Modartt user forum - Fatar key behaving badly...

Re: Fatar key behaving badly...

null@example.com (Cellomangler) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:39:32 +0000

peter wrote:

Here 2 images of the procedure...:-)Peter

Thanks... I'll save the info with my other synth repair data.
The key seems to be working after some more rigorous vacuuming, so I don't have to perform surgery just yet. I think next time I should look into one of those Mexican hairless cats... 'Course, they're not the variety that usually show up abandoned in your boat house.....:)

Re: Fatar key behaving badly...

null@example.com (peter) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:55:43 +0000

Here 2 images of the procedure:

:-)

Peter

Re: Fatar key behaving badly...

null@example.com (peter) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:31:07 +0000

The contacts could not be soldered.
One side was printed onto the PCB with (probably burned in) carbon color that was hard as glass. The other side was conductive plastic or rubber. Should last for eternity, but the carbon contacts lost their contact with the copper traces, because they where harder than copper. I reconnected all these connection with silver color.

Peter

Re: Fatar key behaving badly...

null@example.com (Cellomangler) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:18:24 +0000

That helps... gives me a bit of confidence that I might just be able to fix it... I can solder. You mentioned "...reconnecting them with conductive silver color". Do you mean some type of conductive paint that is a bit like solder but less risky ? Sounds in my case like one of the contacts -probably the lower one- is not making a good connection unless I press fairly quickly. Hopefully it's dirt...

Re: Fatar key behaving badly...

null@example.com (peter) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:00:11 +0000

I bought my current piano (CVP 96) in defective condition.
Randomly some keys did not respond and others randomly responded at full velocity. (So I got it very very cheap;-)
I have also seen some other keyboards from inside, but not a Fatar.

In all cases the electrical contacts where capsulated in some rubber, so they cannot contaminate.
(Nonwithstanding a little bug or somthing like this can creep inside ;-)
There are two contacts: an upper and an lower, the timing difference between them makes the velocity measure.

If the upper contact is broken then the keys always respond with maximum velocity. If the lower is broken they dont respond at all.
In the case of my CVP 96 it turned out, that the contacts where made from a carbon material that is hard as glass.
Over time these had lost their contact to the PCB traces or gave random contact.
I cleaned all traces and contacts and reconnected them with conductive silver color. A lot of work!
However since then it is 100% functional again...

HTH,

Peter

Fatar key behaving badly...

null@example.com (Cellomangler) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:30:32 +0000

D above middle C... one of my favs, obviously... It only outputs MIDI, going by the sound output through Pianoteq and a Kurz module, when pressed at about half of full velocity. So I can't get soft notes out of it. So I'll have to pop open my SL990 Fatar controller and see if it's something relatively simple -cat hair, crumbs, a brown recluse skeleton... Anybody had any experience with bad keys that they were able to fix themselves......?