Korg Forums

[Chimera11]

I have a 3-4 year old product, which worked fine until today.
The touchpad is stuck in top horizontal line and I can move it left and right, but not up and down.
I tried resetting the unit but that didn't work.
I tried to run full inspection ([4] + [TAP/RANGE] : Full inspection (internal and external) ) and I got this result :
firmware version 2.00
Er.5.1

I kept my unit in fine condition, there had been no physical shocks or damage done, not even a scratch, and its not been overused either. I used korg products before which always worked flawlessly for decades so this is a huge disappointment, I payed good money for this instrument and I expected good quality for the cost. Without the functionality of x-y axis it is just a piece of junk. Please help.

[Chimera11]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsbdgiHsyTk

Here is the same exact problem reported by some other people.

[nulyovy]

I had exact same problem with my KP3.. Replacement of touchpad is the only solution.

[ToughDuck36]

Since you'd be taking it a part anyway, I'd try reseating the cable. I had the same problem (though I'm not sure of the error code). I took it apart cleaned it all and pushed the cables all back in nice and tight. No problem since. Then if it still messed up get a new touch pad. If you don't want to take it on yourself, see if you have a friend that works on Laptops. The connections are all very similar.

[Chimera11]

Ok, so this problem reoccurred and pad went from faulty back to normal state for years until it went completely dead, the unit was so unreliable and I was so pissed at Korg because of this. So finally I decided to have a look inside.

The problem was the ribbon cable connecting pad to the motherboard.
I slightly peeled it off just to see the beginning of pad connections and made 4 little channels with thin needle between the plastic ribbon cable and the pad connections so I could insert new wires and reroute the thing.

Make sure the wires are touching the connectors on pad and press the cable firmly against the pad.
I wouldn't recommend soldering because it will melt the plastic, so I used hot glue gun to secure the cable to old ribbon cable. That should be strong enough to keep the cable in place

For new wire I used old IDE cable. Only 4 wires were needed, so I carefully cut along the length and snipped off around 12 cm of wire.




I had to use longer wire, because I rerouted other end of the cable on the other side of the board, the opposite side of where cable was connected before (with little plastic snap on connector hub). The best way to route the wire is on the side, so you can avoid any interference with sample buttons.

On the other side you can see 4 little holes to the left of the old hub connection. Pass the wires thorough and solder them with a tiny amount of solder. You have to connect the wires in order displayed bellow.




I hope this helps, it worked perfectly for me, and with this I avoided ordering new pricey touch-pad with same cheap ribbon cable that is bound to rot away with time.

Korg really disappointed me with this one, making such expensive instrument and cheapskating on crucial components like this.

[wax]

good post - had the same issue - bought the expensive screen though.
that ribbon indeed is a joke ...

[karu]

sorry for my english and for not having photos but.... same issue with the screen.only the two bottom rows were lighting...
after many hours of searching and experimenting i was ready to follow chimera's instructions..then i saw that the foilcable had a 90° angle right in the point that the small plastic leaf ended (the part that goes into the small white socket on the pcb)
the foilcable is lightely attached with glue on that plastic piece
i just took them apart and cut off the bended piece with a scissor
after that i placed the foilcable on the plastic piece (no need of a glue the previus stll works )
scratched the plastic cover of the part of the foilcable that inserts into the small white socket on the pcb so it can make contact reassemblied everything and WORKED !!!!

[phillwilson]

I had EXACTLY this problem and solved it by carefully taking the unit apart and then cutting some fine crafting felt and laying it behind the spot where the ribbon cable attaches to the touch screen.

screwed is all back together an no issues at all.. seems that as the felt backing around the screen gets tired is compacts to a point where any tiny gaps in the trace joins are causing the circuit to break, this simply nips it up.

[Chimera11]

[dubwell]

So my Korg Kaoss pad had similar problems. My assesment is that the digitizer ribbon cable was too long coming from the factory. If you look with a magnifying glass there is probably a visble break in the copper ribbon. Therefore, it ships with a sharp fold which over times causes a break in the circuit. In order to achieve a free fix (minus time invested into labor), shorten the ribbon above the fold. Remove the small white plastic piece that was on the end of the ribbon and reapply it to the new end. This will result in an almost perfect length of ribbon cable. You will probably need forceps to insert the shortened ribbon. This should give a long lasting and free fix.

Also: follow K's directions, using a scalpal to remove the plastic coating of the ribbon.

[ananjar]

Hello,
I've got the same problem. I've read carefully the instructions of Chimera and Karu, and I don't want to solder anything, so I've done some Karu's steps.
I've cut the of the cable, and fix again the white little plastic under it. Also I've scrachted over the four lines, to let contact them with the pins inside.
https://postimg.org/image/lzxvgrlo3
It doesn't work.
Also I've placed under the crystal layout connectiones, a little piece to incerase the pressure. Somebody has posted that as solution, but it doesn't work.

Finally, I think I've done some not too good for finding the solution, the good. I've unsticked -not all- the head of the cable linked to the touchpad, in order to test the connections with a little and thinn four copper wires -yes, I've soldered on the pcb-. It seems if part of the layout now were impressed sover the pad and not in the original support. I've fix one or two copper wires with the positions in the pad -I think it's not necessary the four wires connected at the same time to get some effect with the touchpad, isn't it?-.

[img] https://postimg.org/image/4nxivbs6r [/img]
[img] https://postimg.org/image/y4d4xqyk3 [/img]
[img] https://postimg.org/image/k6qdepb3n [/img]

I've thought in the possibility to repaint the layout connections -in the crystal- with a special semiconductor felt tip-pen. ?

I don't know if really I've made some wrong. I'm in that point where I don't know what can I do, and anything seems to be a mistake. Please, if someone can give me an advice.

Thanks.