So I acquired an 1125 and 1150 (ribbon and sample and hold controllers) in a trade today, but have no way to test them (I do not own a Moog with the accessory port). The deal was too good to pass up…so I took a leap of faith. Anyway…I want to know if there’s any known way to provide power to these without a Moog, or if someone in the Kansas City or Des Moines area has a Minimoog or other Moog that has the accessory port, who would allow me to test these pieces (would gladly pay for your time). They look great and I have no reason to believe they are broken, besides the fact that they are pretty old…
Okay I found a Minimoog in town that I will be testing at tomorrow after work…
I have received a few inquiries about selling these, and yes, unfortunately they will eventually be offered for sale, as I do not foresee being able to purchase a Model D in the near future (unless I get lucky!) so I’m afraid these will collect dust otherwise. Definitely looking to sell these as a set, unless I have to separate them…
Welcome to the forum!
It is possible to make a sort of breakout box for these units.
That is, a mating cinch plug with jacks for outputs and small power supply for power.
With something like this, these controllers could be used to control various other analog synths independently.
Almost any competent tech could build something like this given a basic understanding of the devices and the schematics.
Schematics are available on my site (http://www.synthfool.com) or various other places.
Yeah I figured it was kind of possible I guess, never saw any reference to anyone actually doing it though.
Regardless though, I hooked them up after work today.
I tried these on the studio’s Minimoog, which as its not my personal machine I’m not sure of the actual functional condition of it (and the owner has never used the accessory ports, so he didn’t know if they were working right either) so this is another variable to consider. The 1125 seems to work, I’m not 100% sure because though I’m a synth nerd I’ve never handled Moog stuff before…but I was able to get the sounds to change when turning knobs/etc and it did about what I expected it to. The 1150 I’m not totally sure on, I think a combination of the studio’s Minimoog being not 100%, the cabling harness on the 1150, my inability to figure this thing out, and the state of the 1150 contribute to me not being able to confidently say it works completely. I think the biggest factor was that the cabling harness on this one was a bit oxidized when I got it, I attempted to clean it up and in certain positions I could get it to do “something” but not reliably…the connectors or their associated wiring could be bad? When it was working I was able to get the Aux fader to adjust the filter, and I was able to get the ribbon to trigger, but I could not reliably get it to produce the pitch bend result. Not sure if this was user failure (being a Minimoog virgin) or what.
You may have some oxidation occurring in several places.
The Cinch connector(s), the 1/4" plugs and the ribbon contacts themselves.
I tend to use a chrome polish paste and q-tips or replace the connectors.
The underside of the ribbon and the contact below it can often be a problem until “cleaned” in this way.
I don’t recommend any sprays or contact cleaners.
They may clean, but they usually won’t remove oxidation and can have lubes in them you don’t want.
There’s no use in de-ox type chemicals when they’re already “ox’d.”
I could repair them, but am behind in work already. 
Good luck.
Thanks for the tip, Kevin. Any specific product you recommend for chrome polish paste? And it is okay to use this not only on the Cinch connectors (which were the only visible oxidation I saw) but on the contacts on the unit itself?
For metal polish, I use 3M 39527.
However it’s sold in a fairly large container and you only need a tiny bit.
A small tube of polish is more than enough.
Most any auto parts store will have similar polishes.
They’re usually labeled 'Chrome polish" and are often pink in color.
When polishing, one applies just a small amount to a q-tip and it’s rubbed over the metal in question.
The actual polishing isn’t usually observed until you dry buff using another clean q-tip or two.
Then things start to get very shiny.
If doing 1/4" plugs, a clean cotton rag is usually better.
There’s no problem polishing male Cinch-Jones plugs or 1/4" plugs, but doing female CJ connectors is not easy at all.
The only real thing to watch for is if something’s gold-plated.
While you can still polish gold well, the plating is very thin and can be worn off if polished too much.
I sent my tech the schematics and he is going to build me a couple power supplies so I can spend quality time with these devices on my other synths (testing/restoring) before offering them for sale officially.
Got my power supplies, woohoo!
Out of curiosity, anyone interested in a power supply for themselves?