Kurzweil Mark 150 - Transpose Lights Do Not Stay Lit

[austin4226]

Hello all! I have a Kurzweil Mark 150 digital baby grand piano. Everything seems to work exactly as it should; however, there is one anomaly. To put the keyboard into "Transpose" mode, you need to simultaneously press two buttons that are together labeled "Transpose." Once you do this, the lights for those buttons blink until you press a key that is +/- 12 semitones from Middle C. The instrument will then offset any note you play by this amount. It works perfectly; however, the lights that blink above the transpose buttons are supposed to remain lit while the keyboard is actively transposing (according to the manual). On my keyboard, they turn off. It's really inconvenient, because without playing something, you have no idea if the keyboard is currently transposed or not. I know that it isn't an issue of the lights being burnt out, otherwise they wouldn't blink when the keyboard is ready to receive a transpose interval. I also assume that it probably isn't damaged circuitry, because the transpose feature works. It transposes and returns to standard tuning exactly as you'd expect it to.

Resetting the instrument to factory settings did not resolve the issue, nor did resetting parameters. I know that there is a button cell battery somewhere in there that provides some combination backup power and/or memory in the event that the instrument is unplugged from the wall, but I don't even know where to find it to try to replace it. I opened it up and looked at the circuit boards inside the keyboard. I didn't see a button cell battery staring me in the face; and honestly if it is housed in one of the many cylinders or plastic boxes that are glued/soldered/plugged into to the circuit boards, it is beyond my level of electrical know-how to start opening those things up. Besides, I don't even know that that is the issue.

As always, I very much appreciate all of you who take the time to read through these questions and share your insights. If anyone has any idea of what might be going on, please respond!

Thank you!
Brandon

 

[happyrat1]

Maybe corrupt ROM?

Have you tried reflashing the OS?

 

[austin4226]

Maybe corrupt ROM?

Have you tried reflashing the OS?

Hey, thanks for responding. Hmm. It seems I've got version 1.08 installed on this keyboard, and the latest software is version 2.0 (granted it was released over 20 years ago). Kurzweil does not have that software available for download on the website, and even if they did, I don't know how I would get it installed on the keyboard. This thing utilizes a floppy disk drive. I don't even have a device capable of writing a 3.5 inch floppy disk anymore.

As for corrupt ROM... I'm not finding much in the way of a procedure for tackling that. I read somewhere that the physical ROM chips can be replaced if you're able to find replacements or chips that are compatible, but its a bit of a technical job. I'm a relatively handy guy, but I'm leery of trying to work on a circuit board, as I don't have that kind of electronic know-how.

Here's the issue... Per Kurzweil's website, there is only one place in my area of the country that services Kurzweil keyboards. The next nearest one is hundreds of miles away. When I called them, they said they don't even do residential service calls anymore (I guess it wasn't enough of a moneymaker for them) -- this is a 500+ lb electronic baby grand. My only option is a service visit if I want a pro to look at it. SO -- I guess if it comes down to replacing the ROM, I'm going to need to get a little out of my comfort zone and attempt it.

Hopefully someone can share a solution that doesn't involve doing surgery on the instrument lol -- Is it unrealistic wishful thinking that someone is going to tell me its just a setting I need to change?? -- Man, that'd be nice.

Thanks again,
Brandon

 

[happyrat1]

For an antique like your Kurzweil check out https://forums.godlike.com.au/ for resources and legacy support.

 

[austin4226]

For an antique like your Kurzweil check out https://forums.godlike.com.au/ for resources and legacy support.

I'll check that out right now. Much appreciated!