¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

ctrl + shift + ? for shortcuts
© 2025 Groups.io

only one board active


Terje Winther
 

Hi all,
Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
anyway.
The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
left:
It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
one of the voice cards working properly.
I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?

On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.



Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


 

Hi Terje,

Wow Two M12's :-)

The version of the M12 service manual I have " Bought from Factory long ago"?is
pretty thin on details.

It's just schematics and a few engineering change orders.
If you have not done so check out the Xpander Service manual. It's in the files
section of this group.
The calibration procedures?for the trimmers you speak of? are in there, as well
as a detailed

description of what really goes on?during?the auto tuning routine.

You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
Do the?2.2uF caps that?were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not they will not
pass the audio signal correctly.?

Actually "the entire board failing tune "points to a more systemic failure.
Both the VCO and VCF are tuned?the same way with the exception that the VCF's
resonance
?is set to oscillate. ?A specific voltage is applied to the individual VCO or
VCF
and the output ?frequency is monitored by the CPU to allow tuning.


I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service)??There is a trimmer
in that circuit for

DAC offset calibration.?( The procedure is at the end of the Xpander service
manual page 34.
Maybe thats all that is wrong :-)?

If not :
There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage ( page 34)?If
this voltage is off spec?it could?
cause errors.?
Try swaping ?DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed one. Or any
other parts in the DAC circuit.

There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in?Xpander service)?
Which is?used in the auto tuning routine.?It is built around an LM311 voltage
comparator

which ties to the?output of??each voice.
Something may be amiss here.

Report back after these checks and I will think about it some more.

Best Luck

Karl
?


________________________________
From: Terje Winther <terje.winther@...>
To: xpantastic@...
Sent: Fri, July 6, 2012 12:30:38 PM
Subject: [xpantastic] only one board active

?
Hi all,
Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
anyway.
The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
left:
It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
one of the voice cards working properly.
I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?

On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


 

Hi, what rev 3374s and 3372s are in the failing board?

Doug
synthparts.com

--- In xpantastic@..., Terje Winther <terje.winther@...> wrote:

Hi all,
Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
anyway.
The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
left:
It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
one of the voice cards working properly.
I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?

On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.



Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


Terje Winther
 

Hi,
Thanks for the feedback.
Good idea to compare with the Xpander service manual, as it is all there. I have been though all the procedures now.
You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
Do the 2.2uF caps that were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not they will not
pass the audio signal correctly.
Yes, 2.2uF caps with 50VDC rating.
I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service) There is a trimmer
Checked all the voltages according to the service manual, and they are all well within the specs. Some of them almost perfect, but then I have done service on the power supply (lots of new parts in the power supply). The DAC offset was quite good, but now it is perfect. I did the reset again, and those automated test, and they all came out good. Still the same error.
If not :
There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage ( page 34) If
this voltage is off spec it could cause errors.
There is no trimmer to adjust this, but it is 3.98 and 3.99 on the boards, well within the 4V spec.
Try swaping DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed one. Or any
other parts in the DAC circuit.
I have systematically swapped one chip at a time, rebooting and checking to see if it made any change. DAC, opamps, logic chips ... still the same.
There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in Xpander service)
Which is used in the auto tuning routine. It is built around an LM311 voltage
comparator
Tried swapping it, but still the same.

I suspect there is something wrong in the processor board, now, because I found another error as well:
- The top 8 keys do not work.
I originally wrote that off as dirty keys, and planned to do that as part of the final cleaning of the synth. But when I did clean the keyboard today, the error is still there. I checked the keyboard contact board, the lines between keyboard and processor board (the parallell cable) and all seems to work properly.


Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


Terje Winther
 

Hi, what rev 3374s and 3372s are in the failing board?

VCOs are 8430, and VCF/VCAs are 8534.

