due to a bad cable, and then the audio
problems started up. So I don't know if they are related or if that is possible. It almost
seems like the OS (or ROM or CPU) are corrupt and it can't properly load/play the presets.
I haven't tried sending the data over MIDI sysex but again the MIDI out is buggered...

It seems unlikely the ROM is corrupt, but is there any easy way to test the ROM or CPU? Is
it possible to get these parts anymore without cannibalizing another Poly800? Do these
seem likely candidates or should I be investigating some other areas first? I have a simple
multimeter but not an oscilliscope. ..

Sorry to ramble but I've tried to be complete with the information related to the problem.
Please let me know if there are any questions or suggestions. And thank you very much
for your time.

Sincerely,
willi
http://www.earth2wi lli.com

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--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Willi,
>
> The fact that you can do a tape dump and get the "Good" message virtually proves that
your ROM, RAM, CPU and CPU clock are OK. And because you can command the Poly via
the rear switches and get that tape load working, emphasizes how much I doubt you have
a corrupted ROM.
>
> I've not heard of anyone damaging their Poly's using a bad audio cable either.
>
> My first guess is that you probably do have some damage on the circuit board from a
little battery acid combined with rain water. I would obtain a strong magnifying glass and
then, sitting under a bright light, thoroughly examine the entire board looking for any
signs of corrosion. Any white salty looking deposit is a prime candidate. If you've
previously used a brush or fingers to rub off any salty looking deposit then try to
remember where it/they were and thoroughly examine the copper tracks for breaks. The
copper tracks are under a solder mask which is the green color on the board so it can be
quite difficult to find a crack but the green coating is also what makes the boards so well
protected from general corrosion.
>
> You might also have an intermittent circuit break. This could take a bit more time to nail
down.
>
> If you have a multimeter then we can do some more testing. Let me know if you have
one.
>
> Mike.
>
>
> earth2willi <earth2willi@...> wrote: Hi
>
> I'm the original owner of my Poly800 mk1. It was my first synth! It's in pretty good
> physical shape overall, but unfortunately it has seen better days. There seem to be
some
> very knowledgable people in this usergroup, so here is my situation.
>
> Short; it's not making any sound, when it occasionally does make some noise on it's
own
> it's distorted as if the presets are corrupt and the sound does not always reflect any
input
> played on the local keyboard, and the MIDI has stopped outputting data.
>
> My Poly800 worked great for many years. It saw some outdoor use when I was in
> highschool marching band; once when we traveled to Canada to perform, I forgot my
> keytar strap, so we ended up duct taping the keyboard to my band uniform. When we
> marched, it rained, and the Poly800 did get a bit wet but not too bad. It worked fine
for
> many years after that.
>
> I also had some alkaline batteries in it that I forgot about and they leaked, but the
leakage
> does not seem to have traveled outside the battery compartment. Inside the keyboard
was
> a bit dusty but there is no visible corrosion (a common problem in Hawaii, where the
> keyboard (and myself) had been living the past years). I cleaned out the insides with
some
> compressed air but that hasn't solved my problem.
>
> I'm not sure what exactly is wrong as they keyboard appears to be functioning OK
(powers
> up, can hear the headphone jack amplifier power up (just the click of it being powered
up,
> no excess noise), and when I attempt to flash it using a .WAV file of the original casette
> data it says 'GOOD'.
>
> However, the keyboard does not trigger the sound. Usually there is no sound, but
> sometimes there is some spurious random output, like the DCO or VCF or something is
> getting a corrupt/random 'preset' and the VCA is not usually responding to keyboard
> input. It will sometimes audibly respond to the keyboard input, but the sound will be
> accompanied by the noise generator going crazy or some random DCO output. Then
the
> sound will all stop and cut out suddenly. It usually won't make any more noise or
respond
> to the keyboard at all again, until I put it away and try again some other time.
>
> The sequencer does advance per each note, and on the occasional output that does
> respond the keybed/DCO's will seem to track accurately, so I don't think it's a problem
> with the keybed itself.
>
> I was just using it as a MIDI controller until that stopped sending any data, which lead
to
> my discovery of the audio problem. :(
>
> I've tried flashing it a number of times, with all the write switches enabled (and in
various
> permutations; e.g. just program data). I've used a couple different .WAV files. The unit
> claims to get a 'GOOD' flash. I had some trouble flashing it when I was trying to check
up
> on the MIDI and battery situation a while ago due to a bad cable, and then the audio
> problems started up. So I don't know if they are related or if that is possible. It almost
> seems like the OS (or ROM or CPU) are corrupt and it can't properly load/play the
presets.
> I haven't tried sending the data over MIDI sysex but again the MIDI out is buggered...
>
> It seems unlikely the ROM is corrupt, but is there any easy way to test the ROM or CPU?
Is
> it possible to get these parts anymore without cannibalizing another Poly800? Do these
> seem likely candidates or should I be investigating some other areas first? I have a
simple
> multimeter but not an oscilliscope...
>
> Sorry to ramble but I've tried to be complete with the information related to the
problem.
> Please let me know if there are any questions or suggestions. And thank you very much
> for your time.
>
> Sincerely,
> willi
> http://www.earth2willi.com
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>

> What should I try with the multimeter?

