The Mellotron Group

hi.

i'm doing a lot of recording with #1300 and it started to give me problems. the motor is speeding up, slowing down, stopping and sometimes lurching fast and slow. i have one of Marcus' sms4 boards in it. when i touch the motor control cable connected to the board it seems to make the above mentioned problems go from one to another. maybe it's a short on the cable or the connector. any thoughts and or solutions from any of you owners out there?

the wires are yellow/white/green/red/ and a double gray, in that order.

i'd really appreciate any help you folks can offer.

thanks,

terry conheady 400s #1300 and #413

I had the same problem. It turned out to be the potentiometer of the pitch control itself. It may not be for you, but when mine was changed the problem went away.
Hope this helps?
Andy K

Sent from my iPad

> On 15 Nov 2015, at 04:16, tmconheady@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> hi.
> 
> i'm doing  a lot of recording with #1300 and it started to give me problems. the motor is speeding up, slowing down, stopping and sometimes lurching fast and slow. i have one of Marcus' sms4 boards in it. when i touch the motor control cable connected to the board it seems to make the above mentioned problems go from one to another. maybe it's a short on the cable or the connector. any thoughts and or solutions from any of you owners out there? 
> 
> the wires are yellow/white/green/red/ and a double gray, in that order.
> 
> i'd really appreciate any help you folks can offer.
> 
> thanks,
> 
> terry conheady  400s #1300 and #413
> 
>

I'm pretty sure the whole machine is ruined forever.

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 15, 2015, at 2:30 AM, Andy Kinch kinchmusic@aol.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> I had the same problem. It turned out to be the potentiometer of the pitch control itself. It may not be for you, but when mine was changed the problem went away.
> Hope this helps?
> Andy K
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On 15 Nov 2015, at 04:16, tmconheady@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>> 
>>  
>> hi.
>> 
>> i'm doing  a lot of recording with #1300 and it started to give me problems. the motor is speeding up, slowing down, stopping and sometimes lurching fast and slow. i have one of Marcus' sms4 boards in it. when i touch the motor control cable connected to the board it seems to make the above mentioned problems go from one to another. maybe it's a short on the cable or the connector. any thoughts and or solutions from any of you owners out there? 
>> 
>> the wires are yellow/white/green/red/ and a double gray, in that order.
>> 
>> i'd really appreciate any help you folks can offer.
>> 
>> thanks,
>> 
>> terry conheady  400s #1300 and #413
>> 
> 
>

hahahaha!

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Stickle lsf5275@aol.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
To: newmellotrongroup <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Nov 16, 2015 7:18 am
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] model 400 #1300 screwing up



  
    
                  

I'm pretty sure the whole machine is ruined forever.

Sent from my iPad

On Nov 15, 2015, at 2:30 AM, Andy Kinch kinchmusic@aol.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:



      
                  

I had the same problem. It turned out to be the potentiometer of the pitch control itself. It may not be for you, but when mine was changed the problem went away.
Hope this helps?
Andy K

Sent from my iPad

On 15 Nov 2015, at 04:16, tmconheady@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:



      
                  

hi.
i'm doing  a lot of recording with #1300 and it started to give me problems. the motor is speeding up, slowing down, stopping and sometimes lurching fast and slow. i have one of Marcus' sms4 boards in it. when i touch the motor control cable connected to the board it seems to make the above mentioned problems go from one to another. maybe it's a short on the cable or the connector. any thoughts and or solutions from any of you owners out there? 
the wires are yellow/white/green/red/ and a double gray, in that order.
i'd really appreciate any help you folks can offer.
thanks,
terry conheady  400s #1300 and #413

hey.suppose i detach the motor and install a hand crank.i think it's in the cable as i was able to use it for a bit by taping the cable in a certain position that allowed it to play stable. that, however, stopped working. now all i get by moving the cable is real fast or stopped. could i shorten the cable and solder the cut end to the plug, or maybe just replace the cable with a new one or even use the cable from #413 as i rarely use it because it still has sms10 board in it.
 


     On Monday, November 16, 2015 7:18 AM, "Frank Stickle lsf5275@aol.com [newmellotrongroup]" <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
   

     I'm pretty sure the whole machine is ruined forever.

