I recall that for the Yamaha psr series with floppy drives, that drive spun continuously while on, so, it was not good to leave the keyboard on if not playing. Same for Audya and its hard drive? Yamaha s900, I suppose, does not have a drive, uses mem stick.

If for no reason other than conserving electricity, when my kb is set up at home it is off except when I'm playing it ...
t.
PS my kn6000 has both a floppy and a hard drive ... not sure if they are 'spinning' all the time ...
t.

I'm just talking about for several hours, not permanently... is this a bad idea.

I have been told through the years to keep the keyboard on through the day you are using it as switching on and off is harder on it. However, to turn it off at night.

ALL electronic devices are simply motors. While you cannot see the moving parts of an electronic engine, they are moving nonetheless. And, like any engine, when running, they are subject to wear. Additionally, the electronic engine is also subject to fluctuating line voltages and power surges--something a mechanical engine is not vulnerable to.

Now, turning an electronic device on subjects it to surges as well, but that surge is usually suppressed by certain components in the power supply. The best rule of thumb is if it's not turned on, the engine is not running. If it's plugged in, you CAN get zapped when you least expect. And finally, NO surge suppressor on the planet can protect your equipment from a nearby lightning strike. If lightning hits the power line pole on your street you can bet your bottom dollar that everything that's plugged into a power outlet will probably get fried--even when connected through a surge suppressor. It should know--it has happened to me twice in the past 30 years.

Cheers,

Gary

When using it at home or on a gig it usually is on for several hours ...
t.

My Roland VA-7 is almost the entire day on when I am at home. That is because I use my keyboard as a sort of speaker system for my computer. Never had a problem with it though

The only reasons I would turn it off is about the electricity bill, or because the disk is noisy..

Electronics is one of my areas of expertise...and as a Ham Radio operator (licensed radio station) with significant antenna systems I have studied and implemented lightning protection all too much.
Once, I had a direct hit on the antenna at 72 ft. to see that ball of fire come down the tower and crash the ground was something you can't imagine! None of my equipment was damaged...due to the protection I have installed. Even though a $400 Polyphaser protection module was blown off the side of the house on fire! (That's where all the antenna feedlines come in)

IMHO, My sugestions are:

1) Get a good quality power supply conditioner/surge surpressor, This is not one of those $20 units. One intended for a high end home theatre setup is perfect.

2) Leave the keyboard ON during any normal period of playing...whether it's a whole day, a gig, a morning..whatever. Do not turn it on/off every few minutes. In general it is better to leave electonics on all the time, but be practical.I never turn my computers at the house off (unless storms are coming)

3) If a storm is approaching UNPLUG the power surpressor (all you goodies should be plugged into it anyways) Do not just turn off the p[ower switch of the surpressor, unplug it. Hey,if your goning to be gone for a few days ect...just unplug it.

Ligtning is not forgiving.

Lee S., KC9CDT

[This message has been edited by leeboy (edited 11-11-2010).]

When not in use I always unplug the keyboard and related equipment. As Lee says lightning is not forgiving.

The 9000's floppy drive can be turned off.



[This message has been edited by mr9000 (edited 11-14-2010).]

Common sense applies.

The heatup/cooldown cycle can take its toll on electronic components and connections as well, so if you go away from your keyboard temporarily during the day and are coming back to it again, you should likely leave it ON for those short periods. Of course, if there is the threat of a lightning storm, you should turn it off and unplug it from the AC mains anyway.

--Mac

My instruments (17 keyboards on and off) and computers and other equipement last time was
turned off probably in 1999 or when i sell them and replace them with other instruments.
I go to work, vacation, familly, sleep, watch a movie...everything stays on...and the E. bill? OK!

Most keyboards today are merely computers. If we take the computer approach, most computers today that run in a Data Center are powered on 24/7/365. We perform yearly power down tests to ensure none of the computers fail on the power up sequence, test the quality of the power filters, and replace battery backups.

I would recommend a good power conditioner (the ones that have a backup battery in them) to protect your electrical circuit from voltage fluctuations which can kill electronics. JMTC

Al

I have left my Yamaha on for 6 hours at a time hundreds of times for gigs for the past six years without a problem.

But Nedim, did you turn them on after 1999?
If so don't say it too loud because ignorant people like me would never buy an used keyboard that has been turned on since it was bought!!

No joke, this thread surprised me a lot, I turn on/off all my equipment 2 or 3 times a day whenever I have some time to play.

Much of my equipment is connected by wires - TV aerial to computer, Tyros(USB)to computer, phone/router/broadband to computer so if there are electrical storms about or if I go away, the TV aerial is unplugged, the phone is unplugged (overhead lines being vulnerable) and mains supply to all the expensive equipment is unplugged. (It multi-sockets from one mains socket so usually only 1 plug has to be pulled to do the trick).

john