replacing battery on pc88...here's how

[e...@e.net]

WARNING NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY HARM YOU MAY DO TO YOURSELF OR YOUR
KEYBOARD!

The battery on my PC88 died...only intruction I found was to take it
to a service center -- BAD.

So, Here's how I did it.

Turn the PC88 upside down (keys on bottom). Remove all the screws on
the bottom (which is now the top) of the keyboard. Also, remove the
screws on the back which are all in a line on the back (seven of
them). Also, remove the screws which hold the end caps to the bottom.
There are some on the bottom (which you removed) and two on the back.

After this, you can lift the bottom of the keyboard up slightly. You
will probably do as I did and accidently remove a ribbon connector
which has very little play (controls the bottom range of keys on the
keyboard). Don't worry, you can plug this back in later. You will
see on a circuit board the battery. Believe it was a CR2032 (not
sure). I bought a replacement battery at Wal-mart. Gently pull the
battery out and pop in a new one (the positive side of the battery
will be facing away from the battery holder, only partially obscured).

If the ribbon cable popped out, lower the bottom of the keyboard
closer to the assembly, and gently plug it back in.

All that's left is to put the bottom back on, aligning all the screw
holes with their mates. You may have to align the controller wheels a
bit so the holes are realigned, but this wasn't a biggee.

Took me about a half hour because there are so many screws holding the
bottom on! Battery replacement took five seconds

elbolabs

[---saam saam]

The PC88 internal battery (CR2032) can be replaced MUCH easier than in the
previous posts, with far less screw removal and no ribbon disconnection.

The top cover of the PC88 removes very easily! You can do this entire
repair without even taking it off the stand.

Unscrew the screws along the back seam of the PC88 (the intersection of
the top and bottom casing). Also unscrew the two rear screws that keep
the side caps attached to the keyboard (2 per side, 4 total).

The top of the PC88 (where all the buttons and display are) is held in
place by 2 strong clips that clip it to the side caps. While sitting at
the keyboard as if playing it normally, push the metal top away from you
until the top slides off the clips. If you need more wiggle room, you can
unscrew a couple more of the side-cap screws (the ones on the bottom of
the case) to give you more play.

The top will then slide off and you can flip it over like the hood of a
car to replace your battery. No dealing with dozens of screws,
disconnected ribbons or unscrewed controllers.

To put it back together, slide the top cover back onto the clips and screw
everything back.

Enjoy.

[Doug Moran]

In article
<54739dcac68dcf33...@localhost.talkaboutthemusic.com>,
"saam" <saamthing.com ---saam@> wrote:

I replaced the battery in my PC88 this evening. My friend replaced his
last evening, and help me. His is a PC88MX, made in 1994 and mine is a
PC88 made in 1997.

Totally different way in which the units are assembled, and
manufactured. We don't know is the keys mechanism is the same or not.
His was disassembled as is indicated above. Mine had the control panel
screwed through the bottom with a complete framework housing the circuit
boards and control surfaces. Two ribbon cables went from this
"assembly" to the key mechanism, and another wire went to the thumb
wheels.

We worked and worked to get the top of my PC88 off as described above.
Finally got the end cap off, and could see down in to see the holding
method. My right end cap is broken (plastic part - before this
adventure) so it made it easier to see.

Doug

[eclectic]

First I want to say thanks to Saam, elbolabs, and Doug Moran. I read their
posts while I dissembled my PC88 MX and found them helpful.

I can canfirm Doug Moran's post. My keyboard was purchased in the Spring
1996 and the top does not pop open. Therre is a heat sink or aluminum
reinforing piece that runs the length of the keyboard behind the keys and
it is screwed into the bottom.

I ended up removing all of the screws except four small ones in a square
beneath the low base keys. Now that it s back together, I think you can
leave the screws alone beneath the keys, except the ones near the end
caps. Once you have all the screws out, the thing opens up in all
directions and you have ample room to replace the battery, which should
take you only several seconds.

A few notes of caution are in order. Clear off a large, well lit
workspace. The dining room table or a couple of sawhorses with a half
sheet of plywood will do. Get a couple of small plastic feezer dishes and
put all the screws from the bottom in one dish and all the screws from the
back in the other. Take it easy, don't try to force things out or back
together. Make sure your screw holes line up and finger start the screws
so you don't strip the threads. If you feel stressed, stop, go think
about something else and come back to it. Don't force it back together.
And once you're done, and you plug it in, it'll work just fine.

I can't speak about setups. Although I bought the deluxe model, I mostly
use it as a practice piano with headphones in the Classical Piano mode, so
I can't comment on that. Thanks again.