Sent from my iPad
On Nov 15, 2015, at 2:30 AM, Andy Kinch kinchmusic@aol.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:


    I had the same problem. It turned out to be the potentiometer of the pitch control itself. It may not be for you, but when mine was changed the problem went away.Hope this helps?Andy K

Sent from my iPad
On 15 Nov 2015, at 04:16, tmconheady@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:


    hi.i'm doing  a lot of recording with #1300 and it started to give me problems. the motor is speeding up, slowing down, stopping and sometimes lurching fast and slow. i have one of Marcus' sms4 boards in it. when i touch the motor control cable connected to the board it seems to make the above mentioned problems go from one to another. maybe it's a short on the cable or the connector. any thoughts and or solutions from any of you owners out there? the wires are yellow/white/green/red/ and a double gray, in that order.i'd really appreciate any help you folks can offer.thanks,terry conheady  400s #1300 and #413

Check for a bad solder joint at both ends of the cable.
 
 
 
In a message dated 11/16/2015 9:04:38 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com writes:

 
 
 
That's certainly worth trying, Terry.  I go for replacing  the cable rather 
than stealing from your other machine.

On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 7:01 PM, Terry Conheady _tmconheady@yahoo.com_ 
(mailto:tmconheady@yahoo.com)   [newmellotrongroup] 
<_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:


 
 
 
 
hey.
suppose i detach the motor and install a hand  crank.
i think it's in the cable as i was able to use it for a  bit by taping the 
cable in a certain position that allowed it to play  stable. that, however, 
stopped working. now all i get by moving the cable is  real fast or stopped. 
could i shorten the cable and solder the cut end to  the plug, or maybe 
just replace the cable with a new one or even use the  cable from #413 as i 
rarely use it because it still has sms10 board in  it.







 
 
On Monday, November 16, 2015 7:18 AM,  "Frank Stickle _lsf5275@aol.com_ 
(mailto:lsf5275@aol.com)  [newmellotrongroup]" 
<_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) >  wrote:




 
 
 
 
 

I'm pretty sure the whole machine is ruined forever.

Sent from my iPad
 

On Nov 15, 2015, at 2:30 AM, Andy Kinch _kinchmusic@aol.com_ 
(mailto:kinchmusic@aol.com)  [newmellotrongroup] <_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:




 

I had the same problem. It turned out to be the potentiometer of the  pitch 
control itself. It may not be for you, but when mine was changed the  
problem went away.
Hope this helps?
Andy K

Sent from my iPad

On 15 Nov 2015, at 04:16, _tmconheady@yahoo.com_ 
(mailto:tmconheady@yahoo.com)   [newmellotrongroup] <_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:




 

hi.
i'm doing  a lot of recording with #1300 and it started  to give me 
problems. the motor is speeding up, slowing down, stopping  and sometimes lurching 
fast and slow. i have one of Marcus' sms4 boards  in it. when i touch the 
motor control cable connected to the board it  seems to make the above 
mentioned problems go from one to another. maybe  it's a short on the cable or the 
connector. any thoughts and or  solutions from any of you owners out there? 
the wires are yellow/white/green/red/ and a double gray, in  that order.
i'd really appreciate any help you folks can  offer.
thanks,
terry conheady  400s #1300 and #413










 

























-- 

john barrick


*Leo got it right the first time*
*then he added a second pickup and got it  righter*

Hey Terry, 

Andy's comment about replacing the pitch control pot got me thinking. That was really painful, but it happened. My experience has been that 99.9947% of the time, give or take a digit or two, (did I just refer to "digital?"), a quick shot of good contact cleaner will fix any bad contact in the pot, unless it IS a bad solder joint - but that's actually pretty rare - and you'll be up and running in literally a minute or two.  

Not long ago, I saved our keyboard player a couple hundred dollars to a tech guy with his Kurzweil 2661, when a key or two went out. A few minutes of minor surgery, some reference to a "Kurzweil Guru" online, and my trusty contact cleaner, and we had all his under-key contacts AND while we were there, all the other electrical/audio/PCB connections, cleaned and working perfectly in short order.  Not much unlike cleaning, de-magging the heads and other such sorta tedious-but-not-unpleasant maintenance in your Mellotron, except cleaning the pot's that much easier.  Definitely give it a try before going into surgery for a pot transplant!
Note: I'm SURE it needn't be said, but do keep in mind, considering my above reference, that contact cleaner, tape head cleaner, WD-40 and/or alcohol, etc., are NOT one and the same.  I've seen people cross-use those things (my keyboard player would be one to do that, God love 'im), with disastrous results.  The contact cleaner is what you want.  "DeOx-It" [sp?] is one of the best.  Save the alcohol til your 'Tron's working perfectly again, then apply liberally and systemically if you'd like, preferably with friends or S.Os. That COULD be compared by some to "head cleaner"... or not.  (-:  A pint of Guinness works nicely in that regard.  Here's to your Happy Pitch Control!

