Disklavier

i have found that it is some times possible in cases of chewing or other 
form of destruction of wires to examine the ends of the cut wires with a 
microscope and match cut patterns. of course if the little buggers 
removed sections of wire, you can not do this. it is only useful if you 
have just a couple of cut wires of the same color that you need to match.

On 8/13/2014 9:16 AM, freddismuke@... [disklavier] wrote:
>
> I've followed this group since I purchased my (used) MX80 Disklavier 
> years ago. It has been a valuable resource for me. It has a problem, 
> now I am truly stumped. After years of reading I now post and would be 
> very appreciative if someone could give me some direction.About a 
> 1-1/2 years ago after a "transistor error" appeared on the controller 
> display I discovered that mice had chewed through several wires on the 
> key solenoid driver wiring harness. I am quite handy and was able to 
> reconstruct the missing wire sections (a dozen or so) and voila! 
> Fortunately only a couple of those wires were of the same color 
> insulation so the possibilities for error were limited. I again 
> enjoyed my piano until "transistor error" reappeared 
> recently.Disassembly revealed real devastation, primarily on the same 
> harness but in 3 separate places along its run under the keys. 15-25 
> wires per site with many wires in each gnaw site sharing the same 
> color. A call to Yamaha Tech Supt and I found that the harness is now 
> unavailable, as well as the entire solenoid assembly. The main board 
> has been discontinued too. My console is now 20 years old, it's not 
> looking too good in the electronics department..Maybe a tech member of 
> this group has such a part. I feel that the permutations of wire 
> connections (not to mention the chance of board damage) is too great 
> to proceed with a "brute force" repair. If I can find a wiring diagram 
> (schematic) it could give me the ability to accurately trace back to 
> the plugs on the main board, but it would be ideal if a donor piano 
> existed for a complete harness.My old upright has given me many years 
> of enjoyment but is very limited in capability. I've added a DSR1 and 
> the CD unit and though I have a limited selection of music (no pitch 
> change) I can take this platform no further and though I lust after a 
> MK4 or E3 it's not a great time for that jump. I just hate those nasty 
> little %4*@&'s! Thanks for any assistance. Fred.
>
> 

-- 

Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550-Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
(425) 791-0309

I would finish the job by placing some mouse traps in the area. 

Sam
www.keyboardcollective.com
(212) 684-3304

*(Sent from phone - please excuse brevity and typos.)

> On Aug 29, 2014, at 5:18 PM, "freddismuke@... [disklavier]" <disklavier@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> With the irreplaceable help of the wiring diagram in the MX-80 service manual and many hours of precise and tedious work each evening for the past week, I was able to trace and repair the ~50 destroyed wires in the key driver wiring harness. Remarkably, my piano is playing fine once again. This being my second bout at having to perform rodent damage control, I noticed that any factory electrical tape was undamaged and took this opportunity to wrap other exposed individual wires that lead to the keyboard platform with a nice tight covering of electrical tape before returning them back to their original routing. I then fashioned a metal shield out of thin aluminum flashing that was about 50" long bent at 90 degrees along its length with one dimension 1-5/8" (top) and the other 1-1/8" down. This "armor" was placed on top of the wires leading to the key driver boards that the solenoids plug into. The dimension above allowed it to encapsulate the harness and it secured under the edge of that heavy retainer plate through which the 88 solenoid plunger tips "fire." The 1-1/8" facet slides between the wires and the key pivot block and completes the protection of the harness from all angles of dental attack. Lastly, I closed off the access at the left end of the keyboard with the plastic foam of a "pool noodle" which is similar in shape to plumbing pipe insulation. I had one of these in my garage and it was apparently not on the mouse menu as it was undamaged by them. I removed the wooden end cap and carved the foam to fit precisely so as to block the cavity the end cap created which was used as an access tunnel for pest exploration. The instrument functioned great again and though it is in slight need of a tuning, it sounded fine after the second cocktail. Many thanks for the .PDF of the service manual without which it would not have been possible. Cheers. 
> 
> 
> 
> ---In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, <freddismuke@...> wrote :
> 
> Well all is not lost. I've come across a service manual for the MX-80. The wiring diagrams it contains, a VOM, a soldering iron, and a couple of Saturdays may just sort the fly specs from the pepper in this rat's nest. I rarely shy away from a challenge. Many thanks to the guardian angel that dropped the PDF file my way.  
> 
> Fred
>

strobe lights also keep mice away. i got some little led ones on e-bay 
and they worked to keep mice out of my honda until i found where they 
were getting in.

