PD 520 NOISEY REPLY

[Larry Fisher]

Are they usually noisy? I received a
>>call from a someone who bought a PD 520 at christmas and now has what
>>sounded over the phone like a loud slap at hammer return. The sound
>>occurs playing manually or by the Pdisc.
>>


The unusually noisey hammer return could be the hammer rest rail being
loose.  Also, sometimes the sharps hit the fallboard if the action has
become out of position but this is usually not the case that I've found.
The noisey knuckles and jack return cushions I would thiink would be hard to
hear over the phone although they are a source of noise during soft play.
Also, if the PianoDisc unit is not a Silent Drive version, you will have
"zipping" or "oinking" duriing softest play.  This noise is the plunger
vibrating inside of the barrel of the coil and is most noticable during the
activation stroke, or "note on" event and not during hammer return.

>>Anything unique to these pianos that I should know before I go look at
>>it?
>
>>Richard Anderson, RPT
>

Well, Richard, be sure you unplug the power cord or turn off the main power
switch on the power supply located under the piano attached to the side of
the outer rim. Then unplug the record strip (if it has one) before you slide
the action out.  Next, when you push the action back in the action cavity,
DEPRESS the sustain pedal FIRST,  then DEPRESS all the keys using the key
slip, or the fall board, or an appropriately cut 2x2 with a 1/2" groove cut
out of one length.  This piece fits over the sharps and the naturals
same-ol-timeously and holds them all down at once.  Hold this piece down
with the lengthy digits of your hands whilst placing your thumbs on the
action frame and push ........WHILE HOLDING THE SUSTAIN PEDAL DOWN!!!  If
you don't hold the sustain pedal down, you peel off a bunch of damper lifter
felts, bends damper wires, bend damper lifter spoons, and create lots more
work for yourself.  If you don't hold all the keys down to re-install the
action, you WILL BEND some solenoid plungers.  They can be quite a treat to
locate, and straighten.  After the action is successfully re-installed,
re-connect the record strip, and turn the power back on.

Finally, a word of caution to all techs wishing to work on any player or
piano that has had modifications or retro-fit work done.  Always unplug the
power, and always look things over thoroughly before attempting any repairs.
If you feel like cursing the tech that did this to such a seemingly sacred
beast, do so only if the work is poorly done and I will join in chorus with
you.  However, if the work was done very well, and the customer is happy
with the device, bear in miind that there's a lot of pianos being sold and
put in homes that wouldn't normally have them because of these contraptions.
That means more work for all of us, more sales for the piano makers, and
more things to fix should they go wrong.  I enjoy doing these modifications
and I try to label every one I do with one of my stickers (with my phone
number on it) so that if a tech has a problem, they can call me and perhaps
save themselves some grief PLUS look impressive to the customer by knowing
in advance what to expect.  Actually I want the customer to call me for
service but it doesn't always work out that way.

Lar



                                    Larry Fisher RPT
   specialist in players, retrofits, and other complicated stuff
      phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com
         http://www.pacifier.com/~larryf/ (revised 10/96)
           Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water