Hi SZoners,
Yesterday, I went to play on my keyboard, pressed the power button, nothing happened. Pressed harder, nothing again.

For months now the power button along with the other most used ones (intro, var, tempo etc, all of them rubber) were erratic in their behaviour, needed more than a simple tap.
I thought it was age.
This time however, no matter how hard I pressed, nothing happened. So I decided to open the keyboard up, and try to fix it, instead of getting a new one. After all, these are not the best of times to spend 1600€ on a new keyboard. At least that is the price of the S900 here in Greece.


So, this is what I did...


Stage 1:
26 screws, just to remove the upper lid of the keyboard. Here they are, pinned on a sheet of A4 paper, so I can remember which one goes where... take this tip, especially when dealing with screws on plastic.



Stage 2:
26 screws later, upper lid is off. Those foam cable protectors used to be white, then I first opened it up, 10 years ago. Cigarette smoke does that.
My target is in the opposite side of the brown circuit board behind the green circuit board, upper left corner.


Stage 3:
Due to the cable layout and lack of cable length, you have to unscrew the whole keybed, so you have enough space to access the brown PCB.
15 screws later, keybed is off.


Stage 4:
About 8 screws later, green PCB is off, giving access to the brown PCB


Stage 5:
14 screws later, brown pcb is off, showing its green underbelly and various contacts and leds. The one I need to work on is near the lower right corner. It has some kind of muck/dirt in between the contact trails where the button makes contact so, it is rubbing alcohol time, and all the other contacts get a similar treatment as well



Stage 6:
Putting it back together...
63 screws later, the keyboard is ready, the power brick is connected.
Press button, nothing happens ...
press again, nothing happens...

looks like the S900 is going to be my next keyboard after all...

...and then, only then, I realize that the socket for the mains is slightly pulled out!!!


Lessons learned: (the fact that I already knew them and used to preach them, makes writing about it much more difficult)

1) Don't attempt to fix things AFTER Sunday roast beef lunch followed by 4 glasses of wine...

2) Always check the cheapest things first. When a printer malfunctions, chances are the $3 cable is at fault, not the $100 printer...

3) For God's sake, check the power cable!


Ahh, by the way... the contacts I cleaned, work like a charm...
A slight touch to the power button, it turns on, a slight caress of the Var2 button, there goes the fill playing... at least this I got right !!!

Theodore

[This message has been edited by trident (edited 03-22-2009).]

Another in a LONG list of things I will not find myself doing ... (the kb repair - NOT the roast beef and wine )

Theodore ... glad things worked out for you ... now have another glass of wine and relax ...
t.

My suggestion is to use the professional contact cleaner/conditioner made by CAIG. It is called Deoxit (I use PRO gold to condition, after using standard Deoxit to clean the contacts) I recommend it for any electronic/audio service work involving open type (dry) contacts.

It is what I use to clean and restore many electronic items, including 1950's -1970's vintage ham radio equipment.

It is not cheap...but works super.
It is recommended by many PRO repair shops.

Just a suggestion for the future....
Lee S.

Trident, You're a very brave man, John C.

WOW...the patience of a Saint.. I would do the same but probably leave off 30 screws going back....

Looks like fun. What kind of keyboard is that?

Thankfully I am a very patient person, but I should have looked at the mains plug first... still can't believe it.
Scott, it is an old Casio. Not so much fun... thank God there are softsynths.



[This message has been edited by trident (edited 03-23-2009).]

Not in a million years would I do that myself...

I got chills just reading/viewing this thread...




------------------
Bill in Dayton

And the moral of the story is?.........

No moral... just a story? ...
t.

I wouldn't hesitate to do that, IF the board was out of warranty.

Kind of depend on what your skils are.
Some should not even think about it,some...no sweat.

Lee S.

I've done it a few times myself....
I'll say that my G1000 was one of the easiest to open & work on, I replaced all the worn buttons it was easy with Fran's assistance.
Also worked on my Psr3k a few times also inside circuit boards under Mr Wizards guidance...in a pinch it's sometimes the best remedy for sure.

Out of warranty? You bet! In 18 months the Casio will be 16 years old, and will go to Iraq!

After I had the board for some years, I opened it up, partly to see what is inside, partly to clean it. I smoke, so the first thing to do was vacuum the ashes from inside the keyboard. I have infinite patience when it comes to dissasembling things and putting them back together. Had a very old 49 key Lowrey (probably from the late 80's) a friend gave me, and aftes some months one F key stopped working. Teared it apart, found and cleaned the contact, It lived for a year or two.

Actually I can't help it, I have been opening up things (especially electronics) since I was old enough to hold a screwdriver. Curiosity is running in my veins. Thankfully I am not a cat, I would be lond dead by now.

First one I remember was a portable transistor radio back when I was less than 5 years old. A Mitsubishi one. One screw in the back, a round edge kitchen knife, and voila!.
Every time a technician came to mend our black and white TV, I was literally on his back, just to see what he does. Plumber doing bathroom fixtures, I was game. Electricians taking care of wall sockets, I was ecstatic. Saved maybe 2 or 3 TV technician visits after I saw what potensiometers he was turning to control V-size and brightness and trimmed them myself when the TV was on its last legs. My wife comes from a totally different background, nobody was a "handyman" in her house so it seems strange for her.

If there are monetary or time constraints, os simply you have the time, why not try to mend it yourself? Simple things like electrical contacts and such, are probably very easy to replace.

Each of us has his/her own skills and abilities...
Me? ... I try to find people like YOU ! ...

t.

O come on...!

Haven't we done enough damage to those people already?

Maybe 10-15 years ago I would have tried that, but today I no longer have the eyesw, hand and patience for such work. The top of my Kurzweil is still unscrewed after 1.5 years of inspecting the insides - about 30-40 screws.

Good for you, Theodore.

BWAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!! YOU ARE RIGHT !!!!!

I used to do that stuff years ago...did most of my own repairs and OS upgrade installs, but now I'm just too lazy and would rather let some one else do it.

Ian

A few gigs & a kb is paid for ...if it breaks down the road who cares chuck it & buy another.

I guess it DOES tend to show up a general design flaw, not just with Yamaha's, but with most arrangers...

What's the one thing most likely to fail? The buttons.

What's usually the hardest thing to get to, to fix? You guessed it... The buttons.

Murphy's Law in action, my friends...

G1000 had easy button access to change ....like I said it was the best "user self service" arranger ever made. & the best looking..

And the last one with a Chord Sequencer...

Though pretty, there were some layout clunkers with the G1000, notably the buttons for Part selection and splits being at the top right of the panel. G70's buttons right next to the keyboard are FAR superior.