Wavestation problems

Orage · Post by **Orage** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:35 pm

Hello everybody.

I got a wavestation for free (!) resently. There is of course a reason that I paid nothing, and the snag is that it is not working (surprise). It seems to me that the power supply is dead. When I turn it on, it seems like the backlight is working. Apart from that, all dead. Does anybody have an idea of what is wrong, or how I can check this? It would be sad to throw such a beautiful instrument in the dustbin.

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:54 am

A million things could be wrong, and it would be utmost impossible for anyone to figure out what it is without even taking a look at it. Your best bet is to ask a shop for a quote on fixing it, but I presume it would have a cost to just stripping it down and finding out what's wrong with it. If is not too much, say more than a couple hundreds (for fixing it) I would do it. Is an awesome synth, with a superb keybed.
I just use a couple of patches from it, but for the rest, is my main lead keybed, hooked via MIDI to my main workstation.

zzzxtreme · Post by **zzzxtreme** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:48 am

mocando, Krome or Microstation? Have u checked out youtube video in import user samples into krome ? that'd make krome more appealing

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:41 am

Check my replies in the Krome forum.

billbaker · Post by **billbaker** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 12:08 pm

If the backlight is working the PS is not dead, but the battery that backs up RAM might be. The ROM is non volatile memory and should not be effected, but RAM is where all the voice data/programs are stored - when the battery dies so does any information (voices) and ability to store edits (so you can't reload/save).

The dead battery is the most common reason for "no sounds" (if everything else seems to work). Others include a fried main board due to power surge, or a moisture issue (i.e., flood or alcohol induced stupidity).

Confronted by a FREE dead board, I'd take it to a shop and take a $40 gamble that it's something that can be fixed easily. If it's too much, just say no.

[To much = more than you'd pay to own a clean used version of that synth... so wavestation? That amount for me would be somewhere from $200 to $300 tops. $40 should get you an cost estimate and diagnosis.]

BB

Orage · Post by **Orage** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:53 pm

Thank you for your replies. The former owner said that the battery was new, so I don't think it is that. I'll have to see what I do. I live in a country, Norway, where I probably will have to pay 100 Usd or more just to get someone to look at it. It would be a nice one to have if i played as good as it looks. Almost "mint" condition visually.

billbaker · Post by **billbaker** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:54 pm

If the former owner took the old battery out and installed a new one without re-loading voices (RAM) afterward then it won't play simply because it has no voice instructions.

There may be a hard reset (i.e., power on with a front button(s) held) and that would be in the manual somewhere. You could also try downloading a voice file from the download section here. All other things being OK, that might get your wavestation working again.

BB

jhulk · Post by **jhulk** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:52 pm

just because the back light works does not mean the psu is alright just the 5v line is working

i had a psu and the holder for holding the psu in place can crack giving bad contact i had one recently with several bad contacts breaks due to this

so remove bottom of case and test the psu to make sure you are getting +/-12v and 5v

cant get replacement psu as korg no longer stocks them

so you will need to repair on component level and pcb repair

synthjoe · Post by **synthjoe** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:52 am

jhulk wrote:just because the back light works does not mean the psu is alright just the 5v line is working

And even then, it might be any other voltage, not necessarily 5V. e.g. 6V would fry most of your chips but the backlight would still work. So, I'd start by looking at the voltages coming out of the PSU, as jhulk wrote. Strictly at the connector and at the other end of the cable going out of the PSU.