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Korg Polysixes - one - casing needs mild repairs, keyboard refurbishment (cleaning should bring it back, if not, then new rubbers). Other one - needs keyboard refurb (now completed), ground wire resoldering, and one new voice chip.

There's nothing quite like spending ages trying to figure out a fault, then realising that the solution is staring you in the face. Old analogue synths seem to always provide little illuminating diodes on each voice circuit - this indicates if a voice has failed, for example. The constant tone one synth was emitting, which could have been a stuck envelope generator, a bad earth, or a stuck key, was changing - sometimes - when I pressed a key. Watch the lights... and there it goes. Assign voice 1, 2, 3 (stick)... 4, 5, 6.

Swap chips between channels, and the stuck voice moves with it.

Swap between synths, and there it goes. Swapped keyboards to verify no other faults with the unit with a half-silent keyboard, after I'd assumed a broken wire/trace only to have Siani tap a key and it played.

Now, it is much-deserved bedtime I think. Tomorrow I will maybe get a new soldering kit, and if that means going to Edinburgh. an 8-way XLR loom for my TX816.

New graphics card makes dashboard appear faster, so must be worth the premium! Updating the firmware gave me a "Oh shit" moment, though - ATI say very clearly "Tiger users MUST boot in 'safe' mode - hold down shift".

Yeah. So the Mac spent AGES booting, and revved the fans up to full tilt. Just as I thought it was going to go tits up, the powermate flashed blue and I got the login screen, and all went well for the card revision.

(no subject)

Chip found. SSM 2056, ADSR envelope generator. Rare, out of production, but not impossible.

In fact, I have found some. From a supplier I have dealt with in the past. Excellent :D

(no subject)

Quick shopping in Edinburgh trip today - too headachy to spend too much time there.

Pros: Finding almost everything needed, plus a dirt-cheap fretless bass in Guitar Guitar (it's a Stagg, so of course it was dirt cheap, but it doesn't play badly at all). Making Siani snort coke in the car.

Cons: Headache of doom, chavs in the Gyle, some sort of sporting event when trying to find Dalry Road and Maplins. The electronic hobbyist store having NO SOLDERING IRONS. Or, well, anything really. They had contact cleaner, so I can have another go at Polysix number 1's keys and contacts (might do it downstairs and watch TV as well).

Then home comfortably in time for Dr. Who. Which wasn't as good as I'd hoped, but still pretty damn good. I can't decide if I dislike the writers for being a bit too predictable, or applaud them for the excellent job they did of the last series, but I think starting off with character swapping when at least one character isn't familiar spoiled both the contrast of the character, and the ability to become familiar with them. Like new Dr.'s suit, don't really know if I like the character, not fussed about the appearance.