Roland A-80 (Aftertouch Repair)

[Plink Floyd]

Do you think it's possible to change the whole keyboard into a Fatar-Keyboard ?
http://www.fatar.com/pages/TP_40WOOD.htm

I plan to look into this after vaca. But I wouldn't get my hopes up that the Fatar would simply drop in to the existing space and mountng holes ect, let alone be electrically compatible.

What would one of those Fatars cost?

[ElectricPuppy]

Second problem: How can you even purchase one? Or any of their products, actually?

[Plink Floyd]

I found one place: $ seven fiddy shipped w/escapement kit. Mono aftertouch.

[CMGF24]

What about this upgrade?
Don't know if it works.
http://www.doepfer.de/usb64.htm

[Plink Floyd]

Oh, forgive our manners. Welcome to our thing here. (Does CMGF24 stand for ComputerMusicGuideForum24?)

Anyway, do you have an A-80 that you're trying to repair? If so, how about telling us the symptoms? Or anything else interesting. We like interesting stuff.

[etl17]

Hi there!

This is a DOUBLE-POST ! Sorry, I didn't see this thread before!

noisevoid, did you manage to get the AT fixed with Zoflex stuff? If yes, what was the right size / thickness?

I managed to somehow damage a couple of keys worth of poly-aftertouch. Here is the full story:

One day I managed to spill a little bit of coffee over the keys, but didn't pay too much attention, as the keyboard continued to work without a problem. The next day, I noticed that my A-80 was sending random aftertouch messages without pushing any keys! I thought that the coffee made it to the contacts under the keys, so maybe I should wait a couple of days for it to completely "dry out". Unfortunately, the problem persisted for more than two weeks. At that point, I decided that I should take more drastic measures and open-up the instrument.

So, after removing all the keys, I saw that there were coffee stains on both the note switch boards and aftertouch boards and felts. So, I decided to spray the felt with alcohol, so that the coffee will be diluted and evaporated. WRONG IDEA! Since I was at it, I also decided to remove the flexible switch covers and clean-up the note switch contacts with q-tip swabs and alcohol. Probably ANOTHER BAD IDEA!

After everything looked nice and clean, I put everything back together only to realize that some notes are now more velocity sensitive (produce higher velocity value than their neighboring notes)! Also, the aftertouch felt area that was previously soaked in alcohol is now not responding to pressure anymore :-(.

Any ideas how to address the inconsistent velocity sensitivity? Did the alcohol removed resistive material from the exposed contact on the board and if yes, is there anything that I could do? I looked again and again at the re-seating of the flexible contact covers and they seem to be back in their place seated properly. Is it possible that somehow there is something more to it?

Any ideas on how to recover the aftertouch contacts that have gone dead? Is the felt removable / repairable? Any ideas on this?

.... or is it time for a new weighted keyboard altogether?

Any pointers and ideas will be appreciated!!!

Thank you!

--Stefanos

[ElectricPuppy]

Hi Stefanos,

My guess is that the alcohol may have removed some of the resist material from the aftertouch, and will need to be replaced. Maybe someone here can give more info on how to do that, but I couldn't say.

It may just be time to retire the A-80, or disconnect the aftertouch entirely and do without it.

[Plink Floyd]

So, you looked (and cleaned) between the AT contact board and the strip with the white semi-conductive rectangles on it? Sounds to me like that's where the coffee is doing it's damage. I can't say if those two items can be separated and re-positioned easily or not, but noisevoid can advise on that point. If you attempt to clean that area, be careful with the semi conductive pads: I'm hesitant to recommend alcohol for that stuff, not knowing exactly what it is. I might even consider trying distilled water on a small spot to see how it cleans up. After all, you're not trying to remove oils, but coffee solids. Believe it or not, in some cases a little clear dish soap + clean water is the best stuff. Good rinsing & drying is of course necessary.

Schmultz in the felt shouldn't affect anything electrically, but it might affect the feel. It also might ooze into unwanted places later. You might want to remove it also for soapy washing.

If it was creamed & sugared, I'd try to clean it all out, if I could.

& learn to drink it black, like a man.



But really, do let us know how you get along. We like to help with stuff like this.

[MetroSonus]

Plink's Fix it shop.

[Plink Floyd]

More like Plink's Pile of Broken Stuff That He Can't Find Time to Fix.

I've been insanely busy lately with un-fun activities. I don't think I'm even going to get to Sweetfest this year.

[gregwar]

learn to drink it black, like a man.



But really, do let us know how you get along. We like to help with stuff like this.

thanks for the concern

i only add sugar & cream to weak/thin coffee. in canada we have an obsession with tim hortons and the "double double"



^ this is our prime minister drinking tims

(we don't have a president/separation of powers, we have a prime minister who is the leader of the ruling party. as a political scientist these distinctions are relevant to my interests)

when i make coffee i drink it black but if i add cinnamon is that ok ?

if i drink too much coffee then steve roach ambient albums are too spacey and slow