unable to save OTS settings on my Yammy!

[Minorkey]

After a few years away from the keyboard I got it out again with the intention of teaching myself piano now the Kids are a bit older. So I cleared a space , set up my chair, headphones at the ready. Got a couple of pieces in my head ready to play and so began playing. But I don't like the amount of reverb on the Portable Grand, and I also like to knock it down an octave. So I set it all up, good to go then download the manual cost I recycled mine ages ago, I noticed nothing was saving. Now I've had the thing nearly 14 years so if there's a battery in there it must be toast by now, but is it user replaceable? I have some basic electronics knowledge (NVQ) and its a PSR 225.

Cheers
Larry

 

[happyrat1]

According to page 8 of the manual the only batteries that thing takes are 6 D Cell Batteries.

Also take a look at page 105 "Data Backup and Initialization."

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/Documents/KeyboardsDMI/PSR225E.pdf

If there are D Cells in there after 14 years they've probably leaked all over the place.

 

[Minorkey]

Happyrat, yea I know it takes D type for power but Im talking about a backup battery, like the type you find in watches. Crikey if Id got D type batteries in after 14 years the keyboard would be cooked! Ive only ever used a power supply.

 

[happyrat1]

Read page 105. It says it ONLY saves settings if the AC is connected or D Batteries are installed. There is NO backup battery

 

[Minorkey]

Thing is Ive never used batteries in it yet I have saved songs on it in the past, so there must be some kind of memory back up in there.

 

[happyrat1]

You probably had it plugged in.

 

[happyrat1]

If you can't look it up yourself here's the quote from the manual, in black and white.

DATA BACKUP & INITIALIZATION
Except for the data listed below, all PSR-225 panel settings are reset to their initial settings
whenever the power is turned on. The data listed below are backed up — i.e. retained in
memory — as long as an AC adaptor is connected or a set of batteries is installed.
• User Song Data
• User One Touch Setting Data
• One Touch Setting Bank Number
• EZ Chord Data
• EZ Chord Bank Number Data
• Smart Chord Number
• Metronome Volume
• Touch On/Off
• Touch Sensitivity
• Split Point
• Accompaniment Split Point
• Footswitch Assign Function
Data Initialization
All data can be initialized and restored to the factory preset condition by turning on the
power while holding the highest (rightmost) white key on the keyboard. “CLr Backup” will
appear briefly on the display.

 

[Minorkey]

I have the manual, its a PDF on my phone and my tablet.I wouldn't have it plugged in for like years on end! I've had it since 1999, with songs saved, I've moved house twice with it, songs still saved! Obviously there's a little battery or capacitor on the circuit board that Yamaha don't want you poking about in!

 

[happyrat1]

I don't know if you're pulling my leg or being deliberately obtuse, but the manual clearly states the board resets unless it has D batteries or is plugged in.

Do you seriously think Yamaha is playing mind games with their customers?

 

[Minorkey]

No I'm not, I through you were to be honest!I read somewhere else about keyboards using mini caps or flat batteries as memory backups so that must be the solution! Its nothing to do with Yamaha playing 'mind games', it does mention something along the lines of no user repairable parts inside.

 

[Minorkey]

Its simple: I've never used it with batteries, it has been switched off for periods between playing, and user songs have been saved. Until recently!

 

[happyrat1]

There may be an electrolytic cap in it that held a charge for like 2 minutes while it was switched off 14 years ago, but by now the cap has probably dried out or leaked.

Anyway, the CHEAPEST AND SIMPLEST SOLUTION IS TO SHOVE SOME D CELLS IN IT.

 

[The Y_man]

My PSR500 wan't save anything without D-cells.

The Y-man

 

[Minorkey]

There may be an electrolytic cap in it that held a charge for like 2 minutes while it was switched off 14 years ago, but by now the cap has probably dried out or leaked.

Anyway, the CHEAPEST AND SIMPLEST SOLUTION IS TO SHOVE SOME STINKING D CELLS IN IT AND STOP WASTING OUR TIME!!!

Excuse me? I have had it for 14 years but it hasn't sat unused for that long.

 

[Minorkey]

Update!:
I removed the back, nothing. There is a circuit board upside down but I think that's for all the switches. (There is a spare IC socket though-theres IC01, clip in chip, and an empty socket next to it!)

But I did find a possible hack. The two wires from the battery tube. I could snip those at the tube end, solder on a square 9volt battery pad and attach such a battery!
Why oh why didn't Yamaha do something like that in the first place??

 

[plchong]

Hello Minorkey,

If there is a memory battery in the unit, the manual would not say anything about it, as it is not concidered user-replaceable, like normal batteries are.

If you still have it open, then you might look for a "memory-battery", which would look like a coin (nickel) and have clear markings of polarity (if it is a battery).

I suppose you know this, but a caution: If you do install a power supply (via battery wires) make sure your power supply has enough amps to handle it.

..................Pat

 

[Minorkey]

Oh there may be something on the other side of the board but I aint going there. As for the power supply I was thinking of a small 9 volt battery. The keyboard takes 6 D cells, 1.5 volts each. That makes 9 volts. So I could snip the wires, solder a connector to it and clip the 9 volt battery in. Theyre called PP9s here in England.

 

[Minorkey]

One of these
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Duracell_9_Volt_0849.jpg

 

[The Y_man]

I suppose only way to find out is to try it.

I fried my ensoniq esq1 board trying to solder in a battetry carrier in place of the soldered in "cap style" battery but that'd be more my soldering capabilties than anything else

The Y-man

 

[RonE]

The only contributions I can make here are 1) The owner/user manuals for my keyboards don't mention the 'button' batteries that are used to retain the internal memory banks, and 2) the memory backup battery for my Korg M1 (the only one I've had to replace) was truly buried in the board, requiring not only removal of the 'covers' but unscrewing and pulling off more than one circuit board inside the machine. The button battery was on the back side of one of the circuit boards.One more thing - the original button battery in my M1 lasted 10 years.

Yamaha may - or may not - make it easier than that.