Kurzweil PC3K6 only says "Loading....." and never goes past that point

[hilobird]

Pretty much what the topic says. A few days ago I turned it on and instead of the normal boot up display it just went to "Loading...." and nothing else.

I figured out a few things: I could make the system reboot by pressing rows of the number keys on the far right keypad. And if I keep doing that, sometimes it would appear to boot but it still didn't make any sound. And sometimes I could get to the bootloader, so I did a format and OS reinstall but no change.

A couple times I got it to start Diag. The only thing I saw was it says "Right Jack" if that's plugged in. Otherwise all the buttons appear to work normally.

I filled in the tech support form at Kurzweil.com but no reply after several days .... any ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks!

- jason
(e-mail address removed)

 

[happyrat1]

You're doing all the right things. Power supply would be the first thing to check. Look for stability and lack of ripple on the supply lines. Caps may be failing.

 

[delaware dave]

Mine occassionally does this (PC3). When it does i move all 9 sliders as well as the pitchwheel and modwheel. Has never failed to start after doing that.

 

[hilobird]

Thanks for the input. Any good links for how to find 'ripple'?

You're doing all the right things. Power supply would be the first thing to check. Look for stability and lack of ripple on the supply lines. Caps may be failing.

Thanks for the input. Any good tips or links for how to find/identify ripple?

Also any walkthroughs for Cap replacement? In addition to this pc3k6 issue I have a dead pc361 in the closet that needs new caps.

 

[happyrat1]

Youtube has phd level courses in electrical engineering. Just search on a few choice keywords and you'll be greeted by literally dozens of videos on keyboard/electronic/pcb repairs etc...

And for more advanced hand-holding check out this forum.

EEVblog Electronics Community Forum - Index

EEVblog Electronics Community Forum - Index

www.eevblog.com

Easiest way to spot ripple is with a VOM. Measure the AC component of the DC supply and calculate if it's within tolerance of the regulated nominal output. Should be less than .02% ripple on most regulated supplies. Too much unfiltered AC is death to a digital processor.

 

[hilobird]

Pretty much what the topic says. A few days ago I turned it on and instead of the normal boot up display it just went to "Loading...." and nothing else.

I figured out a few things: I could make the system reboot by pressing rows of the number keys on the far right keypad. And if I keep doing that, sometimes it would appear to boot but it still didn't make any sound. And sometimes I could get to the bootloader, so I did a format and OS reinstall but no change.

A couple times I got it to start Diag. The only thing I saw was it says "Right Jack" if that's plugged in. Otherwise all the buttons appear to work normally.

I filled in the tech support form at Kurzweil.com but no reply after several days .... any ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks!

- jason
(e-mail address removed)

FIXED! Reseating connections for the win, yet again. I didn't want to open it up until I heard from support but I guess the web form isn't reaching anyone there. Thanks for chiming in and especially thanks to the guy who says 'reseat connections' on tons of Kurzweil issues lol

 

[hilobird]

Mine occassionally does this (PC3). When it does i move all 9 sliders as well as the pitchwheel and modwheel. Has never failed to start after doing that.

I had a sticky key on my old one so I've been pressing all the buttons, moving all the sliders and rotaries, etc but to no effect.

Thanks for the input. Any good links for how to find 'ripple'?


Thanks for the input. Any good tips or links for how to find/identify ripple?

Also any walkthroughs for Cap replacement? In addition to this pc3k6 issue I have a dead pc361 in the closet that needs new caps.

This guy has a great teardown test and replacement video:

 

[happyrat1]

I'd like to point out to that kurz tech guy that my PC3K8's connectors are epoxied shut from the bloody factory