Terje



Doug
synthparts.com

--- In xpantastic@..., Terje Winther wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
> changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
> who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
> now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
> even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
> anyway.
> The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
> left:
> It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
> Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
> passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
> the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
> I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
> of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
> one of the voice cards working properly.
> I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
> two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
> Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?
>
> On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
> there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
> and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
> service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
> guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.
>
>
>
> Terje Winther
> terje.winther@...
>
>


Terje Winther





 

About your keys problem, you may try to swap U63 and U75 on the processor board. The problem may be on the input line of one 4512 chip which may be destroyed. After the swap, check if the problem moved to another group of keys. If not, try to replace U62 then U74. Since I don't know the layout of the keyboard matrix layout, I cannot target the right chip to check.

Kris

Le 9 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 15:54, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

Hi,
Thanks for the feedback.
Good idea to compare with the Xpander service manual, as it is all
there. I have been though all the procedures now.
> You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
> Do the 2.2uF caps that were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not
> they will not
> pass the audio signal correctly.
>
Yes, 2.2uF caps with 50VDC rating.
> I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service) There
> is a trimmer
>
Checked all the voltages according to the service manual, and they are
all well within the specs. Some of them almost perfect, but then I
have done service on the power supply (lots of new parts in the power
supply). The DAC offset was quite good, but now it is perfect. I did
the reset again, and those automated test, and they all came out good.
Still the same error.
> If not :
> There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage
> ( page 34) If
> this voltage is off spec it could cause errors.
>
There is no trimmer to adjust this, but it is 3.98 and 3.99 on the
boards, well within the 4V spec.
> Try swaping DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed
> one. Or any
> other parts in the DAC circuit.
>
I have systematically swapped one chip at a time, rebooting and
checking to see if it made any change. DAC, opamps, logic chips ...
still the same.
> There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in Xpander
> service)
> Which is used in the auto tuning routine. It is built around an
> LM311 voltage
> comparator
>
Tried swapping it, but still the same.

I suspect there is something wrong in the processor board, now,
because I found another error as well:
- The top 8 keys do not work.
I originally wrote that off as dirty keys, and planned to do that as
part of the final cleaning of the synth. But when I did clean the
keyboard today, the error is still there. I checked the keyboard
contact board, the lines between keyboard and processor board (the
parallell cable) and all seems to work properly.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...




Terje Winther
 

Thanks!
I swapped the chips around a bit, and now all keys work.
It could well be the wiggling caused by me taking the chips in and out several times that caused this, because no new chips have been introduced.
Kind of gets me thinking....
Should I pull ALL the chips out and in a few times?

Terje



Den 9. juli. 2012 kl. 16.27 skrev Do It Yourself Synth:

?

About your keys problem, you may try to swap U63 and U75 on the processor board. The problem may be on the input line of one 4512 chip which may be destroyed. After the swap, check if the problem moved to another group of keys. If not, try to replace U62 then U74. Since I don't know the layout of the keyboard matrix layout, I cannot target the right chip to check.


Kris

Le 9 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 15:54, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

Hi,
Thanks for the feedback.
Good idea to compare with the Xpander service manual, as it is all
there. I have been though all the procedures now.
> You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
> Do the 2.2uF caps that were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not
> they will not
> pass the audio signal correctly.
>
Yes, 2.2uF caps with 50VDC rating.
> I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service) There
> is a trimmer
>
Checked all the voltages according to the service manual, and they are
all well within the specs. Some of them almost perfect, but then I
have done service on the power supply (lots of new parts in the power
supply). The DAC offset was quite good, but now it is perfect. I did
the reset again, and those automated test, and they all came out good.
Still the same error.
> If not :
> There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage
> ( page 34) If
> this voltage is off spec it could cause errors.
>
There is no trimmer to adjust this, but it is 3.98 and 3.99 on the
boards, well within the 4V spec.
> Try swaping DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed
> one. Or any
> other parts in the DAC circuit.
>
I have systematically swapped one chip at a time, rebooting and
checking to see if it made any change. DAC, opamps, logic chips ...
still the same.
> There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in Xpander
> service)
> Which is used in the auto tuning routine. It is built around an
> LM311 voltage
> comparator
>
Tried swapping it, but still the same.

