Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

I have been offered a Microwave XT that is not currently working properly. The seller describes it like this:

"Recently, when I turn it on it does not boot up properly and it says: "MW2-XT 1.1." Then it says "(some number) encoder shown is (some number)." I don't know what is wrong with this. It almost seems as if it's looking for its OS or something. The knobs make the numbers on the screen change though. So something is definitely going on inside it.

"I tried midi dumping the OS back into it to no avail. There is no sound and it doesn't seem to respond to midi. However the midi light that would normally light up is perpetually lit, so it could be receiving it but since the light is already lit, it isn't showing it.

"It stays in this limbo and doesn't output any sound. It seems that the synth is looking for an OS 1.1. I'm guessing this because of what it says on the screen. I'm just not sure what's the matter with it.

"I haven't troubleshot it any further and I haven;t taken it to a synth tech. I'm a recent college grad and can't afford to fix my gear... "

Does anyone have experience with a problem like this on a Microwave 2 or XT? Can this synth be saved, or is it junk, in your opinions?

I think I should pass, unless someone here can tell me they know this problem and how to fix it.

Cheers

Surely salvageable. There's is no service data available for the Waldorf synths, as far as I know. So it's gonna be guesswork.

Couldn't say for sure without seeing it but seems like a CPU/ROM problem. Failure? Voltage problem? I dunno...

Maschinengeist wrote:Surely salvageable. There's is no service data available for the Waldorf synths, as far as I know. So it's gonna be guesswork.

Couldn't say for sure without seeing it but seems like a CPU/ROM problem. Failure? Voltage problem? I dunno...

Thanks for the reply. If that's the case, it's beyond my ability to fix... I wouldn't know where to beign diagnosing or fixing anything like that.

I was hoping it was a simple software glitch. So it's probably not as simple as initiating a factory reset on start-up, huh? I couldn't find anything in the PDF manual about starting up in any kind of reset or utility mode.

If anyone is interested in a repair project and wants to buy this unit, let me know and I'll put you in touch with the seller.

Cheers

If it's dirt cheap, I might be interested. But my current financial situation is not the best right now.

How much was he asking for, out of curiosity?

Maschinengeist wrote:If it's dirt cheap, I might be interested. But my current financial situation is not the best right now.

How much was he asking for, out of curiosity?

I think his price is way too high - $600 US.

If I were to buy it, I would attempt to negotiate a much lower price, since it is currently non-functional. I don't know who he thinks would pay $600 for a broken Microwave XT... unless I'm totally wrong here.

I sure wouldn't... Could be a simple fix as not. But $600 is a bit excessive to me for a gamble.

That's truely sad though because I like picking up broken synths and bring them back to health. Synth repair is not just a job but a passion.

Maschinengeist wrote:I sure wouldn't... Could be a simple fix as not. But $600 is a bit excessive to me for a gamble.

That's truely sad though because I like picking up broken synths and bring them back to health. Synth repair is not just a job but a passion.

Thanks again for your replies. Yeah, I'm letting it go. I wish I had the skills and experience to repair synths! I'd love to buy funky gear and bring it back to life...