Patches and discussion for Ensoniq VFX family

Hello to the group !

Goo'old VFX, couldn't stand its non reliability and wanted to get rid 
of this well-known calibration problem ! So I decided to take a look.
I read carefully the articles from Chicken's site, Ensoniq hackers, 
and the VFX homepage, and decided it was time for some chirurgical 
work !

I'll not describe here all the process but here are my few remarks 
and experiences :
1. This thing is built like a tank !
2. But I believe the aftertouch (and poly !) is where the problem 
lies.
3. People say it's the cable between the 2 main boards. Mine looked 
OK. No corrosion. Electrical continuity OK. No dust on each of the 
2x9 connectors. 
4. Other people say it comes from the brown connectors on the 2 
boards under the keys. I truly believe this is where the problem is 
coming from. My connector was loose. That one point. Cleaned it and 
glued it on the board.
But there was LOST of corrosion on the circuits printed on that board 
(my voltmeter showed some continuity failures). Those 2 boards can be 
noticed on your VFX, just under the keys. They are exposed to the air 
and are somewhat bended when you press the keys for aftertouch. I 
cleaned and put some electrical tape on it to protect from this 
happening again.
5. Taking all the keys out is no problemo ! But taking the 2 boards 
out is (the only) REAL pain (those white plastic holder break and are 
sooooooo hard to remove).
6. BTW, replacing the battery was peanuts compared to taking the VFX 
apart.

I need some time to check if the calibration problem is gone FOR 
GOOD ! But, so far so GOOD !

I believe another good thing could be to put inside a small fan, like 
those on Pentium processors. Didn't have time to do that but if my 
calibration fix is OK, I will go on to this next step !

Any detailed info by private email,

Long live the VFX !

Fred

PS: Ready to send the articles by private email if needed
PS2: Thanks Steve for your calibration infos