I suspect there is something wrong in the processor board, now,
because I found another error as well:
- The top 8 keys do not work.
I originally wrote that off as dirty keys, and planned to do that as
part of the final cleaning of the synth. But when I did clean the
keyboard today, the error is still there. I checked the keyboard
contact board, the lines between keyboard and processor board (the
parallell cable) and all seems to work properly.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...





Terje Winther





 

Great news !

My own opinion is to not touch something which is ok. It may be safer to only touch the components potentially responsible of your problem.

Kris

Le 9 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 17:30, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

Thanks!

I swapped the chips around a bit, and now all keys work.
It could well be the wiggling caused by me taking the chips in and out several times that caused this, because no new chips have been introduced.
Kind of gets me thinking....
Should I pull ALL the chips out and in a few times?

Terje



Den 9. juli. 2012 kl. 16.27 skrev Do It Yourself Synth:

?

About your keys problem, you may try to swap U63 and U75 on the processor board. The problem may be on the input line of one 4512 chip which may be destroyed. After the swap, check if the problem moved to another group of keys. If not, try to replace U62 then U74. Since I don't know the layout of the keyboard matrix layout, I cannot target the right chip to check.


Kris

Le 9 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 15:54, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

Hi,
Thanks for the feedback.
Good idea to compare with the Xpander service manual, as it is all
there. I have been though all the procedures now.
> You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
> Do the 2.2uF caps that were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not
> they will not
> pass the audio signal correctly.
>
Yes, 2.2uF caps with 50VDC rating.
> I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service) There
> is a trimmer
>
Checked all the voltages according to the service manual, and they are
all well within the specs. Some of them almost perfect, but then I
have done service on the power supply (lots of new parts in the power
supply). The DAC offset was quite good, but now it is perfect. I did
the reset again, and those automated test, and they all came out good.
Still the same error.
> If not :
> There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage
> ( page 34) If
> this voltage is off spec it could cause errors.
>
There is no trimmer to adjust this, but it is 3.98 and 3.99 on the
boards, well within the 4V spec.
> Try swaping DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed
> one. Or any
> other parts in the DAC circuit.
>
I have systematically swapped one chip at a time, rebooting and
checking to see if it made any change. DAC, opamps, logic chips ...
still the same.
> There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in Xpander
> service)
> Which is used in the auto tuning routine. It is built around an
> LM311 voltage
> comparator
>
Tried swapping it, but still the same.

I suspect there is something wrong in the processor board, now,
because I found another error as well:
- The top 8 keys do not work.
I originally wrote that off as dirty keys, and planned to do that as
part of the final cleaning of the synth. But when I did clean the
keyboard today, the error is still there. I checked the keyboard
contact board, the lines between keyboard and processor board (the
parallell cable) and all seems to work properly.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...





Terje Winther







 

Try to reseat the U921 chip. This timer (8253) is used to test the frequency of ?VCO and VCF self oscillation. It may be dead too.?The best is to test with an oscilloscope on pin 7 while doing an autocheck. You may see a short signal when the CPU test each of the 6 voices.

As Karl said, the problem may be around the U108 (LM311). The problem maybe the C105 capacity. Try to test the continuity between pin 7 of the LM311 and pin 9 of U921 at the opposite side of the board. The LM311 is out of the audio path. It collect the signals from all the 6 voices and send them to an external timer to test frequency (VCO and VCF self oscillation).?

Kris

Le 9 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 15:54, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

