Jupiter-6 Restoration Project Log

Post by **Blue Monster 65** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:13 am

Yeah! That'll work!

Woof! - Scott

Neonlights84 · Post by **Neonlights84** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:20 am

StepLogik wrote:I think this is it! any last thoughts?

http://home.comcast.net/~derekcj75/gearpix/JP6cs-5.jpg

I like it alot. Looks like a lollipop or candycane of sorts...but more synthy. Go with it!

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:55 am

dougt wrote:If I was going to the trouble of having a new front panel made I'd have the Europa functions added on...

I was thinking the exact thing tonight! ....at least the most common ones.

crystalmsc · Post by **crystalmsc** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:39 am

got my vote too, but I like the Jupiter letter at the fourth picture actually, but it's up to you..just make sure to post the result

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 5:39 pm

Minor updates:

Got the 10k pots from Technology Transplant (thanks for the fast service!) today so I'll get those soldered in right away w/ Bross's help. That will complete the pot/slider replacement.

I've signed off on the final design and Jeff is working on it now. I can't wait to see it!

I did decide not to add the europa functions to the front panel - even though I've changed it up quite a bit, I didn't want to clutter it up with all the overloaded button functions. I did want to keep the lettering and graphics stock... i'm sure I will regret that decision

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:18 pm

Got the refinished panels back from Jeff @ CustomSynth! They look brilliant! The quality of the work is first rate.

Thanks for everyone who contributed to the design and offered input.

Couple of things I'm working on. First of all, the felt padding that goes between the panel board and the actual front panel has rotten out and is crusty and starting to crumble. So, I went to a craft store (Michael's) and picked up a sheet of black felt padding. I used the existing material as a template to cut out new padding to insert behind the front panel:

The next issue is the white button caps on the bender board for the mod trigger and bender assign buttons are faded yellow. So, they need to be painted. I used Krylon Fusion spray paint for the job. I also painted the LED spacers so they would match the new front panel:

That Krylon stuff needs to be sprayed on VERY lightly. Hold the can far away and just mist the plastic. Make several quick passes, let it dry, repeat. Many times. I did a lousy job on the buttons and there are some runs and bubbles but its not too noticeable.

The JP-6 has a heat vent along the top of the front panel. There is some very fine material underneath the vent to prevent dust and dirt from entering the chassis. I needed to get some new material and I found some stuff at a fabric store (Joann Fabric) called "Sewing Interfacing" that is perfect. Its very fine and is a perfect replacement for the existing material. It comes in white or black and I got white interfacing to match the front panel although I really doubt it will even be visible.

I'm still undecided about sliders and knobs. The existing slider/knob color isn't going to work very well. I could paint them with that Krylon Fusion stuff, but that would be a hassle. I've been looking into the Neutrik slider caps:

or maybe

More Info: http://werfo.sulzerchemtech.com/rean/frameset.asp?c=s

Those are a bit different from the stock slider caps, but they are really nice looking. They have a variety of colors for the body and the line marker. Also, mixer fader-caps are a possibility as well (think Akai AX-60). Something to think about...

More pix and updates soon.

Bross · Post by **Bross** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:35 pm

That customsynth work does look nice, even in the close ups. I can't wait to see it in person.

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:43 pm

I've started putting everything back together.

I found some nice hex-head stainless-steel screws at Hobbytown USA to replace the visible black screws on the front panels. FYI, the front panels' screws (all visible ones) are 3MM fine-thread machine screws. Should be readily available.

Of course, no project is complete without losing some screws. I seem to have lost 2 of the screws that hold the read jack field in place.

I was very meticulous about storing the screws but I still manged to lose them. These screws are coarse threaded. Hopefully, I will be able to find some that small.

I decided to change the color of the bender assign buttons and the mod trigger button to blue.

That Krylon Fusion spray paint looks decent once it dries, but its not perfect. It has a grainy feel to it. I picked up some clearcoat and gave the buttons a coat of it so hopefully they will look a little more glossy.

More pix tonight.

Tardis · Post by **Tardis** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:09 pm

Look great StepLogik. Jeff does do awesome work.
Can't wait to see the final product...

crystalmsc · Post by **crystalmsc** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:21 am

StepLogik wrote:

this looks cool with the overall design.

cletus · Post by **cletus** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:37 am

So what's up? You gonna start trickin out other peeps JP-6's or what? Can I be first!

Looks good man! I wasn't kidding about the first thing though.

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:54 pm

To be honest, I think this is the last synth restoration I do

Its really a lot of work and it was ridiculously expensive. If I were to sell this, I'd have to sell it for over $4k to get my money back! On the other hand, it was a lot fun and I really learned a lot - especially from VSE user Bross who assisted with the electronics work.

More project updates:

Putting the panel boards back on the cover panel was a b***h. Getting all the LED's and sliders to go back into their correct locations was horrible. If I never do that again it will be too soon.

Everything is pretty much back together. I still need to tie the chassis ground to the 3rd pin of the new IEC connector and replace the missing jack field screws that hold the jack board to the rear panel - if I can find some.

I also need to calibrate the voice boards. Sounds like some things aren't quite right. It also seems like LFO-2 is acting weird - the rate control only seems to work for about half of its range. The LFO-2 LED is solid when the control is less than halfway turned. I wonder if perhaps we soldered the wrong value pot in that location?

I really like this slider. I'd like to get blue and purple ones to match the panel buttons. The only problem is that you have to order them in quantity of 100 from digikey and I'm not sure they will fit the slider tang on the JP-6.

Is it possible to rent an oscilloscope or get one cheap? I hate to buy one, but for someone who is into vintage synths, its probably a good investment.

Z · Post by Z » Fri Aug 24, 2007 4:13 pm

StepLogik wrote:I think this is it! any last thoughts?

http://home.comcast.net/~derekcj75/gearpix/JP6cs-5.jpg

I like that one a lot. I'm sure it Jeff could do it, but what wouls also be cool is to have the Europa "Second Page" (OB-8 analogy all I could think of) labeled functions.

<EDIT> Guess I should have read the whole thread first. Looks like I'm not the only one with that suggestion. I'd like to see the finished JP. One of mine is in the shop right now, would be perfect time to have this done.

Z

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:57 pm

Looks like I've got some electrical issues on the bender board. VSE user Bross is checking it out now and hopefully he can trace down the problem.

Is anyone aware of any "gotchas" to be mindful of on the JP-6 bender board that could cause problems?

The only proprietary part I see is the Roland BA662 VCA chip. How often do those go bad?

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 12:38 am

Well I've hit another snag. Bross was able to get most of the bender board back to life, but we're getting some really bizarre spurious voltage readings on traces that shouldn't have any voltage on them at all (after removing components). It almost seems like there is some kind of defect with the board or there is some crud or dirt thats shorting traces together.

I suppose I need to find a tech comfortable with JP-6 troubleshooting to get to the bottom of this! I'm way out of my league here!