JW50 crashes - faulty ROM chip?

[Kokotoni Will]

I've got a Roland JW-50 which, after anywhere between 30min to 2 hours' use, will usually show a "checksum error" message. At this point, the buttons often stop functioning, while the keyboard itself usually continues to work. Several variations of this fault have occurred - for example, last night, after an hour's use, the buttons stopped working, without the error message. Additionally, pressing the "Block" or "Make Song" buttons will often cause the unit to crash.

I've opened up the unit, and found a ROM chip marked "JW50 1.11". Now, according to my research, the latest officially released ROM version for the JW50 is 1.02. I can't find any information about a 1.11 chip for this machine. Is it likely that the ROM chip is causing the unit to crash?

Failing that, I've thought about making some DMM measurements, but not sure where to start. Can anyone here please offer some advice?

 

[delaware dave]

Who would be in a better position to tell you if the chip in the keyboard is correct and is the issue of your problem, the musician "user" community (us) or a roland technical engineer? Plus the keyboard is over 30 years old. Recommendation:

Contact roland
Take it to a repair station
Replace the chip yourself
Scrap it (functioning correctly it is only valued at $250).

 

[Rayblewit]

Wow! 30 year old! Driven by floppy disc
Are floppy discs even available these days?

 

[Kokotoni Will]

Turns out it was a faulty ground connection. D'oh!