Hi,
Thanks for the feedback.
Good idea to compare with the Xpander service manual, as it is all
there. I have been though all the procedures now.
> You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
> Do the 2.2uF caps that were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not
> they will not
> pass the audio signal correctly.
>
Yes, 2.2uF caps with 50VDC rating.
> I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service) There
> is a trimmer
>
Checked all the voltages according to the service manual, and they are
all well within the specs. Some of them almost perfect, but then I
have done service on the power supply (lots of new parts in the power
supply). The DAC offset was quite good, but now it is perfect. I did
the reset again, and those automated test, and they all came out good.
Still the same error.
> If not :
> There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage
> ( page 34) If
> this voltage is off spec it could cause errors.
>
There is no trimmer to adjust this, but it is 3.98 and 3.99 on the
boards, well within the 4V spec.
> Try swaping DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed
> one. Or any
> other parts in the DAC circuit.
>
I have systematically swapped one chip at a time, rebooting and
checking to see if it made any change. DAC, opamps, logic chips ...
still the same.
> There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in Xpander
> service)
> Which is used in the auto tuning routine. It is built around an
> LM311 voltage
> comparator
>
Tried swapping it, but still the same.

I suspect there is something wrong in the processor board, now,
because I found another error as well:
- The top 8 keys do not work.
I originally wrote that off as dirty keys, and planned to do that as
part of the final cleaning of the synth. But when I did clean the
keyboard today, the error is still there. I checked the keyboard
contact board, the lines between keyboard and processor board (the
parallell cable) and all seems to work properly.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...




Terje Winther
 

Very interesting update:
The Matrix-12 is just two Xpander voice board on top of each other, right? So it should be OK to shift which one of the cards who is on top?
Since I was always getting tuning errors on voice 7-12 while voice 1-6 was always right, I thought I could swap position of the voice cards to see what happens.
And guess what: it is still voice 7-12 that gets the error - AFTER the swap. The card that was getting all the errors now works perfectly in tune.

So my conclusion is this:
- Both the voice cards now work as they should.
- There is something wrong on the processor board (or in the connection between the cards: I can check the multicable).

Since I am mostly an analog synth repair guy, I am getting towards my limits if I am about to debug the digital electronics. In my experience though, it is often some logic chips and/or some physical connection (on or off board) that fails. I really hope there is nothing wrong with the processor itself.
It would be nice to get this M-12 completely fixed, as it looks good, and it is now so close, so close to being perfect.

Terje





Den 6. juli. 2012 kl. 20.42 skrev Karl Schmeer:

?


Hi Terje,

Wow Two M12's :-)

The version of the M12 service manual I have " Bought from Factory long ago"?is
pretty thin on details.

It's just schematics and a few engineering change orders.
If you have not done so check out the Xpander Service manual. It's in the files
section of this group.
The calibration procedures?for the trimmers you speak of? are in there, as well
as a detailed

description of what really goes on?during?the auto tuning routine.

You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
Do the?2.2uF caps that?were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not they will not
pass the audio signal correctly.?

Actually "the entire board failing tune "points to a more systemic failure.
Both the VCO and VCF are tuned?the same way with the exception that the VCF's
resonance
?is set to oscillate. ?A specific voltage is applied to the individual VCO or
VCF
and the output ?frequency is monitored by the CPU to allow tuning.

I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service)??There is a trimmer
in that circuit for

DAC offset calibration.?( The procedure is at the end of the Xpander service
manual page 34.
Maybe thats all that is wrong :-)?

If not :
There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage ( page 34)?If
this voltage is off spec?it could?
cause errors.?
Try swaping ?DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed one. Or any
other parts in the DAC circuit.

There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in?Xpander service)?
Which is?used in the auto tuning routine.?It is built around an LM311 voltage
comparator

which ties to the?output of??each voice.
Something may be amiss here.

Report back after these checks and I will think about it some more.

Best Luck

Karl
?

________________________________
From: Terje Winther <terje.winther@...>
To: xpantastic@...
Sent: Fri, July 6, 2012 12:30:38 PM
Subject: [xpantastic] only one board active

?
Hi all,
Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
anyway.
The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
left:
It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
one of the voice cards working properly.
I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?

On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...



Terje Winther





 

Hi Terje,

Great trouble shooting!?
Yes,? do reseat the chips and connectors on the Main processor board.
This has been a mojor problem with these synths, but the sockets?sure make
repairs easy.

BTW
I took photos of the M12 schematics and sent them to Chris this weekend. They
are large files but very fine resolution.