On 8/29/2014 3:06 PM, Sam Kanter skanter123@... [disklavier] wrote:
> I would finish the job by placing some mouse traps in the area.
>
> Sam
> www.keyboardcollective.com <http://www.keyboardcollective.com>
> (212) 684-3304
>
> /*(Sent from phone - please excuse brevity and typos.)/
>
> On Aug 29, 2014, at 5:18 PM, "freddismuke@... 
> <mailto:freddismuke@...> [disklavier]" 
> <disklavier@yahoogroups.com <mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:
>
>> With the irreplaceable help of the wiring diagram in the MX-80 
>> service manual and many hours of precise and tedious work each 
>> evening for the past week, I was able to trace and repair the ~50 
>> destroyed wires in the key driver wiring harness. Remarkably, my 
>> piano is playing fine once again. This being my second bout at having 
>> to perform rodent damage control, I noticed that any factory 
>> electrical tape was undamaged and took this opportunity to wrap other 
>> exposed individual wires that lead to the keyboard platform with a 
>> nice tight covering of electrical tape before returning them back to 
>> their original routing. I then fashioned a metal shield out of thin 
>> aluminum flashing that was about 50" long bent at 90 degrees along 
>> its length with one dimension 1-5/8" (top) and the other 1-1/8" down. 
>> This "armor" was placed on top of the wires leading to the key driver 
>> boards that the solenoids plug into. The dimension above allowed it 
>> to encapsulate the harness and it secured under the edge of that 
>> heavy retainer plate through which the 88 solenoid plunger tips 
>> "fire." The 1-1/8" facet slides between the wires and the key pivot 
>> block and completes the protection of the harness from all angles of 
>> dental attack. Lastly, I closed off the access at the left end of the 
>> keyboard with the plastic foam of a "pool noodle" which is similar in 
>> shape to plumbing pipe insulation. I had one of these in my garage 
>> and it was apparently not on the mouse menu as it was undamaged by 
>> them. I removed the wooden end cap and carved the foam to fit 
>> precisely so as to block the cavity the end cap created which was 
>> used as an access tunnel for pest exploration. The instrument 
>> functioned great again and though it is in slight need of a tuning, 
>> it sounded fine after the second cocktail. Many thanks for the .PDF 
>> of the service manual without which it would not have been possible. 
>> Cheers.
>>
>>
>>
>> ---In disklavier@yahoogroups.com <mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com>, 
>> <freddismuke@...> wrote :
>>
>> Well all is not lost. I've come across a service manual for the 
>> MX-80. The wiring diagrams it contains, a VOM, a soldering iron, and 
>> a couple of Saturdays may just sort the fly specs from the pepper in 
>> this rat's nest. I rarely shy away from a challenge. Many thanks to 
>> the guardian angel that dropped the PDF file my way.
>>
>> Fred
> 

-- 

Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550-Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
(425) 791-0309

And get a Cat !!

