Korg Poly800/EX800 Users

Hi ,
Just sending along a not so short e-mail,
to confirm my membership.

And So.....
My recent acquisition, an old poly 800, isn't modified( as of yet anyway),
but It seems to basically function OK, dispite a few shortcomings.
I need to get a new battery set up for it .
The internal battery probably needs to be replaced at this point?
Also the regular battery compartment, ..the old C batteries, must have leaked all over the place, as I found the" C "battery compartment and it's minuscule connect at the board are presently toast...not much other major damage done as far as i can figure,(hopefully)
other then some rusty spots here and there on some metal supports inside..

I am able to change parameters etc, and the tape in works,
though I have not tested the tape out yet..

I had read somewhere on the web, someone had adapted a cordless phone type- rechargeable battery pack to their poly.. instead of the old C s., and that would seem a very cool idea!

I'd really like to do something, as I hhear that without batteries, I am unable to store anything I've created on it when I power down, and it seems to take a while to build sounds that are to my liking..

I could attempt to use a tape back-up every time I turn it on and want to get my settings back but that doesn't seem like it would be all that spontaneous and seems a bit of a bother.
For right now, it's a very interesting workout in making cool sounds..
and I've found some sound files I'll be able to load and check out,
but I have hopes of it being more funner if I can get it working at least as it should
and with other possible modifications .

Working on a major repairing/ modifying of this thing myself would seem a poor choice..
as reading schematics is a little over my head and
working with tiny circuits and a soldering irons is not really my strong suit,
as I have the eyes of Mr Magoo, (plus I am a bit ham handed)
So I 'll probably have to send it out to be worked on.
Hopefully I can find someone that would be able and want to taclke
an old troubled poly 800.
(I can't even find someone to comptently fix my poor old car's horn )

I would welcome any sugestions, ideas or useful info in these regards.

Thanks!
banterfoder@ yahoo.com

Thanks,
It didn't seem to have a battery visible
though It may be on the other side of the main board?
I didn't disect it too much last time I had it open, other then realizing the regular battery compartment and connections were toast.

I'll try make time to check it out further later this week and get back to you.
Again, Thanks

--- On Sat, 10/31/09, Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@ yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@ yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [korgpolyex] membership
To: korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com
Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009, 8:55 AM

Hi Rob,

Welcome to the group.

Replacing the backup battery is easy even for someone that has only limited experience with a soldering iron. If you take it to a tech then it should be quite cheap to do. The only thing that complicates matters is that some of the early Poly-800's came out without any solder tabs on the main PCB where the battery is supposed to be soldered in.

1) If you already see a battery present - no problem.
2) If you can see the battery solder pads in the middle of the main board - no problem.

But, if you can't see the solder tabs let us know because we can put together a simple document that will describe what needs to be done to fit a battery.

Mike

From: Robert Sweeney <banterfoder@ yahoo.com>
To: korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com
Sent: Fri, October 30, 2009 11:32:57 PM
Subject: [korgpolyex] membership

Hi ,
Just sending along a not so short e-mail,
to confirm my membership.

And So.....
My recent acquisition, an old poly 800, isn't modified( as of yet anyway),
but It seems to basically function OK, dispite a few shortcomings.
I need to get a new battery set up for it .
The internal battery probably needs to be replaced at this point?
Also the regular battery compartment, ..the old C batteries, must have leaked all over the place, as I found the" C "battery compartment and it's minuscule connect at the board are presently toast...not much other major damage done as far as i can figure,(hopefully)
other then some rusty spots here and there on some metal supports inside..

I am able to change parameters etc, and the tape in works,
though I have not tested the tape out yet..

I had read somewhere on the web, someone had adapted a cordless phone type- rechargeable battery pack to their poly.. instead of the old C s., and that would seem a very cool idea!

I'd really like to do something, as I hhear that without batteries, I am unable to store anything I've created on it when I power down, and it seems to take a while to build sounds that are to my liking..

I could attempt to use a tape back-up every time I turn it on and want to get my settings back but that doesn't seem like it would be all that spontaneous and seems a bit of a bother.
For right now, it's a very interesting workout in making cool sounds..
and I've found some sound files I'll be able to load and check out,
but I have hopes of it being more funner if I can get it working at least as it should
and with other possible modifications .

Working on a major repairing/ modifying of this thing myself would seem a poor choice..
as reading schematics is a little over my head and
working with tiny circuits and a soldering irons is not really my strong suit,
as I have the eyes of Mr Magoo, (plus I am a bit ham handed)
So I 'll probably have to send it out to be worked on.
Hopefully I can find someone that would be able and want to taclke
an old troubled poly 800.
(I can't even find someone to comptently fix my poor old car's horn )

I would welcome any sugestions, ideas or useful info in these regards.