I have to go back to work?right now.
Chris, could you?please forward/send Terje?copies if he needs them?

If anyone else needs them, Please drop me a email and I will?send them to you.?
They are too big to put on the group files section.
Best Luck

Karl


_______________________________
From: Terje Winther <terje.winther@...>
To: xpantastic@...
Sent: Mon, July 9, 2012 11:19:24 AM
Subject: Re: [xpantastic] only one board active

?
Very interesting update:
The Matrix-12 is just two Xpander voice board on top of each other, right? So it

should be OK to shift which one of the cards who is on top?
Since I was always getting tuning errors on voice 7-12 while voice 1-6 was
always right, I thought I could swap position of the voice cards to see what
happens.
And guess what: it is still voice 7-12 that gets the error - AFTER the swap. The

card that was getting all the errors now works perfectly in tune.

So my conclusion is this:
- Both the voice cards now work as they should.
- There is something wrong on the processor board (or in the connection between
the cards: I can check the multicable).

Since I am mostly an analog synth repair guy, I am getting towards my limits if
I am about to debug the digital electronics. In my experience though, it is
often some logic chips and/or some physical connection (on or off board) that
fails. I really hope there is nothing wrong with the processor itself.
It would be nice to get this M-12 completely fixed, as it looks good, and it is
now so close, so close to being perfect.

Terje





Den 6. juli. 2012 kl. 20.42 skrev Karl Schmeer:

?

Hi Terje,

Wow Two M12's :-)

The version of the M12 service manual I have " Bought from Factory long ago"?is

pretty thin on details.

It's just schematics and a few engineering change orders.
If you have not done so check out the Xpander Service manual. It's in the files

section of this group.
The calibration procedures?for the trimmers you speak of? are in there, as well

as a detailed

description of what really goes on?during?the auto tuning routine.

You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
Do the?2.2uF caps that?were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not they will not
pass the audio signal correctly.?

Actually "the entire board failing tune "points to a more systemic failure.
Both the VCO and VCF are tuned?the same way with the exception that the VCF's
resonance
?is set to oscillate. ?A specific voltage is applied to the individual VCO or
VCF
and the output ?frequency is monitored by the CPU to allow tuning.

I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service)??There is a trimmer

in that circuit for

DAC offset calibration.?( The procedure is at the end of the Xpander service
manual page 34.
Maybe thats all that is wrong :-)?

If not :
There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage ( page 34)?If


this voltage is off spec?it could?
cause errors.?
Try swaping ?DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed one. Or any
other parts in the DAC circuit.

There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in?Xpander service)?
Which is?used in the auto tuning routine.?It is built around an LM311 voltage
comparator

which ties to the?output of??each voice.
Something may be amiss here.

Report back after these checks and I will think about it some more.

Best Luck

Karl
?

________________________________
From: Terje Winther <terje.winther@...>
To: xpantastic@...
Sent: Fri, July 6, 2012 12:30:38 PM
Subject: [xpantastic] only one board active

?
Hi all,
Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
anyway.
The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
left:
It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
one of the voice cards working properly.
I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?

On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


 

So you swapped the connectors between the 2 voices boards. We are agree that it was the connectors at the upper right corner, right ? I ask because I don't understand how the swap displaced the problem since there is no tuning specific wires on the connectors. This is a classic CPU bus.

Kris

Envoy¨¦ de mon iPad

Le 9 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 18:19, Terje Winther <terje.winther@...> a ¨¦crit?:

?

Very interesting update:

The Matrix-12 is just two Xpander voice board on top of each other, right? So it should be OK to shift which one of the cards who is on top?
Since I was always getting tuning errors on voice 7-12 while voice 1-6 was always right, I thought I could swap position of the voice cards to see what happens.
And guess what: it is still voice 7-12 that gets the error - AFTER the swap. The card that was getting all the errors now works perfectly in tune.

So my conclusion is this:
- Both the voice cards now work as they should.
- There is something wrong on the processor board (or in the connection between the cards: I can check the multicable).

