Rhodes Chroma Polaris

Paul D is the expert on this, of course.   It's the tails that are used to connect to the panels
that become brittle with age and crack, breaking the connections.   I don't think these flex much 
with use, so I would guess that it's just age-related and probably has little to do with use.

But maybe if the synth is in a moister environment the tails might not dry out as much?
Of course a moist environment can lead to lots of other issues...

   Bob
--------------------------------------------
On Fri, 9/18/15, 'masonhu@aol.com' Masonhu@... [chromapolaris] <chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [chromapolaris] New Member Hopefully New Owner
 To: chromapolaris@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Friday, September 18, 2015, 10:19 AM
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         
 
   
     
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     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@yahoo.com
     [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@...m
 
                                      
 [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