Cheers!B Berington Van Campen 
Van Campen Productions / V.C.MusiCorp Scoring Services / Sessions
VCMusiCorp1@yahoo.com 
The BEATUNES - Beatles Tribute Band
www.TheBeatunes.com 
(626) 458-4474 - Home/Office
www.facebook.com/beringto

Not likely since the cable in question is from the pitch pot to the SMS.  
This has nothing to do with the tape heads.
 
 
In a message dated 11/17/2015 2:49:46 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com writes:

 
 
 
If you've got cable rot and you've moved the cable around, then  you might 
now have magnetized tape heads as well.  


Demagnetize.






On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 9:05 PM, _lsf5275@aol.com_ (mailto:lsf5275@aol.com) 
  [newmellotrongroup] <_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:


 
 
 
Check for a bad solder  joint at both ends of the cable.
 
 


 
In a message dated 11/16/2015 9:04:38 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, 
_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com)  
writes:

 
That's certainly worth trying, Terry.  I go for  replacing the cable rather 
than stealing from your other machine.

On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 7:01 PM, Terry Conheady _tmconheady@yahoo.com_ 
(mailto:tmconheady@yahoo.com)  [newmellotrongroup] 
<_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:


 
 
 
 
hey.
suppose i detach the motor and install a hand  crank.
i think it's in the cable as i was able to use it for  a bit by taping the 
cable in a certain position that allowed it to play  stable. that, however, 
stopped working. now all i get by moving the  cable is real fast or stopped. 
could i shorten the cable and solder the  cut end to the plug, or maybe 
just replace the cable with a new one or  even use the cable from #413 as i 
rarely use it because it still has  sms10 board in it.







 
 
On Monday, November 16, 2015 7:18  AM, "Frank Stickle _lsf5275@aol.com_ 
(mailto:lsf5275@aol.com)   [newmellotrongroup]" 
<_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) >  wrote:




 
 
 
 
 

I'm pretty sure the whole machine is ruined forever.

Sent from my iPad
 

On Nov 15, 2015, at 2:30 AM, Andy Kinch _kinchmusic@aol.com_ 
(mailto:kinchmusic@aol.com)   [newmellotrongroup] <_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:




 

I had the same problem. It turned out to be the potentiometer of  the pitch 
control itself. It may not be for you, but when mine was  changed the 
problem went away.
Hope this helps?
Andy K

Sent from my iPad

On 15 Nov 2015, at 04:16, _tmconheady@yahoo.com_ 
(mailto:tmconheady@yahoo.com)   [newmellotrongroup] <_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) >  wrote:




 

hi.
i'm doing  a lot of recording with #1300 and it  started to give me 
problems. the motor is speeding up, slowing down,  stopping and sometimes lurching 
fast and slow. i have one of Marcus'  sms4 boards in it. when i touch the 
motor control cable connected to  the board it seems to make the above 
mentioned problems go from one  to another. maybe it's a short on the cable or the 
connector. any  thoughts and or solutions from any of you owners out  there? 
the wires are yellow/white/green/red/ and a double gray,  in that order.
i'd really appreciate any help you folks can  offer.
thanks,
terry conheady  400s #1300 and #413










 

























-- 

john barrick


*Leo got it right the first time*
*then he added a second pickup and got it  righter*

Hi guys-

  Here is a suggestion.  If wiggling the cable at the control box causes the speed changes, yep, it is something in the box or the potentiometer.  If wiggling the cable at the SMS card end causes the speed changes, first try cleaning the card edge connector.  The pads on the card edge can be cleaned with a fresh pencil eraser (remember pencils?), followed with some alcohol or contact cleaner.   Be careful cleaning the connector.  Be creative and try not to bend the contacts.  If still no workee, resolder the offending wires to the connector.  While you're at it, it might be a good idea to clean both connectors on the SMS card.  Hope this helps.