Since I am mostly an analog synth repair guy, I am getting towards my limits if I am about to debug the digital electronics. In my experience though, it is often some logic chips and/or some physical connection (on or off board) that fails. I really hope there is nothing wrong with the processor itself.
It would be nice to get this M-12 completely fixed, as it looks good, and it is now so close, so close to being perfect.

Terje





Den 6. juli. 2012 kl. 20.42 skrev Karl Schmeer:

?


Hi Terje,

Wow Two M12's :-)

The version of the M12 service manual I have " Bought from Factory long ago"?is
pretty thin on details.

It's just schematics and a few engineering change orders.
If you have not done so check out the Xpander Service manual. It's in the files
section of this group.
The calibration procedures?for the trimmers you speak of? are in there, as well
as a detailed

description of what really goes on?during?the auto tuning routine.

You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
Do the?2.2uF caps that?were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not they will not
pass the audio signal correctly.?

Actually "the entire board failing tune "points to a more systemic failure.
Both the VCO and VCF are tuned?the same way with the exception that the VCF's
resonance
?is set to oscillate. ?A specific voltage is applied to the individual VCO or
VCF
and the output ?frequency is monitored by the CPU to allow tuning.

I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service)??There is a trimmer
in that circuit for

DAC offset calibration.?( The procedure is at the end of the Xpander service
manual page 34.
Maybe thats all that is wrong :-)?

If not :
There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage ( page 34)?If
this voltage is off spec?it could?
cause errors.?
Try swaping ?DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed one. Or any
other parts in the DAC circuit.

There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in?Xpander service)?
Which is?used in the auto tuning routine.?It is built around an LM311 voltage
comparator

which ties to the?output of??each voice.
Something may be amiss here.

Report back after these checks and I will think about it some more.

Best Luck

Karl
?

________________________________
From: Terje Winther <terje.winther@...>
To: xpantastic@...
Sent: Fri, July 6, 2012 12:30:38 PM
Subject: [xpantastic] only one board active

?
Hi all,
Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
anyway.
The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
left:
It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
one of the voice cards working properly.
I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?

On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...



Terje Winther





Terje Winther
 

Hi Karl,
Thank you very much for the photos - very useful.

Terje


Den 9. juli. 2012 kl. 18.56 skrev Karl Schmeer:

?

Hi Terje,

Great trouble shooting!?
Yes,? do reseat the chips and connectors on the Main processor board.
This has been a mojor problem with these synths, but the sockets?sure make
repairs easy.

BTW
I took photos of the M12 schematics and sent them to Chris this weekend. They
are large files but very fine resolution.

I have to go back to work?right now.
Chris, could you?please forward/send Terje?copies if he needs them?

If anyone else needs them, Please drop me a email and I will?send them to you.?
They are too big to put on the group files section.
Best Luck

Karl

_______________________________
From: Terje Winther <terje.winther@...>
To: xpantastic@...
Sent: Mon, July 9, 2012 11:19:24 AM
Subject: Re: [xpantastic] only one board active

?
Very interesting update:
The Matrix-12 is just two Xpander voice board on top of each other, right? So it

should be OK to shift which one of the cards who is on top?
Since I was always getting tuning errors on voice 7-12 while voice 1-6 was
always right, I thought I could swap position of the voice cards to see what
happens.
And guess what: it is still voice 7-12 that gets the error - AFTER the swap. The

card that was getting all the errors now works perfectly in tune.

So my conclusion is this:
- Both the voice cards now work as they should.
- There is something wrong on the processor board (or in the connection between
the cards: I can check the multicable).

Since I am mostly an analog synth repair guy, I am getting towards my limits if
I am about to debug the digital electronics. In my experience though, it is
often some logic chips and/or some physical connection (on or off board) that
fails. I really hope there is nothing wrong with the processor itself.
It would be nice to get this M-12 completely fixed, as it looks good, and it is
now so close, so close to being perfect.

