Hot Problem

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

My NM keyboard becomes hot after hours of use, and the right channel cuts out. I prevent it from happening by running a fan on it. Has anyone else had this problem and knows how to fix it?

mother misty · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:51 am Post subject:

mine gets hot too
(maybe warm is a better word,
but I kinda like it... certainly with these cold days Smile

)

(I've had some troubles in the past where one of the LCD's turned black
when it was getting too hot, opening & closing the G2 solved the problem,
it think it was a cable...)

Do you also have channel cut outs when the G2 is not hot?

blue hell · Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2004 1:09 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the forum Chris.

How hot is hot ?

I've got two racks built into an enclosure and although I provided for ventilation the engines do get warm, not hot though (and I've not experienced any drop out problems from this)

When your synth runs really hot maybe something is wrong.

I did have channel loss though but this was caused by variation changes sent over MIDI to patches during or shortly after patch changes. This should be fixed in OS 1.24, but I toook some precautions and so this condition can not occur anymore in my setup (and so I didn't really retest it).

Jan.

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

The channel only cuts out when the unit is hot. It is not terribly hot, but warmer than my other synths. If I blow a fan on it, the problem doesn't happen. It is an NM keyboard, not a G2, so the OS update won't help.

blue hell · Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:01 pm Post subject:

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

I'll open it up for a closer look. Maybe it will be obvious to see a crack or feel where the heat is coming from. Beyond that, there isn't much I can do. My knowledge of circuitry is not good enough for me to correct soldering.

ian-s · Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 8:01 pm Post subject:

A circuit diagram/board layout would help, cant be a lot of components or track in just the right channel out section.
Anyone got a NM Classic Service manual?

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

Thanks for asking if there is a diagram of the board. I was wondering about that, too, since the problem is specific to the right channel.

Rob · Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:54 pm Post subject:

jksuperstar · Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:57 pm Post subject:

If you are brave, however, you could open it up, and turn it on. Let it heat up, even to the point of the right channel going out. Then use your finger to touch some of the chips in the area of the right channel. Be sure to ground yourself first to get rid of static electricity (touch a metal part of a device that has a 3-prong power plug). Once you find the hot part, look at the components around it: look for unusual black marks, or a popped component, or any thing that just looks *wrong*. Seriously, when things over heat in electronics, you can visually see evidence of it.

If you do find it, post a picture, and we might be able to see if it is fixable or if it truely needs to be serviced.

Either way, Rob is right, you do have a potential problem.

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

Yes, I know that is the right route to take. I was avoiding it because it I hate to break it on purpose to find the problem. Armadillo recommended buying a used NM for a replacement board because it would be cheaper. (Unless I inherit someone else's problems.)
Looks like here I go, this weekend, down under the hood. Wish me luck. Got my camera ready if anything looks suspicious.

General Elektrick · Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:59 am Post subject:

Good Luck!!!!!!

In general I would say rob is right, there is not much to do than exchanging the bad board.

General Elektrick

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

RESULTS OF EXAMINATION: No visible damage. Nothing suspicious near the malfunctioning output. Some heat from the power source--but alot of heat from the two black components directly beneath and to the right. (Don't know what they are.) These were hot enough to cause me to pull my finger back. I assume some heat is normal because they have heat sinks.
So I tried something. Made the heat sinks bigger. Stuck little pieces of sheet metal between the blades, extending them, increasing the surface area. It did work to dissipate the heat.
So, essentially, my Modular has bigger fins. See the photos: Before, Iguana. After, Stegosaurus. (Actually more Dimetrodon.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/purplebird7/NMBefore.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/purplebird7/NMAfter.jpg
The right channel didn't cut out after that. I don't know if it was because of the fix or if my basement was too cold.

General Elektrick · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 12:26 pm Post subject:

Dear Chris,

are the photos art?
I can not see anything on it Question

Best
General Elektrick

blue hell · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:41 pm Post subject:

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

Disappointing. I thought I had it solved. If voltage regulators cause total system malfunction, then it is true, they are not the problem. I will wait until the channel cuts out before I open the lid again. Thanks for clarifying this issue.

elektro80 · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 4:42 pm Post subject:

Well, it all depends on how the circuit really works, but in this case it seems like if these voltage regulators would take out the whole thinge if they malfunction. I have the NM1 too, and from what I have seen of the boards inside, the PSU is pretty standard. The NM1 has one PSU that supplies the juice for everything, and it is not like those hifi preamps that have one PSU for each channel.

Chris Hodges · Joined: Dec 13, 2004 Posts: 8 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

Yeah, which would make sense explaining this particular malfunction, which only occurs on one channel.