    -Bruce Daily


--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 11/17/15, Chris Dale unobtainiumkeys@gmail.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] model 400 #1300 screwing up
 To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2015, 4:50 PM
 
 
  
 
 
 
   
 
 
     
       
       
       Not likely since the cable in
 question is from the pitch pot to the SMS. This has nothing
 to do with the tape heads.
 
 
 Okay, sorry I thought it
 was the headblock cable.
 In this case, yeah
 I'd clean the cables and connectors, and proceed from
 there.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at
 12:40 PM, lsf5275@aol.com
 [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
 wrote:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
   
 
 
     
       
       
       
 
 
 Not likely since the cable in question is from the
 pitch pot to the SMS. 
 This has nothing to do with the tape
 heads.
  
 
 In a message dated 11/17/2015 2:49:46 A.M. Eastern
 Standard Time, 
 newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
 writes:
   
   
   
   If you've got cable rot and
 you've moved the cable around, then 
   you might now have magnetized tape heads as well. 
   
 
   Demagnetize.
   
 
   
 
   
 
   On Mon, Nov 16, 2015
 at 9:05 PM, lsf5275@aol.com
 
   [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
 wrote:
 
   
       
     
     
     
     
     Check for a bad solder 
     joint at both ends of the cable.
     
     
      
      
     
     In a message dated 11/16/2015 9:04:38 P.M. Eastern
 Standard Time, newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
 writes:
       
       
       
       That's certainly worth trying,
 Terry.  I go for 
       replacing the cable rather than stealing from your
 other machine.
       
 
       On Mon, Nov 16,
 2015 at 7:01 PM, Terry Conheady tmconheady@yahoo.com
 [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
 wrote:
 
       
           
         
         
         
         
         
         hey.
         suppose i detach the motor and
 install a hand 
         crank.
         i think it's in the cable
 as i was able to use it for 
         a bit by taping the cable in a certain position that
 allowed it to play 
         stable. that, however, stopped working. now all i
 get by moving the 
         cable is real fast or stopped. could i shorten the
 cable and solder the 
         cut end to the plug, or maybe just replace the cable
 with a new one or 
         even use the cable from #413 as i rarely use it
 because it still has 
         sms10 board in it.
         
 
 
         
 
 
         
         
         
         On
 Monday, November 16, 2015 7:18 
         AM, "Frank Stickle lsf5275@aol.com
 
         [newmellotrongroup]" <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
 
         wrote:
 
 
 
         
         
           
         
         
         
         
         I'm pretty sure the whole machine is ruined
 forever.
 
 Sent from my
 iPad
         
         
 On Nov 15, 2015, at 2:30 AM,
 Andy Kinch kinchmusic@aol.com
 
         [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
 wrote:
 
 
         
             
           
           
           I had the same problem. It turned out to be
 the potentiometer of 
           the pitch control itself. It may not be for you,
 but when mine was 
           changed the problem went away.
           Hope this helps?
           Andy K
 
 Sent
 from my iPad
           
 On 15 Nov 2015, at 04:16, tmconheady@yahoo.com
 
           [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
 
           wrote:
 
 
           
               
             
             
             hi.
             i'm doing  a lot of recording
 with #1300 and it 
             started to give me problems. the motor is
 speeding up, slowing down, 
             stopping and sometimes lurching fast and slow. i
 have one of Marcus' 
             sms4 boards in it. when i touch the motor
 control cable connected to 
             the board it seems to make the above mentioned
 problems go from one 
             to another. maybe it's a short on the cable
 or the connector. any 
             thoughts and or solutions from any of you owners
 out 
             there? 
             the wires are yellow/white/green/red/
 and a double gray, 
             in that order.
             i'd really appreciate any help
 you folks can 
             offer.
             thanks,
             terry conheady  400s #1300 and
 #413
             
           
         
         
         
 
 
         
         
 
 
       
 -- 
 
       
       john barrick
       
 
       *Leo got it right the first time*
       *then he added a second pickup and got it 
       righter*
       
       
       
     
     
 
   
   
 
     
      
 
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
      
 
     
     
 
 
 
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