SOUND ON SOUND

[Sam Spoons]

JIS screw heads used on many Japanese motorcycles too.

[DarrenGlen]

I'm glad you picked up on the fact that Roland uses JIS screws in its construction -- as does most Japanese equipment.
...

Most JIS screws are identified as such by having a small dot on the screw head alongside the cross (or occasionally a x mark).

yep except I couldn't find that mark on Coras remaining front panel screw, or many others from underneath. Either the marks are not there or the screw surface is so rusted that I couldn't make it out. The "dot" theory is a nice rule but I'm not sure that it was always adhered to.

And so many examples of Jupiter 8s that ive seen close-up have their front crucial 3 panel screws "knackered" and ripped apart for this exact reason...some dood has just shoved an electric drill with a phillips head in there to do them up fast and instead of the drill bit popping up at the end when things get tight, instead it bites hard and then just shreds the screw teeth. Not a good look when you are staring down at it constantly as you play.

Anyways hopefully the article helps some owners to avoid damage in the future with some newfound knowledge!

Cheers Hugh!

[Folderol]

Just looking in again for an update.
Seriously impressed with your continued dedication and close attention to detail.

[DarrenGlen]

Just looking in again for an update.
Seriously impressed with your continued dedication and close attention to detail.

Thanks Fold you know what they say ... “The Devils in the Details!”

Unless it is referring to your wife at which point you recalibrate to the other saying “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” hehe

[nathanscribe]

Thanks for posting this! I restored my old Juno 6 a couple of years ago and had similar issues with screws – ended up finding a local-ish manufacturer who had an excellent range. They're not all the right finish, but for underneath I wasn't so bothered, and I preferred the soft grey of the new end cheek screws to the original bronze-y colour. Compromises, but fair, I think. Glad to see you managed to find something for that front panel, they do need to be right!

[DarrenGlen]

Hi all, Coras panel is back from the silkscreen printers !

https://jup8restoration.wordpress.com/2 ... ilkscreen/

[Hugh Robjohns]

Fabulous work! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :thumbup:

[Eddy Deegan]

Absolutely stunning - a fantastic write-up too! :clap:

[desmond]

You need to video the (eventual) first switch-on and play experience...

It's going to be emotional... :lol: :clap:

[blinddrew]

Great to see a master at their work. :)

[Martin Walker]

Wow - just wow!!! :shock: :clap: 8-)

You may need to seek the help of a therapist once Cora is finally finished Darren.

It's normally after the event that folk cave in to the stress ;)


Martin

[The Elf]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[DarrenGlen]

Wow - just wow!!! :shock: :clap: 8-)

You may need to seek the help of a therapist once Cora is finally finished Darren.

It's normally after the event that folk cave in to the stress ;)


Martin

Yes but this time Martin after the event I will have a Jupiter 8 to play as therapy :)

[IAA]

Wow :headbang: The big switch on is getting close. I’ve really enjoyed following this adventure, what’s your ETA on completion and job done?

Ian

[DarrenGlen]

Hey Ian ...thanks for reading Coras blog! Glad you’re enjoying it ...no ETA. I’d like to say ... before Christmas? It’s going to move along faster now that I’m past that big bottleneck of the panel. But the side cheeks are going to take time, they need polishing and finishing and then anodizing. Those workshops can take months to do their job ...Hmmmpf.

And I still don’t know what to do about the hestsink. I just can’t put that ugly beaten up thing on such a thing of beauty... I really need another one to truely finish the job

[Hugh Robjohns]

It's almost certainly a standard aluminium extrusion, so you should be able find something the same or very similar from the usual suppliers... such as:

https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/product-highlight/a/advanced-thermal-solutions/extrusion-profile-heat-sinks?utm_adgroup=General&mkwid=sTovGldjA&pcrid=267270543726&pkw=&pmt=b&pdv=c&productid=&slid=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIruDY3K2b4wIVSPhRCh1-qQPOEAAYASAAEgIFwPD_BwE

[DarrenGlen]

Hi Hugh! Thanks for your post!

