Synth Suggestions

[DTRAINNJ]

I have a Roland D-10 which I enjoy despite having to replace the battery and factory reset it soon.
But I'm curious is there is a good 61 key synth from the mid, late 80s that isn't terribly expensive that's less high maintenance and can give me the great warm pad synth tones I got out of the D10. Something I can use to record that doesn't require me to go through such a process like every 6-8 months.

Thought I will keep the D10 cause it sounds so good.

Thanks, D

 

[happyrat1]

No suggestions off the top of my head but why a battery replacement and factory reset every six months?

Typically an internal keyboard battery should last anywhere from 5 to 10 years.

Gary

 

[DTRAINNJ]

Really the new battery should last that long?

 

[DTRAINNJ]

Now I only have to find out which battery and how to replace it.

 

[happyrat1]

Typically they are Lithium Batteries. Usually a CR2032 "Coin Cell" type.

On some keyboards they are easier to replace than others. Sometimes they come with a socketed battery holder and it's simply a matter of removing and replacing the battery in the holder.

Other times they get nasty and solder them in place.

In those cases I don't recommend an amateur replacing them because they use special equipment to solder a battery's terminals without blowing up the battery.

At any rate it seems the Roland D-10 uses a holder and a CR2032 so it's an easy fix.

http://ericschreiber.com/2008/06/roland-d-10-synthesizer-maintenance/

Be sure and backup your keyboard's OS and voices before you perform this operation though. Rolands totally lose everything once the battery loses power.

Gary

 

[DTRAINNJ]

Yeah gotta grab the battery on my way to rehearsal today. Would the D50 rom card work with the D10?

I admit Im a keyboard noob, Im actually a guitar player.

 

[happyrat1]

Sorry. I'm not a Roland user. I can't say for sure which cards work with what machines.

I'd suggest contacting Roland Tech Support and ask them.

Or you can find a lot of useful info over at the RolandClan Forums.

http://forums.rolandclan.com/

They'd be much better able to help you out with this step by step than I would.

Gary

 

[delaware dave]

About once/week turn your keyboard on for about two/three hours. This will keep the internal battery charged and you should get well more than 8 months out of the battery.

 

[happyrat1]

Actually these are lithium batteries but they are NOT rechargeable.

Powering the unit on or off makes absolutely no difference in the charge status of the battery other than depleting the charge when it is not turned on.

Otherwise the added cost of a charging circuit is not the sort of thing an engineer does lightly.

As I mentioned earlier, typical life of these batteries is anywhere from 5 years to a decade. Current draw is in microamps as they are only used to keep SRAM memory alive when the unit is powered off.

It's like the CMOS battery in your computer.

They don't accept a charge but instead the usual cause of death in a properly designed circuit is ultimately degradation of the internal chemistry of the battery, not total discharge.

Gary

 

[DTRAINNJ]

thanks everyone