Opening keyboard case-dare I?

[neilmre]

Dare I open up my keyboard case? The MIDI out connection isn't working & if it's only a solder connection or something simple, I hate to take it in and pay 50$ or more and have to wait 3 weeks for service. Yet, I don't want to wreck the stuff inside (it's a Yamaha 510 out of warranty). Thanks for any ideas - I really appreciate your help and this website! Neil neilmre

 

[regebro]

Depends on how gutsy you are...

If you are used to electronics equipment, and know how to solder and stuff, it's usually no problem. (Although some are more problematic then others). The Japanese stuff is usually very easy to service.

 

[bball jones]

neilmre -
First and foremost I would remove all doubt about the problem eminating from said connector. Test your cables, soundcard and anything else to be sure that it is not something else causing your woes.
Once you are sure beyond the shadow of a doubt, take a good look at it to locate obvious problems, loose wires and the like. See if there are a couple screws to remove the midi connector. If so, remove them and look around.

 

[JimH]

If you're careful, it can't hurt to open it up and take a look. A bad solder joint isn't always visibly bad, but it's worth a look. I agree with bball: first make sure you rule out any accidental misconfiguration from a patch bay or computer or whatever. If you have another keyboard, plug the MIDI OUT of the 510 directly into the MIDI IN other keyboard to get the simplest connection possible and test it.

I had a MIDI port go bad on my Roland R8. I took it to the shop and it turned out to be, if I remember right, a bad opto-isolator. I guess an LED burned out or something.

Jim

 

[neilmre]

Opening keyboard case

Re:my inquiry about opening my keyboard case to repair a MIDI out connection that's not working, I wish to thank regebro, bball jones and JimH for their timely responses. Your help is appreciated. And thanks, also, to Dragon and homerecording.com! Neil Ekberg mremu@mindspring.com