Nada I’m afraid. Coras heatsink is very unique. It needs to have the same amount of fins, the same height and spacing for the amount of heat it’s dissipating. As well as to look right. All the similar sized ones I’ve ever found have the fins running the wrong way... vertically instead of horizontally.

Roland made the heatsink run this way so keyboard players would not slice their fingers apart when they reached around the back of the synth to pick it up.

I do have a 3D file of the heatsink. But so far to get one laser cut to spec is running at $600 US plus. Which I find rediculous. Maybe I should start up a Gofundme campaign to get the heatsink cut hehe (of course I would not do that)

[Eddy Deegan]

I've just re-read the entire saga from the first post up to the present. Although I've been following periodically, it's quite amazing to read in one go. I learned a lot from the documentation you've created. The high level of detail about slider construction, pots, ribbon cables, ordering spares, LEDs, switchwork, metalwork (the list goes on) are extremely interesting and likely to be of use in future.

This is the most thorough and ambitious synth rebuild I've ever seen. I reckon when it's done you could write a book about it... I'd certainly buy one!

One thing I was curious about. You went to great lengths to replace the ribbon cable and you mentioned the fragility of the original cable looms yet there was no mention of replacing any of those. Was that because you are happy they are going to be reliable enough for the forseeable future, because of the work involved or some other reason?

The whole thing is epic. I look forward to the next installment! :thumbup:

[DarrenGlen]

One thing I was curious about. You went to great lengths to replace the ribbon cable and you mentioned the fragility of the original cable looms yet there was no mention of replacing any of those. Was that because you are happy they are going to be reliable enough for the forseeable future, because of the work involved or some other reason?

The whole thing is epic. I look forward to the next installment! :thumbup:

Heya Eddy! Thanks for the awsome comments I appreciate it! And they give me a boost to keep doing the blog. I kinda think the same now about the information amassing, hopefully it stays up forever as a kinda reference point for anyone else needing to tackle the job and it saves them some money by helping them to do at least some of it themselves (“hell if this guy can do it ... I can do it !!) and maybe saves a few mis-haps.

Re- looms... excellent question. I want to re-do them. But they are in good condition (not burnt or buckled like the ribbon cable) and ... most crucially, the white PLUGS on the end are from Unobtanium. I would have to replace all the board sockets and use more modern ones that are available.

There’s no doubt the looms are stiff and the wire inside aging. If I were to bend one of them 90degrees I feel like it would “crack” rather than bend. I’d say the roaring heat inside from that PS has certainly cooked the looms to a decent degree.

I think I’d like to get her up and running first ... it’s been soo long without being able to experience the Jupiter velvety warmth. I just wanna play her!! And then once I know she’s 100% working ok i could make that a post-project.

Cheers !

[Eddy Deegan]

Thanks for the insight Darren, that makes complete sense.

A good mate of mine has a decent 3d printer. If/when you decide you want/need to work on the looms, retain the original Roland sockets and reproduce those plugs and if you can't find a more local source (I'm on the other side of the marble in the UK) then if you put together enough information for us to reproduce them I would be more than happy to cover the costs of doing that for you, including repeated shipping of prototypes and iterating to whatever polymer produces the best results.

I am not sure off the top of my head what file format his software uses, I suspect STL but that can be established at the time. We'd just need a precise enough model to work from.

It's a little thing I know and I'm sure you can find someone more local but the offer remains open so in the event you need to, feel free to ping me here via PM on the SOS forum at a later date. You've gone to so many lengths and put so much into the project that if I can assist in some small way I would be delighted to do so. No hurry, I've been in the SOS forums for 15+ years on and off and have no intention of disappearing anytime soon.

The blog is great, don't stop! Not only for my sake but I know there are a number of folks over here following. All the best and please do make a video of you playing Cora when she's shipshape. There is little question in my mind that through your efforts you now have the best Jupiter 8 on the planet. I had a chance to buy one for stupidly little money over 30 years ago as a youngster and didn't because I didn't realise how amazing they are. I'll always regret that.

Your journey, the docs, the love for the project and so forth is inspiring - cherish her! :thumbup: