My Micromoog amazingly worked very well except for a very scratchy volume pot. So I took the liberty of opening the cover up and spraying all the pots with blow-off.
I also sprayed the pitch bend ribbon. I think I may have sprayed the exterior with some spray cleaner to get the gook off of the entire synth. Whatever I did, caused the pitch bend ribbon to stop working. I am trying to fix this problem without getting a technician involved, but may end up enlisting some help from the nearby synth tech.
My question is–because this ribbon was working fine before the cleaning, and the teflon surface is intact with no tears–is it possible to repair this item, or clean the entire “potentiometer” that is this pitch bend ribbon, without replacing parts? Can it be repaired, brought back to life? Has anyone reading this had problems with their otherwise cosmetically-in-good-condition pitch bend ribbon and successfully fixed it? The touching of my finger on the ribbon only shifts the pitch up a bit when it is depressed towards the upper part of the ribbon. Sometimes depressing the ribbon does nothing. I doubt there is an electronic problem but I could measure the voltage at the contacts or on the modulation out jack.. I’m somewhat desperate.. Thanks in advance for any illuminating advice.
what kind of spray cleaner did you use? i’m wondering if some of it got into the electronics of the ribbon and is causing a short. i would flow something like alcohol onto it and compressed air to blow it all dry.
I can’t say what to do with yours since I haven’t seen it, but I’ve repaired or rebuilt many.
Normally problems are due to a bent stainless contact strip, a short from a missing or damaged insulator or heavily tarnished silver paint where the contact strip makes contact (or doesn’t.)
I have stock of those NOS Moog ribbon assemblies and replacement tape, fwiw.
The problem is that I obtained these in bulk and they were all stored in a single bag. Just thrown in together.
Some had cosmetic blemishes, so I sold the best looking ones first.
Now what’s left is the bottom of the barrel.
They’re really not that bad compared to most used ribbons, but not worthy of the title NOS as generally understood.
(Later note: I checked stock and I have eight of these ribbons left.)
First thing to do may be to check for the issues you’ve detailed. What would be suitable cleaning products to use to clean the tarnished surface off? I believe the stainless strip is flat and un-bent.
Secondly, if this needs replacing, how much for the new (old) part?
I’m not sure I can provide much technical help.
Most work is based on experience and skills and I can’t teach those.
Regardless, I use Tarn-X tarnish remover.
However one must remove all traces of it with yet another cleaner and be careful to not get either chemical inside the ribbon all the while.
I use isopropyl alcohol to clean the stainless strip and the resistive element below.
I can sell these ribbons for $50 ea plus shipping.
Best I can do.
Good luck with any attempted repairs though.
You might fix it fine.
Success! I believe my previous "cleaning had something to do with the problem, thus proving the rule which is often broken: Don’t mess with it if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Anyway, it is distinctly possible that the ribbon was working the whole time, although I did open it up and carefully clean the contact strip, and close it back up. There were 2 possible sources of my problem: 1) no shoulder washers in place, thus possibly shorting the ribbon against the metal left-hand controller panel, and/or 2) a loose solder joint at the little contact board that the ribbon plugs into. I made sure they were making a good connection and I put som insulation between the ribbon and the left-hand controller overlay. It works great now, but I think had I just left it alone in the first place instead of “cleaning” it, I would have had no problems. I did learn something about the ribbon controller, though so that’s the silver lining. Thanks Kevin (and everyone else, esp. Bob Moog for all things Moog!)
