Yahoo Groups archive

Vintage Synth Repair

Index last updated: 2026-04-28 23:41 UTC

Message

Troubleshooting an OB-8

2009-06-29 by gnw

I've recently acquired a "troubled" Oberheim OB-8 (non-MIDI, firmware 
rev. A8).  It's behavior is very erratic, but the one symptom that is 
consistent is that when using the frequency adjustment for OSC 1 or 2 in 
any voice, or the Master Tune control, the pitch change is not smooth, 
but rather extremely glitchy.  What follows are the tests I've performed 
so far, and their results.

*Verify voltage sources at connectors I and J:  In spec
*DAC calibration:  In spec
*Oscillator volts per octave adjustment:  I was able to get the 
adjustments for oscillators 1 & 2 in spec (both test LED's lit), but in 
every case the adjustment was extremely sensitive and it was difficult 
to get both LED's to stop flickering.  When performing the adjustment 
for F-ENV modulation (T102, T202, etc) on voices 1-4 (lower board) only 
test LED 1 was illuminated regardless of trimmer setting; I couldn't get 
LED2 to light at all.  In addition, if I revisit any of these 
adjustments a few hours or days later, I find that most are once again 
out of calibration.
*Oscillator drift test:  I ran this test several times, and each time it 
passed without issue.

I've also noticed that at some point one of the bridge rectifiers for 
the power supply must have let go, as one of them has clearly been 
replaced, and there is a bit of damage on the board in that area.  I'm 
tempted to replace the three of them just for good measure, but since 
all my voltages are in spec at I and J, I don't think they are the 
source of my problems.  Or could they be?  At any rate, given this 
information, does anyone have suggestions as to where to go from here?  
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

george

Attachments

Move to quarantaine

This moves the raw source file on disk only. The archive index is not changed automatically, so you still need to run a manual refresh afterward.