Terje

Den 6. juli. 2012 kl. 20.42 skrev Karl Schmeer:

?
>
>Hi Terje,
>
>Wow Two M12's :-)
>
>The version of the M12 service manual I have " Bought from Factory long ago"?is

>pretty thin on details.
>
>It's just schematics and a few engineering change orders.
>If you have not done so check out the Xpander Service manual. It's in the files

>section of this group.
>The calibration procedures?for the trimmers you speak of? are in there, as well

>as a detailed
>
>description of what really goes on?during?the auto tuning routine.
>
>You probably already checked these things but just to be sure:
>Do the?2.2uF caps that?were replaced have a 50VDC rating? If not they will not
>pass the audio signal correctly.?
>
>Actually "the entire board failing tune "points to a more systemic failure.
>Both the VCO and VCF are tuned?the same way with the exception that the VCF's
>resonance
>?is set to oscillate. ?A specific voltage is applied to the individual VCO or
>VCF
>and the output ?frequency is monitored by the CPU to allow tuning.
>
>I would start at the DAC circuit ( page 19 xpander service)??There is a trimmer

>in that circuit for
>
>DAC offset calibration.?( The procedure is at the end of the Xpander service
>manual page 34.
>Maybe thats all that is wrong :-)?
>
>If not :
>There is also a procedure for checking the board reference voltage ( page 34)?If
>
>
>this voltage is off spec?it could?
>cause errors.?
>Try swaping ?DAC's between the "known good board" and your failed one. Or any
>other parts in the DAC circuit.
>
>There is a circuit on page 31 (Lower right hand corner in?Xpander service)?
>Which is?used in the auto tuning routine.?It is built around an LM311 voltage
>comparator
>
>which ties to the?output of??each voice.
>Something may be amiss here.
>
>Report back after these checks and I will think about it some more.
>
>Best Luck
>
>Karl
>?
>
>________________________________
>From: Terje Winther <terje.winther@...>
>To: xpantastic@...
>Sent: Fri, July 6, 2012 12:30:38 PM
>Subject: [xpantastic] only one board active
>
>?
>Hi all,
>Thanks a lot for all the help I have been given on this list. I have
>changed parts in the power supply, some CEM chips, all those el.caps
>who blocked tuning and sound, swapped some 74 series logic chips (so
>now all encoders works), and got new switches and rubber feet, and
>even a new key. And of course cleaned it up since all boards were out
>anyway.
>The Matrix-12 is almost all right now - it is just one peculiar error
>left:
>It seems that only one of the voice cards gets the proper commands.
>Voice 7 - 12 fails tuning of VCOs and VCFs, but all other tuning
>passes and there is sound from all 12 voices (if I turn them on) and
>the voices are almost in tune, and VCFs seems to work like they should.
>I also have another Matrix-12 in for service (yes, two M-12s in front
>of me - pretty sight!), and it too reportedly have an issue with only
>one of the voice cards working properly.
>I have double-checked the connectors (the paralell connector and the
>two 3-4 pin connectors) and they all seems to be fine.
>Any tips on what to do if one of the voice cards don?t responds?
>
>On another question: While having all the boards out, I noticed that
>there are very few manual trimmers on the M-12, but there are some,
>and I can?t seem to find any info on how to calibrate them. I have the
>service manual, and I find the trimmers there, so I can pretty much
>guess what to do, but it would be nice to know for sure.
>
>Terje Winther
>terje.winther@...
>
>
>

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...



Terje Winther





Terje Winther
 

So you swapped the connectors between the 2 voices boards.
Yes. I had to swap the boards in order to do that, because space is
limited.

We are agree that it was the connectors at the upper right corner,
right ?
Yes, correct. The flat cable.

I ask because I don't understand how the swap displaced the problem
since there is no tuning specific wires on the connectors. This is a
classic CPU bus.
Yes it is, but doesn?t the tuning procedures resides on the processor
board? If so, there has to be some communication between the processor
board and the voice cards while doing the tuning.
The M-12 always tells me that the top board fails tuning. If I swap
the boards, it is still the top board that fails tuning. So depending
on the position, the voice board either fails, or is perfectly in tune. That tells me that there is nothing wrong with the voice boards,
but I could be mistaken in this.