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "earth2willi" <earth2willi@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Mike
>
> Thanks for the reply. I do have a multimeter. I didn't see any
signs of corrosion /
> deposits/breaks on either side of the analog or digital boards, but
I didn't check both
> sides of the buttons/LED PCB. I'll take that board out and check
both sides, although that
> seems an unlikely candidate given the display and buttons work OK.
Still, I will give it
> another look. What should I try with the multimeter?
>
>
> Thanks again!
> willi
>
> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@>
wrote:
> >
> > Hi Willi,
> >
> > The fact that you can do a tape dump and get the "Good" message
virtually proves that
> your ROM, RAM, CPU and CPU clock are OK. And because you can command
the Poly via
> the rear switches and get that tape load working, emphasizes how
much I doubt you have
> a corrupted ROM.
> >
> > I've not heard of anyone damaging their Poly's using a bad audio
cable either.
> >
> > My first guess is that you probably do have some damage on the
circuit board from a
> little battery acid combined with rain water. I would obtain a
strong magnifying glass and
> then, sitting under a bright light, thoroughly examine the entire
board looking for any
> signs of corrosion. Any white salty looking deposit is a prime
candidate. If you've
> previously used a brush or fingers to rub off any salty looking
deposit then try to
> remember where it/they were and thoroughly examine the copper tracks
for breaks. The
> copper tracks are under a solder mask which is the green color on
the board so it can be
> quite difficult to find a crack but the green coating is also what
makes the boards so well
> protected from general corrosion.
> >
> > You might also have an intermittent circuit break. This could take
a bit more time to nail
> down.
> >
> > If you have a multimeter then we can do some more testing. Let me
know if you have
> one.
> >
> > Mike.
> >
> >
> > earth2willi <earth2willi@> wrote: Hi
> >
> > I'm the original owner of my Poly800 mk1. It was my first synth!
It's in pretty good
> > physical shape overall, but unfortunately it has seen better
days. There seem to be
> some
> > very knowledgable people in this usergroup, so here is my situation.
> >
> > Short; it's not making any sound, when it occasionally does make
some noise on it's
> own
> > it's distorted as if the presets are corrupt and the sound does
not always reflect any
> input
> > played on the local keyboard, and the MIDI has stopped outputting
data.
> >
> > My Poly800 worked great for many years. It saw some outdoor use
when I was in
> > highschool marching band; once when we traveled to Canada to
perform, I forgot my
> > keytar strap, so we ended up duct taping the keyboard to my band
uniform. When we
> > marched, it rained, and the Poly800 did get a bit wet but not too
bad. It worked fine
> for
> > many years after that.
> >
> > I also had some alkaline batteries in it that I forgot about and
they leaked, but the
> leakage
> > does not seem to have traveled outside the battery compartment.
Inside the keyboard
> was
> > a bit dusty but there is no visible corrosion (a common problem
in Hawaii, where the
> > keyboard (and myself) had been living the past years). I cleaned
out the insides with
> some
> > compressed air but that hasn't solved my problem.
> >
> > I'm not sure what exactly is wrong as they keyboard appears to be
functioning OK
> (powers
> > up, can hear the headphone jack amplifier power up (just the
click of it being powered
> up,
> > no excess noise), and when I attempt to flash it using a .WAV
file of the original casette
> > data it says 'GOOD'.
> >
> > However, the keyboard does not trigger the sound. Usually there
is no sound, but
> > sometimes there is some spurious random output, like the DCO or
VCF or something is
> > getting a corrupt/random 'preset' and the VCA is not usually
responding to keyboard
> > input. It will sometimes audibly respond to the keyboard input,
but the sound will be
> > accompanied by the noise generator going crazy or some random DCO
output. Then
> the
> > sound will all stop and cut out suddenly. It usually won't make
any more noise or
> respond
> > to the keyboard at all again, until I put it away and try again
some other time.
> >
> > The sequencer does advance per each note, and on the occasional
output that does
> > respond the keybed/DCO's will seem to track accurately, so I
don't think it's a problem
> > with the keybed itself.
> >
> > I was just using it as a MIDI controller until that stopped
sending any data, which lead
> to
> > my discovery of the audio problem. :(
> >
> > I've tried flashing it a number of times, with all the write
switches enabled (and in
> various
> > permutations; e.g. just program data). I've used a couple
different .WAV files. The unit
> > claims to get a 'GOOD' flash. I had some trouble flashing it
when I was trying to check
> up
> > on the MIDI and battery situation a while ago due to a bad cable,
and then the audio
> > problems started up. So I don't know if they are related or if
that is possible. It almost
> > seems like the OS (or ROM or CPU) are corrupt and it can't
properly load/play the
> presets.
> > I haven't tried sending the data over MIDI sysex but again the
MIDI out is buggered...
> >
> > It seems unlikely the ROM is corrupt, but is there any easy way
to test the ROM or CPU?
> Is
> > it possible to get these parts anymore without cannibalizing
another Poly800? Do these
> > seem likely candidates or should I be investigating some other
areas first? I have a
> simple
> > multimeter but not an oscilliscope...
> >
> > Sorry to ramble but I've tried to be complete with the
information related to the
> problem.
> > Please let me know if there are any questions or suggestions.
And thank you very much
> > for your time.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > willi
> > http://www.earth2willi.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> > http://mail.yahoo.com
> >
>