Hi There. I’m new to the forum. I just bought a nice Roland D-10 last evening. Cheap price ($100).
It looks to be in a relatively good state for its age (1989). All key works, all buttons clicks, everything is working, it looks good… but it really stinks cigarettes. Man… Previous owner was a really heavy smoker.
It doesn’t smell cigarettes… it Stinks ! Really…
So, I started to dismantle it, and clean it with hot water and a bit of Lestoil. Have to be carefull with Lestoil, as it can disolve paints, but a bit diluted in water is OK.
I will have to remove and clean/rub all the rubber and plastic (keys and buttons). Anyway… a work in progress over the next few days.
I checked the small 3v battery, but the one inthere is still good. I could see old chemical leaking marks on the synth base metal bottom, under the battery, but the battery older is shiny like a new one, My guess is that this D-10 was serviced some times ago.
Now, I have a question about those Eprom chips. I saw newer Eprom version (1.06 if I remember) for sale on the net. What does it gives to upgrade the Eprom ?
Chris
Well, does it worth it to upgrade the Eprom version… to answer that, you have to consider : first - how easy or hard it is to upgrade… and then, secondly - upgrading from what version to wich one, and what “bug” the newer version fixes and / or what new features it offers you.
So, to answer the first part, upgrading both Eprom chips, means you have to unsolder both chips from the pc board and resolder the new ones in place. Surpringly, and sadly, they were not mounted on an IC socket on the board. That would had allowed a simple IC swap.
So, we are used to upgrade software versions simply by a few mouse clicks. Not that simple here. Soldering the many small legs of thoses Eprom chips is not as quick and easy than removing and resoldering an old capacitor or a defective push button.
Secondly : wich version do I already have and what new version is available ? The “bug fixes” and features of each new version are normaly listed on the manufacturer support section. Each user can then determine if there will be a real benefit for him to upgrade.
I saw a D-10 Eprom chips set ( there is two chips to replace) on Ebay. They advertise it as being version 1.06. Ok… what version do I already have ?
According to my D-10 serial number (895…) mine was made in 1989.
A look inside at IC 13 and 14, revealed I have the version 1.11.
So, I guess those offerings on ebay are for those who have a very early version, made in 1988.
