Conference napalm::commusic_v1

Jim -

While working at Kurzweil as the test engineer, I wrote the service procedure
for the K250. Here is what I would recommend...

1. vacuum - try to get as much out as possible without taking anything apart
2. compressed air - try to blow out the dirt by just removing the cover
                    panel. Use caution that the air pressure is not to high.
		    Make sure that no electrically conductive material gets
		    onto the circuitry.
3. utility cleaner - use a cleaner that is labelled safe for use on
	 	    plastic and metal, spray onto a soft clean dry cloth,
		    do not spray into the electronics, use sparingly, wipe
		    keys gently to get off dust, grease, and grime, avoid
		    contamination of food, do not get into eyes, keep away
		    from children
4. contact cleaner - if the keys use spring contacts, the good ones are self
		    wiping and gold coated to avoid oxidation buildup. Contact
		    cleaner which is approved for use on electronics equipment
		    can be used. Also check that the contacts are not bent and
		    look for dull oxidation buildup.
5. last resort -    take the keyboard out of the unit and vacuum it with a
		    brush attachment or use compressed air. Use caution around
		    the delicate spring contacts (if applicable)
6. dust cover -     always use a dust cover. A table cloth, piece of a plastic
		    drop cloth, bath towel, etc. Keyboard magazine has
                    advertisements for all types of covers. Try to avoid
                    material that has lint (blankets) or static electricity
                    (nylon, rayon). Cloth backed black plastic is ideal, and
		    can be purchase at larger fabric stores. It is simple to
		    make a custom dust cover...

           pattern - fold along dotted lines and sew, tape, or glue corners

                 ______________________
	       |\|....................|/|
               | .                    . |
               | .                    . |
               | .                    . |
               | ...................... |
               |/|____________________|\|

Good luck, let us know what you finally do

dave

    Well, I finally cleaned the keyboard yesterday. I tried blowing
    the dirt out (and I did get some out), and I tried a contact cleaner
    but that didn't seem to help. The final solution was to remove the
    structure that holds the keys to the main chassis, and then remove
    each key individually and clean it. The problem was in the part
    of the structure that prevents the keys from moving from side to
    side. At the point where the keys rub against this structure, there
    was a thick yellowish grease. Over time, this grease had accumulated
    some relatively large foreign particles that caused the "crunchy"
    feel as the keys were being pressed. I simply took a q-tip and cleaned
    the structure and cleaned the keys themselves. I then put a small
    dab of Vaseline (sp?) where the yellowish grease had been and put
    the keys back in place. When the whole thing was back together,
    the keys felt smooth and clean as they were pressed. It definitely
    makes a difference in the mood of the player. It just feels so much
    better to play on smooth keys as opposed to dirty crunchy keys. 

Thanks for the help
Jim
    

Jim -

Glad to hear the keys are better. The vaseline will probably work ok as
long as you avoid warm temperatures. It tends to break down above 90 deg. F.
and become runny. You might want to check with Radio Shack or U-doit for
a special lubricant.

dave