Sent from my iPhone

> On 29 Aug 2014, at 23:06, "Sam Kanter skanter123@... [disklavier]" <disklavier@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> I would finish the job by placing some mouse traps in the area. 
> 
> Sam
> www.keyboardcollective.com
> (212) 684-3304
> 
> *(Sent from phone - please excuse brevity and typos.)
> 
>> On Aug 29, 2014, at 5:18 PM, "freddismuke@... [disklavier]" <disklavier@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>> 
>>  
>> With the irreplaceable help of the wiring diagram in the MX-80 service manual and many hours of precise and tedious work each evening for the past week, I was able to trace and repair the ~50 destroyed wires in the key driver wiring harness. Remarkably, my piano is playing fine once again. This being my second bout at having to perform rodent damage control, I noticed that any factory electrical tape was undamaged and took this opportunity to wrap other exposed individual wires that lead to the keyboard platform with a nice tight covering of electrical tape before returning them back to their original routing. I then fashioned a metal shield out of thin aluminum flashing that was about 50" long bent at 90 degrees along its length with one dimension 1-5/8" (top) and the other 1-1/8" down. This "armor" was placed on top of the wires leading to the key driver boards that the solenoids plug into. The dimension above allowed it to encapsulate the harness and it secured under the edge of that heavy retainer plate through which the 88 solenoid plunger tips "fire." The 1-1/8" facet slides between the wires and the key pivot block and completes the protection of the harness from all angles of dental attack. Lastly, I closed off the access at the left end of the keyboard with the plastic foam of a "pool noodle" which is similar in shape to plumbing pipe insulation. I had one of these in my garage and it was apparently not on the mouse menu as it was undamaged by them. I removed the wooden end cap and carved the foam to fit precisely so as to block the cavity the end cap created which was used as an access tunnel for pest exploration. The instrument functioned great again and though it is in slight need of a tuning, it sounded fine after the second cocktail. Many thanks for the .PDF of the service manual without which it would not have been possible. Cheers. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ---In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, <freddismuke@...> wrote :
>> 
>> Well all is not lost. I've come across a service manual for the MX-80. The wiring diagrams it contains, a VOM, a soldering iron, and a couple of Saturdays may just sort the fly specs from the pepper in this rat's nest. I rarely shy away from a challenge. Many thanks to the guardian angel that dropped the PDF file my way.  
>> 
>> Fred
> 
>

a cheap little LED strobe light works really well in cases where you can 
not fill the entry holes easily.

On 8/31/2014 1:16 PM, paulstepclan@... [disklavier] wrote:
>
> I am a retired piano technician and have seen many pianos with mouse 
> damage.  Your major concern is keeping the critters out or the piano.  
> The most common mouse access points are at the bottom of the piano.
> Many vertical pianos have openings in the back corners of the bottom 
> board to make room for the rear casters to swivel.  These openings are 
> easy access for mice.  It is not difficult to create closure of these 
> openings.  The other opening loved by mice is the opening under the 
> pedals.  One Japanese piano (I believe it is Kawai) has a metal 
> housing surrounding the pedals to keep mice out. This might be 
> adaptable to other pianos, but I have never tried.  I have also heard 
> that some people use pads of #2 steel wool under the front of keys.  
> Mice don't like to chew through this stuff.  It is quite resilient, 
> but it might eventually compact.  However, it is easy and inexpensive 
> to replace.
>
> 

-- 

Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550-Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
(425) 791-0309

the ultrasonic things do not work at least with the mice around here. 
maybe little sensitive house mice would be intimidated but not the field 
or deer mice. the LED strobe light was the only thing that worked as a 
deterrent that was not toxic (moth balls) smelly (bounce dryer sheets) 
or expensive (cat piss based deterrents)  it really does keep them away, 
they can't stand bright flashing light. this method has been used in 
commercial graineries (sp) for years to keep rats away and there is a 
lot of data to support the effectiveness against rats but little about 
mice. until i tried it i had no idea if it would work or not. my tests 
proved that it did with both field (little grey things) and deer mice 
(almost as big as rats).

On 9/2/2014 6:54 AM, freddismuke@... [disklavier] wrote:
>
> Thanks for the mouse tips everyone. I've placed a trap behind my piano 
> and aggressively placed traps around the house and attic. I've even 
> bought some of the natural "poo pourrie" type sachets that are on the 
> market but I'm not so sure about it's efficacy. I also bought one of 
> those anti-pest ultrasonic emitters and am still unsure about it. For 
> now I'm enjoying my piano once again.
>
> 

-- 

Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550-Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
(425) 791-0309