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One of my clients has a small studio around the corner in the CenterStaging, LLC building where my shop is. In the past, he's brought me Neve Modules, API Modules and their 'lunchbox' mainframe that powers many other API-formated connector modules, old Telefunken preamps, Neve sidecar, that sort of thing. Saturday he brought over a Roland V-SYNTH-XT box that had a bad Volume pot. Triangular package if you look at it from the side, and it had that sort of packaging that suggested a multitude of PCB's, all high density LSI Surface Mount, thin film ribbons on 25mil pitch (or less), that plug into those tiny little connectors, some with release mechanisms, though everything on the micro-scale. I did my best to say no, but he had an interested party that wanted to buy this on Tuesday, and the volume 'pot' was intermittent and felt like a non-standard part that would be made by one of the major control mfgrs' but, a form factor that only companies like Roland can buy. Not a distributor part.
I told him my gut feel, before lifting a screwdriver off the bench, that that control is placed like where the building architects place the boiler....in the basement, and to get at it, you have to dismantle all of the plumbing that the bean counters forced into the way, rather than having access to remove a major part when it fails. Sure enough, after I was left with this thing, and two trays full of screws and other fittings sequentially filled up the trays before getting to the ground floor where the control was....looked like an encoder...though could have been a 6-terminal side-by-side dual gang pot. Still, it wasn't built in a fashion that I could repair physically, and to get it out, lots more time would be required. This was an 'obtain the part', pull it completely apart, de-solder and remove the broken control and hope like hell you don't destroy the tiny solder pads and plate-thru holes in the process. I showed him, and suggested that Roland may well NOT sell that broken part, but instead have the corporate stance that 'You have to purchase the entire PCB that that broken part is mounted to'. I don't know. There is a Roland Artist Relations office across the street in our complex, so I suggested he stop by to speak with them.....though they'd no doubt just tell him to call Roland Service Center and go from there.
After I showed him what he was facing, I put it all back together and handed it back to him, now an hour into the project.
I didn't come in yesterday, having succeeded in getting that last BGW amp working.
He stopped by just a little while ago, to tell me since I gave it back to him, it's no longer working. DOUUUHHHOOO! A kajillion tiny ribbon cables connecting all the small boards together....I was sure I had plugged everything back in, but, obviously must have missed something. I opened the rear cover (four screws, access into the top level boards.....there were two ribbons that moved when I pushed on them with my fingers, and there were the tiny female mating connectors on the top surface of the board, ribbons sitting below the board, but spring-tension having them look like they're connected. I plugged one in, then the other one in. Set it back down onto the bench, plugged in power, turned it on, spun it around and fumbled with the switches until I got sound out of it thru the headphones. Only one side worked. But, messed with the volume control, which did its' pot kinda broken' routine, and got both channels again. Worked. Did everything work? Dunno. Put the cover back on, took it back to him (outside door locked again, pounded on the door, and he did come and answer it this time). He plugged it in, waited for it to upload its' programs, hit preview, and gave a thumbs up sign.
Whew!
I said....as I told you....I DON"T work on Synthesizers! I'm NOT a digital guy, and these things aren't made for service...they're made for manufacturing.
I told him my gut feel, before lifting a screwdriver off the bench, that that control is placed like where the building architects place the boiler....in the basement, and to get at it, you have to dismantle all of the plumbing that the bean counters forced into the way, rather than having access to remove a major part when it fails. Sure enough, after I was left with this thing, and two trays full of screws and other fittings sequentially filled up the trays before getting to the ground floor where the control was....looked like an encoder...though could have been a 6-terminal side-by-side dual gang pot. Still, it wasn't built in a fashion that I could repair physically, and to get it out, lots more time would be required. This was an 'obtain the part', pull it completely apart, de-solder and remove the broken control and hope like hell you don't destroy the tiny solder pads and plate-thru holes in the process. I showed him, and suggested that Roland may well NOT sell that broken part, but instead have the corporate stance that 'You have to purchase the entire PCB that that broken part is mounted to'. I don't know. There is a Roland Artist Relations office across the street in our complex, so I suggested he stop by to speak with them.....though they'd no doubt just tell him to call Roland Service Center and go from there.
After I showed him what he was facing, I put it all back together and handed it back to him, now an hour into the project.
I didn't come in yesterday, having succeeded in getting that last BGW amp working.
He stopped by just a little while ago, to tell me since I gave it back to him, it's no longer working. DOUUUHHHOOO! A kajillion tiny ribbon cables connecting all the small boards together....I was sure I had plugged everything back in, but, obviously must have missed something. I opened the rear cover (four screws, access into the top level boards.....there were two ribbons that moved when I pushed on them with my fingers, and there were the tiny female mating connectors on the top surface of the board, ribbons sitting below the board, but spring-tension having them look like they're connected. I plugged one in, then the other one in. Set it back down onto the bench, plugged in power, turned it on, spun it around and fumbled with the switches until I got sound out of it thru the headphones. Only one side worked. But, messed with the volume control, which did its' pot kinda broken' routine, and got both channels again. Worked. Did everything work? Dunno. Put the cover back on, took it back to him (outside door locked again, pounded on the door, and he did come and answer it this time). He plugged it in, waited for it to upload its' programs, hit preview, and gave a thumbs up sign.
Whew!
I said....as I told you....I DON"T work on Synthesizers! I'm NOT a digital guy, and these things aren't made for service...they're made for manufacturing.
) I attended a demo once where the organist popped out a couple of keys, which actually were long wooden levers that reached back to the pipe valves. Imagine not just getting that idea working, but also making it playable.
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