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midi keyboard repairs
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| ralpheeee |
One of the keys on my keyboard is not working, i.e when i press it, i either get no sound, or a realy low sound.
Would anyone here know if its easy to fix, I'm pondering taking it apart and mucking around with it.
It's an edirol pcrm50 |
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| CReddick |
WD-40 fixes everything. Get the key off, and shoot some down in there.. see what happens...
or the obv answer would be to send it out to Edirol for service. |
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| ralpheeee |
| Cool, I'll give that a go. I don't think it'll be worth sending away for service, only cost about $300, so if i cant fix it meself, I'll buy a new one and then use the old keyboard for triggering loops and samples etc. |
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| DJ RANN |
Ralpheee, if your keyboard is in waranty take it back and demand a repair FOC. if not then......
before you begin, you will need:
switch cleaner or contact cleaner spray.
flathead precision screwdriver
phillips screwdriver
qtips or earbuds
cotton cloth (non fluffy)
needlenose pliers
please read the instructions through at least once before attempting this and if you think it sounds beyond you, don't try it - you could just brick your keyboard totally.
finally, I am doing this all from memory so there might be stage (like unscrewing something minor) that I have missed so please use common sense when performing this fix (i.e. if you undo something to get to the next stage, remember to do it back up when reassmbling).
I have done this more times than I care to remember and I am a qulified service technician for just about every known brand on the audio market so believe me this does work, but I take no resposibilty for broken items and you do this at your own risk........
unscrew the black screws on the underside of the casing, closest to the edges. these hold the darker, lower casing to the upper silver casing.
you should now be able to remove the silver upper casing if you pull it towards you to clear the protruding keys. you will need to lift up the front bit so it opens like a chest. be careful here because the ribbon connectors will be exposed and you don't want to be too rough with them. take note of which ones are connected to what(take a photo if in doubt). the top should now be completely separate.
now unscrew the screws on the underside that hold the keys in place.
you can now remove the keys one by one, using either needle nose pliers or a smallis screwdriver, to lift the top part of the springs over the lip of it's beveled hole. you will have to do this in a manner not to damage or bent either the hole the sprimg sits in or the spring itself. you can remove springs as you remove each key or you can remove all the springs then slide each key out one by one. I can't quite remember exactly but you have to either push the keys down or up to be able to slide the keys out so they clear the plastic hook underneath. It sounds complcated but once you figure out how to remove one it becoms really easy.
the white keys have to be removed so the black keys can slide out but I would remove them from right to left and place the keys somewhere in the same order as you remove them so its easy to put them back afterwards.
when this is done you should see the grey rubber sensors that the keys touch to trigger. each rubber sensor set is about 8 units (keys) long. very carefully, pull up the edge of the rubber unit at the point where the positioning legs go through the holes and note how there are large and smaller legs to make sure correct placement is maintained. pull them up from right left and the legs should pop out as you pull up - remember, do this slowly and gently. when you have removed all the rubber sensors you will see the black pcb contacts.
not get your switch cleaner and spray the out of it and don't be afraid to drench it. clean thougroughly with a non fluffy cloth and remove any surrounding dirt from inside the keyboard.
now om the boardwhich has the ribbon connector recepticles, you need to clean them carefullý (do not bend any pins) with switch cleaner and with a flathead precision screwdriver, lightly score the surface of each of the pins.
now spray the rubber contact units on the circular black parts that actually make contact with the PCB contacts. use an earbud to wipe each one clean but be careful with the spray as you don't want to freeze the rubber or it will become brittle and break.
now push the larger positioning leg on the rubber unit back in to the hole on the PCB that it came from. then line up the legs in pairs, pushing them back in to their corresponding holes, working from one side slowly to the other. repeat this for all the rubber trigger units. when they are all in place, push down on where the legs go in to the holes one by and make sure they are all driven home properly, and make sure that they are all on perfectly straight.
now start placing the keys back in the reverse order you took them in, remembering that you have to anticipate for the black keys otherwise the next white ones won't go in properly. you will have to make sure, just like the reverse of how you took them out, that you hook them in place then slide each key in (you should be able to get a knack of doing this)
once all the keys are in place, the springs can be put back in the holes to give the keys tension again. I found it easiest to put the bottom part of the spring in the hole and lift the top up and away with the flathead screwdriver until you clear the upper edge of the key and drop the top part of the spring back in the hole. aain there is a knack to this which shouldn't be too difficult to get hang of.
once this has been done, screw the keys back to the lower casing, connct the robbon cables and slide the upper casing back on to the bottom and screw the whole unit back together.
hopefully this should fix any problems with broken keys and prolong the life of your keyboard.
if this hasn't worked it means you have a component issue and it will need to go back for repair.
finally I apologise for any wierd spelling or grammer as my computer is giving me grief amd I have written thos from my phone.
good luck!!!! |
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| ralpheeee |
| Thankyou very much for you help. I'll try this over the next week sometime. Sound like a fun project. |
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| DJ RANN |
| quote: | Originally posted by CReddick
WD-40 fixes everything. Get the key off, and shoot some down in there.. see what happens...
or the obv answer would be to send it out to Edirol for service. |
are you ing nuts? wd40 and audio equipment?
mmmm.. I bet your studio is nice ;) do you use damp spaghetti to replace faulty cable?
no offence, but advice like that is better not shared. |
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| ralpheeee |
DJ RANN
Thanks alot for your help, I followed your instructions and it works perfectly now. U just saved me hundreds of dollars, cheers bruvva!! |
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| DJ RANN |
I meant ot ask how you got on Ralphee - you're very welcome! and I'm glad it worked out.:)
Anyone else reading this thread....... the instructions are basically the same for most midi controller keyboards (especially edirol, roland, evolution, oberheim and m-audio).
The principles are the same: take the casing off, unplug the ribbon connectors, remove thespings to the keys, then remove the keys, remove the grey rubber triggers, clean all the trigger contacts, score the pins that ribbon connectors go to and spray the plastic ribbon connectors, reassemble and viola!
If that don't work then you have an electronic fault and it's probably going to work out cheaper buying a new one..... |
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| ralpheeee |
It was alot easier than i thought, thanks to your instructions.
The only thing i skipped was the ribbon connection section step as I figured it probably wasnt neccesary. |
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