Re: K2500XS Issues

Hi, Charles! Welcome aboard!

I'm hoping someone else on the list can give you better answers and leads,
but here are my thoughts...

First, find the K2500 service manual pdf on the 'net somewhere. It has
good information about diagnostics and testing.  Find the K2500
schematics, too.  (I'd tell you where, but I don't remember where I found
them.)

Then get to http://kurzweil.com/product/k2500/downloads/ and grab the
documents and files you need to update the instrument. You'll have to
figure out if you have the KDFX installed or not (does the /XS specify
that?) and which sound ROMs are really in there.

Check the voltage selection where the power cable plugs in the back. Make
sure it's set for whatever line voltage your country needs. (Just in
case...)

When the instrument powers up, it should flash the front panel LEDs:
 one flash - power and scanner are ok
 two flashes - pitch wheel not centered
 three flashes - battery low
 four flashes - battery low and pitch wheel not centered
(taken straight from the service manual)

You can enter the boot loader to do a hard reset. With the machine off,
turn it on. When it says "Please wait...", press and release the Exit
button. The K2500 boot loader screen should appear. Use the arrow keys to
move to Hard Reset and press OK soft button. I guess you've been here
already, since you said you were able to run the diagnostics. So, see if
it behaves better after a hard reset.

For a soft-reset, when the instrument is running, press the three buttons
+/- 0 and Clear together.

Get the appropriate OS and object zip files from the Kurzweil site given
above, and try re-installing the OS and objects. Unzip them, put them on
floppies. Then, in the boot loader, load the OS from the *.KOS file, and
load the objects from the *K25 files.

Another set of diagnostics is for the front panel. When the instrument is
powered on and in Program mode, press the 4-5-6 buttons together. This
diagnostic mode will show you what buttons you pressed, what keys you hit,
how hard you pushed (key pressure), what the mod-wheel and pitch wheels
and sliders do, etc. When it starts up, it will flash all the lights in a
pattern - so you can check those, too.

It's a little bothersome that the backlight flickers or changes intensity.
The electroluminescent strip behind the LCD screen does fade over time,
eventually becoming nearly useless. But a flicker or jump in brightness
suggests a loose connection perhaps.

You can adjust the LCD contrast by holding the Enter button, and turning
the large dial.

Try the Sine wave diagnostic, but turn the volume down all the way first,
and test with headphones or mix output only - it's LOUD!  The separate
outputs are full level with no volume control! So, don't use those. Press
any button to step to the next pitch, 6 tones in total. We should get a
pure tone. If not, then there's a serious hardware problem.

The sound ROM diagnostic fails if it doesn't see the sound roms... maybe
they aren't really installed?  On the K2000, the expansion sound ROMs were
mounted on a daughter board which in turn mounted to one of the main
boards. From the K2500 schematics, it looks like it has something similar.
Double check all those connections.

If you ever open it up, make sure it stays unplugged from the wall, and
try carefully re-seating all the cables.

When it's open, if you have a voltmeter, plug it in and try carefully
measuring the voltages from the power supply. Folks with an actual K2500
can help you there with locating the test points.

Good luck!

>  I just picked up a K2500XS cheap knowing it had some issues.I've never
> owned one before and have limited experience using them. At first it had
> blinking lights and no screen and then after leaving it on for a bit it
> came back to life a bit. I changed the dead batteries and it then it
> appeared visually to be working but no sound coming out and also the
> display would flash and contrast would change erratically.
>
>  After playing around with iy a bit I discovered the click would work out
> of the headphone jack and if i assigned a program to play out of B Dry I
> would here a sound but very distorted and looping strangely. If program
> is set to A FX you hear nothing even with the FX balance set 100% dry.
>
>  I then booted in diagnostic mode and tested everything. Everything passed
> except all the ROM banks including base failed. The unit has all 3 EXP
> ROM's installed as well. So that makes sense that maybe there is an issue
> with the ROM system or the motherboard.





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