Rhodes Chroma Polaris

Do panels/membranes deteriorate over time even if the unit is not being 
used?
(or is it mainly heavy use that causes them to break down?_

i.e. If someone's selling a pristine synth is there still a pretty good 
chance the original panels underneath might be shot?



On 6/3/2015 2:21 PM, Bob Grieb bobgrieb@... [chromapolaris] wrote:
> I replaced the panel on mine, and also helped a friend do his.
> It's not that hard if you watch Paul's video and make sure
> you follow each step.
>
>     Bob
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* "Paul Krull paul.krull@... [chromapolaris]" 
> <chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com>
> *To:* "chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com" <chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, June 3, 2015 12:41 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [chromapolaris] New Member Hopefully New Owner
>
>
>
>  I have longingly studied the installation instructions for the 
> replacement panels and they do seem pretty detailed and comprehensive. 
> How many owners and with what kind of skill set have replaced their 
> own panels? I worked in a music store that sold used synths many years 
> ago and a couple Polarii came through with troubled membranes and I 
> did do some investigating and poking around but it seemed like a 
> losing battle with the brittle and deteriorating state of the ribbon. 
> I hope I didn't leave the instruments in worse shape than I found them.
>  PT
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, June 2, 2015 6:11 PM, "steve.welk@... 
> [chromapolaris]" <chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
>
> I can attest to the wonderfulness of Paul's panels, and also for his 
> generosity in sharing his expertise.  Thanks to his willingness to 
> keep this cool instrument alive, my Polaris has been brought back from 
> the dead.  It sat for many years (5-10, who knows) in my basement 
> pretty much out of commission due to the broken flex problem.  I 
> wasn't really sure what to do with it.  Then I found a book ("Synth 
> Gods") in a 1/2 price bookstore, and it reactivated my interest in old 
> analog synths.  It prompted me to research information on my old 
> Polaris and i ran into Paul's replacement instructions.
>
> Long story short, I bought a set of the panels.  He helped me debug a 
> couple other problems, convinced me to try fixing a couple bad sliders 
> and gave other good info (e.g. part number/where to find the ribbon 
> connectors).  I now have a perfectly functioning (I think) Polaris 
> again thanks to Paul.  I was even motivated to replace a couple 
> chipped keys, found on ebay so now it looks pretty excellent too.
>
> Amazingly enough, my D cells still registered 4 LED's of goodness 
> after sitting idle all that time.  All presets were still there.
>
> Anyway, only one question.  When pushing my master volume up past ~ 
> 1/3 full scale, it gets pretty noisy. I gather this is "normal".  Was 
> there ever a fix for this?  Do dedicated analog voltages/ground from 
> the power supply board help?
>
> Again, kudos to Paul!
>
> Steve
>
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