Joe*
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3 Answers
I just fixed this exact problem today. It took me a while to figure out how to get to the key bed, but it's not impossible. I'll try to retrace my steps and describe them as well as I can:
- Turn the keyboard upside down on a table with the joystick hanging off the table. To make my directions easier to follow, the joystick should be on your left. When I say "front", I mean towards the keys, "back" towards the knobs.
- Have 3 cups for the different types of screws you'll find. A magnet-tipped screwdriver is *essential*, as some of the screws are hard to get to, and you don't want to lose them in there.
- Start by removing the bottom plate.
- Remove the right side panel -- there should be three bigger screws towards the front, and two smaller ones way down towards the back.
- Here's the tricky part... unplug all connectors from the center board. You might want to take some detailed pictures before you do that because there are some empty sockets on the board. It's actually easy to figure out what goes where because most connectors are of different sizes.
- Unplug the two red connectors that go to the left side of the key bed, and the one that goes to the small board on the key bed, but NOT the small white one. That's the aftertouch cable and it doesn't need to be disconnected.
- Unscrew the center board from the horizontal rail in the middle of the case. There should be 4 screws and a cable tie is connected to each one. There are 3 black screws in the back around the digital output slots (there wasn't a digital card on the Trinity I worked on.) -- unscrew those and remove the board VERY carefully not to pull any wires along the way.
- There are two silver plastic grounding slips -- one on the far left, one on the far right. I know you have to remove the left one, I'm not sure about the right one, but remove it just in case.
- Unscrew the long aluminum piece at the very front, the one that is under the keys when the keyboard is right side up.
- Unplug the small connector off the floppy drive. You can leave the ribbon cable connected. The are 4 screws (I think) that hold the floppy drive in place. Unscrew those and remove the drive.
- There should be 1 more screw holding the key bed in place, and it's right by one of the floppy drive screws. Get that one out and pull the key bed upward using the metal piece in the middle -- it may be stuck to the horizontal rail, even though it's unscrewed. Pry it up gently with a screwdriver if you have to. The key bed should come out. If it doesn't, check what might be keeping it in place. Don't ever force anything out of a keyboard.
OK, that's part one. Part two is fairly easy...
- Set the key bed on a table. Remove the long plastic strip at the top.
- To remove a black key, first you have to remove the two surrounding white keys. Grab the bottom part of the key (where you play it) and push towards the top (where there's a square hole). Pay very close attention to how the key is removed, because reinstalling it is the same way, just reversed (obviously). There's a flat spring underneath the key, don't worry if it pops out. It's pretty self-explanatory how to put it back.
- Remove the black key in the same manner. Most likely, the little tab that hooks the key onto the key bed is chipped or broken. In any case, you will need a new key -- unless, of course, it was just the spring that popped out.
Follow the instructions in reverse order to put it all back together. I typed this by memory, so I may have skipped a step or two. Taking this keyboard apart wasn't as easy as I expected, but not as hard as it looked. It just takes patience and being careful.
I hope this helps!
Posted on Jun 04, 2009
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Joe*
Joe* Sep 03, 2011
I can't remember if the Trinity has a battery inside, but when keyboards reset themselves to the factory default it's usually because of a dead battery. Look for a flat, nickel-sized battery. If you find one, replace it. Whether you need to or not, it's good maintenance.
William*
William* Jun 04, 2015
You missed some important points, such as the black screws in the back panel that also hold the main board in. There is also no need to remove the 'right side panel'. As long as the floppy drive is out, good to go. I did a sketch, to remind myself where which screws go. Circles with a dot for the larger brass ones, just a circle for the small brass ones, then a dot for the black ones. I also took photos at every step - which was a great suggestion, but something I learned years ago. Always a good idea. It is not an easy task. Well, it's easier if the one you're replacing hasn't been shattered and you have to glue it back together on top of all this crap.