I have taken out and re-positioned many of the ICs on the processor
board (I didn?t move the RAM og ROM ICs, because the auto-test told me
that these were fine), and did notice that some were a bit loose.
Reseating them all didn?t change anything, though, but I haven?t
tested if all the ICs are OK.


Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


 

The processor board only ask to the voice board to run the procedure. The timing tests are done by the voice board CPU and the 8253 Intel chip. So I had no idea about the origin of the problem.

Kris

Le 10 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 12:36, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

> So you swapped the connectors between the 2 voices boards.

Yes. I had to swap the boards in order to do that, because space is
limited.

> We are agree that it was the connectors at the upper right corner,
> right ?

Yes, correct. The flat cable.

> I ask because I don't understand how the swap displaced the problem
> since there is no tuning specific wires on the connectors. This is a
> classic CPU bus.

Yes it is, but doesn?t the tuning procedures resides on the processor
board? If so, there has to be some communication between the processor
board and the voice cards while doing the tuning.
The M-12 always tells me that the top board fails tuning. If I swap
the boards, it is still the top board that fails tuning. So depending
on the position, the voice board either fails, or is perfectly in
tune. That tells me that there is nothing wrong with the voice boards,
but I could be mistaken in this.

I have taken out and re-positioned many of the ICs on the processor
board (I didn?t move the RAM og ROM ICs, because the auto-test told me
that these were fine), and did notice that some were a bit loose.
Reseating them all didn?t change anything, though, but I haven?t
tested if all the ICs are OK.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...




Terje Winther
 

Aha, thank you, very useful information.
That gave me some ideas of what to check.

Terje


The processor board only ask to the voice board to run the procedure. The timing tests are done by the voice board CPU and the 8253 Intel chip. So I had no idea about the origin of the problem.


Kris



Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


 

The problem is that a board swap should not displace the problem... except if you do the mistake to swap the ribbon at the same time.

Kris

Le 10 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 12:51, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

Aha, thank you, very useful information.
That gave me some ideas of what to check.

Terje

> The processor board only ask to the voice board to run the
> procedure. The timing tests are done by the voice board CPU and the
> 8253 Intel chip. So I had no idea about the origin of the problem.
>
>
> Kris

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...




Terje Winther
 

The problem is that a board swap should not displace the problem... except if you do the mistake to swap the ribbon at the same time.
No, no: The ribbon cable stayed in the same position, while I swapped the boards.
And yes, a board swap should not displace the problem.
So I must probably be looking for something else. I am trying to check for anything physically, a ground problem, a short somewhere ...
Does the M-12 has any way to recognize which board is where? I would not think so, because it should be possible to put in a voice board from another M-12.


Terje Winther
terje.winther@...


 

Can you send me picture of the top right part of each of the voice board ? I want to see if they do not share the same ID. Here is the reason :
Each voice board had his own id. This id is set with a strap. So when you swap the board, you didn't swap anything since each board kept his previous ID.?

Kris

Le 10 juil. 2012 ¨¤ 13:12, Terje Winther a ¨¦crit :

?

> The problem is that a board swap should not displace the problem...
> except if you do the mistake to swap the ribbon at the same time.
>
No, no: The ribbon cable stayed in the same position, while I swapped
the boards.
And yes, a board swap should not displace the problem.
So I must probably be looking for something else. I am trying to check
for anything physically, a ground problem, a short somewhere ...
Does the M-12 has any way to recognize which board is where? I would
not think so, because it should be possible to put in a voice board
from another M-12.

Terje Winther
terje.winther@...




Terje Winther
 

Can you send me picture of the top right part of each of the voice board ? I want to see if they do not share the same ID. Here is the reason :

Each voice board had his own id. This id is set with a strap. So when you swap the board, you didn't swap anything since each board kept his previous ID.?

Dang! That means that there is something wrong with the voice card.
OK, thanks, closer to the problem now.


__

Terje Winther