Thanks!
banterfoder@ yahoo.com

Hello Again,

I finally had time this evening to take another look at the inside of the old poly 800.
There is no battery visible that I could see on the main board,
so anything you can send my way as far as where and how to install a new one
would be greatly appreciated!
.
I also played around with attempting to load some programs/sounds
I was able to obtain.

However, all the programs seems to be sounding mostly the same
wither I load the new sounds or factory sounds to the tape in,
Poly says all is good, but all the "programs" are still sounding mostly alike/the same,
( I am still able to effect some changes by using different perimeter settings.)

I was assuming that once loaded, the factory or new programs/sounds
would offer something more immediately playable , like piano,organ or string sounds,
without having to tweak the thing for 5 minutes.

or is this just the inherent nature of the Poly 800 ?

Thanks
banterfoder@ yahoo.com

Thanks Peter and Michael

I just was able to get the factory sounds to load properly, (yes, the write switch must also be enabled when uploading tape to the Poly).
After doing so and checking out the factory sounds,
I then powered down, unplugged the wall supply.
When I reattached it and powered it back up up it retained the factory settings
.
So... I'm assuming my internal battery, (where-ever the heck it is), is still functioning.
and it will save any custom patterns or sequences I write to it, as soon as I get around to attempt those features..

I'll probably adapt a 9 volt dry cell to the connector for the 9v wall plug and be good to go
for now.
(one less chord to worry about tripping over.)

Though I'm still obviously learning my way around it,
I've got loads of patches to try and plenty of outboard gear to effect the sounds coming out of the poly, enough to keep me busy for some time..though I may at some point want to try to modify it..?

Way Cool!

Thanks again for the info..
Bob Sweeney
banterfoder@ yahoo.com

--- On Thu, 11/5/09, Ullrich Peter <peter.ullrich@ kapsch.net> wrote:

From: Ullrich Peter <peter.ullrich@ kapsch.net>
Subject: RE: [korgpolyex] No Battery Visable and...
To: "korgpolyex@ yahoogroups. com" <korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com>
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 10:47 AM

Hi!

My Poly800 also has no onboard battery – the memory backup is only done via the big batteries

That Poly800 can play with.

So I added a Lithium battery and a diode so that I can live without the big batteries – I only use the

Poly800 with a wall wart supply.

I used a 3V lithium battery and a schottky diode (BAT48) in series and connected it to cathode of D15 and

D23 – this is the VCC pin of the 6116 RAM chip.

So the RAM can be powered via the internal big batteries, the small lithium battery or the normal

power supply if connected. The highest voltage wins and the diode protect the batteries from exploding.

Ciao
Peter

http://come. to/synpro

Coming in a few days – an addon that is also useful for the Poly800: the “datadial”

http://go.to/datadial

From: korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com [mailto:korgpolyex@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Robert Sweeney
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 3:45 PM
To: korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com
Subject: Re: [korgpolyex] No Battery Visable and...

Hi again,
I saw no battery on any kind on any of the boards
I did not see any lands for mounting a battery present on the board I perceive as the main board.
Am I looking at the right board.?
Presently, I'm looking at the largest board, the one that is attached to the bottom cover
and has the in and outs to the back of the Poly.
There is a white sticker with a handwritten" 20121033" on this "KLM - 590 - 2 " circuit board.
On one of the main chips (C22)on the same board, there is a printed sticker with a red "830216"
(If I'm not looking at the right board, please point me in the right direction.)

The Serial # on the bottom side cover of the Poly 800 is "003923"

That about all I can see at this point to ID it...?

We'll see what happens with the tape sounds when I have another chance to get around to it again.
( I'll try enabling the program write switch and cross my fingers.).

Thanks


--- On Thu, 11/5/09, Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@ yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@ yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [korgpolyex] No Battery Visable and...
To: korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 8:06 AM

what is the main board revision number?

did you see any solder lands for the battery to be installed in the middle of the board?

you may need to set the Program Write enable switch to enable before the tape sounds will load into memory.

From: Robert Sweeney <banterfoder@ yahoo.com>
To: korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com
Sent: Thu, November 5, 2009 2:18:22 AM
Subject: [korgpolyex] No Battery Visable and...

Hello Again,

I finally had time this evening to take another look at the inside of the old poly 800.
There is no battery visible that I could see on the main board,
so anything you can send my way as far as where and how to install a new one
would be greatly appreciated!
.
I also played around with attempting to load some programs/sounds
I was able to obtain.

However, all the programs seems to be sounding mostly the same
wither I load the new sounds or factory sounds to the tape in,
Poly says all is good, but all the "programs" are still sounding mostly alike/the same,
( I am still able to effect some changes by using different perimeter settings.)

I was assuming that once loaded, the factory or new programs/sounds
would offer something more immediately playable , like piano,organ or string sounds,
without having to tweak the thing for 5 minutes.

or is this just the inherent nature of the Poly 800 ?

Thanks
banterfoder@ yahoo.com