Discussion about the Korg PolySix synthesizer

Ells,
Be careful! If your Polysix will hold its presets when they are 
changed or the unit is turned off, I would say offhand that the SRAM 
chip is probably okay. You might be wasting your money on buying a 
new one. If you can't edit your sounds while in manual control, then 
there is something else wrong. My SRAM chip was indeed bad, but I was 
still able to use manual and tweak the sounds- I just couldn't save 
anything. Even if your battery is only a couple of years old, you 
should start by making sure it hasn't leaked again on that board. 
Just because the battery will hold its voltage doesn't mean that its 
NOT leaking. Much weirdness that you describe can result...
By the way, cutting the legs off an old IC IS the safe way to remove 
it - that prevents pressure from being applied to the solder pads and 
plated-through holes, resulting in board damage. If you cut the body 
of the IC off first, then you can remove each lead carefully one at a 
time with wicking braid.  Of course, you could spend a few hundred 
bucks and buy a fancy unsoldering station made by Hakko, Ungar, 
Weller, etc. but that chip only costs about two bucks new anyway. 
Happy tinkering with your Polysix! ~JIM



--- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "yrbesque" <ehall@b...> wrote:
> 
> >   Go to http://www.jameco.com/
> > 
> >   Search for item# 43238 (HM6514 1K x 4 CMOS static RAM)
> 
> I too am going to get one of these as my Polysix is right now just 
a 
> preset machine (hey, at least they are the presets I programmed 
into 
> it!).
> 
> I was having a similar problem where my patches would change 
randomly 
> and would usually snap back to what they were supposed to be if I 
hit 
> the bank/program button where they were stored. Battery was 
replaced 
> 4 years ago and I had no problems for 3 1/2 years. Anyway, now the 
> patches all sound fine every time, but I can't edit anything except 
> the octave selection. So I will replace the IC32. 
> 
> But, Question - isn't there a special tool for removing them rather 
> than using a (static-free) screwdriver? I want to be carefull not 
to 
> damage the board when I remove the old chip before putting in the 
> new. Or if there are any techniques I should know, that would be 
> appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Ells