No Sound From My Micron

[nsbhp2]

Hey all! Well, after not hearing from UTEPguy about my missing AC Adapter for the Micron I bought from him, I broke down and went to Radio Shack and got a generic one. The adapter works fine (9V, 1.5A same as the OEM), the synth powers up, but NO sound. Nothing from the headphone jack, nothing from either channel to my amp (and YES, the volume is turned up ). So I checked the setup, all cool there with local kybd cntrl, etc.... I even did a hard reset to factory setup, and no dice . So, anyone have any ideas? I REALLY hate to think I pissed away $265 for a non working synth. ANY help would be greatly appreciated!

Peace!
Scott

[Maschinengeist]

Assuming that the cables/headphones are alright and that no parameters are set to "0", I'd be tempted to conclude to op-amps problems. Microns & Ions are known for that defect. Replacing them could be tricky since they are nor "thru hole" but SMD (surface mounted. Therefore tiny. Better be good with a soldering iron).

I don't have my service manual anywhere nearby so I cannot say look at this or that precisely.

[Altitude]

Did you make sure you got the right type of transformer? i.e. AC to DC vs AC to AC

[nsbhp2]

Did you make sure you got the right type of transformer? i.e. AC to DC vs AC to AC

Altitude, which would I need, as the Micron is marked 9V AC at the plug (on back of synth), and the adapter is 9V DC output. I guess I should have paid more attention while I was at the Shack.

Peace!
Scott

[Stab Frenzy]

Did you make sure you got the right type of transformer? i.e. AC to DC vs AC to AC

Altitude, which would I need, as the Micron is marked 9V AC at the plug (on back of synth), and the adapter is 9V DC output. I guess I should have paid more attention while I was at the Shack.

Peace!
Scott

That's your problem then, the input needs to be AC or it won't work. How did you check the setup/local control on if you were using the DC supply? I seem to remember that using a DC supply on a Micron made the lights turn on but nothing else, maybe I just remember wrong.

Anyway, get yourself a 9VAC supply and it'll work fine.

[nsbhp2]

Did you make sure you got the right type of transformer? i.e. AC to DC vs AC to AC

Altitude, which would I need, as the Micron is marked 9V AC at the plug (on back of synth), and the adapter is 9V DC output. I guess I should have paid more attention while I was at the Shack.

Peace!
Scott

That's your problem then, the input needs to be AC or it won't work. How did you check the setup/local control on if you were using the DC supply? I seem to remember that using a DC supply on a Micron made the lights turn on but nothing else, maybe I just remember wrong.

Anyway, get yourself a 9VAC supply and it'll work fine.

Other than not producing any sound, everything else seemed to function fine. I was able to access all menus and such. Now, I have another question. Why is it that all other electronics I have with wall-warts go from AC to DC, but the Micron is the freak and is AC to AC?

Peace!
Scott

[Stab Frenzy]

Pretty much all Alesis stuff runs off 9VAC, that I've found. If you put in an AC signal it's easier to step it up and down to get different voltages, so you can rectify it and get +5VDC for the digital circuits and get +-9VDC rails for the analogue output section. You get more headroom on the analogue side doing this.

[Maschinengeist]

And also the Ensoniq Fizmo (just to name that one) and many others too. As Stab Frenzy explained quite clearly, working with AC is easier than with DC. It's all a question of design that will push one toward AC/AC adapter and another towards AC/DC adapter. Nothing unusual.

[nsbhp2]

You guys ROCK! This is why I love this site so much when I need help. Thanks a bunch! Guess I'll be waiting on Radio Shack's front step at open this morning.

Peace!
Scott

[nsbhp2]

Well, no luck at The Shack ! All they have is AC->DC models.....So, I did find this online http://www.action-electronics.com/acadapter.htm#Ac. This appears to be correct. Maschinengeist and/or Stab Frenzy care to back me up on this one before I order? I would wait to hear back from Tech Support @ Alesis, but I'm sure they'd want to charge an arm and/or leg for one.

Peace!
Scott

[Maschinengeist]

9VAC, 830mA (it should be printed near the power socket). A Micron user in here will sure confirm it. 1A will do fine.

[Stab Frenzy]

The Micron says 1.5A on the back, but we ran ours off a 500mA SR-16 supply and it was alright except for a lack of headroom. We have a 1.5A one now, much better.

[Maschinengeist]

Excellent! I took my info from the owner's manual. But if Stab says so. More amperage is better than the lack of.

[Zamise]

If it turns out not to be the wall wart adapter, you may need to open her up and check to make sure all the ribbon cables from the buttons, pitchwheel, etc., are securely pressed in. I had mine do similar after I took it apart once, thought I broke it, but took it apart again and resecured all the ribbon cables and it decided to work again. Its a bit of a tough b***h to take all apart and put together to check all those cables, they are on the underside if I remember right, can't get to them by just opening the case, have to get the keybed out and mainboard has to be flipped over too I think, then putting back together

Zam