Rhodes Chroma Polaris

> From: james meagher
> 
> My Polaris arrived today and I must say that I was very excited to see
> that it is in way better cosmetic condition than I was expecting. I
> got straight to work repairing the membrane panel ribbon cable issue
> (success!), and still have some key issues to tackle tomorrow.

Glad they worked out for you.

> I have two parts I'd like to replace as well. The first is the High
> Output Jack. The threading has broken off of it so it is now
> impossible to secure it with a nut to the back panel. I thought before
> getting the Polaris that I might just be able to switch it with the
> Low Output Jack, but it appears they're different parts. Any advice on
> where I could buy this part would be greatly appreciated. I have no
> idea if it's extremely common or specific to the Polaris. I've only so
> far in my brief repair experience replaced ICs, caps, diodes, and
> various other electronic components that can be sourced from places
> like Digikey and Mouser - I've never had to source a part specific to
> musical instruments. Is there a good webstore for this stuff? I'm in
> Canada, but happy to order from the US if necessary.

The three audio output jacks are kind of odd, because they have an unusually
fat bushing. The hole diameter is about 0.488" instead of the usual 3/8".
However, you could use a more conventional one with the addition of a washer
on the outside, and maybe a second one on the inside. All that's necessary
is to choose a floating jack with a plastic bushing that doesn't ground the
sleeve to the chassis. Digikey and Mouser have no exact replacements that I
can see, but plenty of jacks that could be made to work.

> The second part I'm looking for can probably only come from a board
> that someone is parting out. I need the long, skinny, black piece of
> stripping that runs the length of the control face over the top edge
> of the membrane panels. If anyone has this simple part from an old,
> dead Polaris I'd love to buy it from you.

Yeah, good luck with that. But since it's only cosmetic, you could leave it
off. Or, put a long strip of black electrical tape down in its place to
cover up the edge of the membrane panels. Or maybe find a piece of something
at a plastics store that could be glued down. But you're right that the only
place you'll find that exact part is from another Polaris.

-- 

Ciao,               Paul D. DeRocco
Paul                mailto:pderocco@...