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View Full Version : CVP-207 phantom notes then crash, plus LCD fading LCD


lasershow2000
08-26-2006, 10:42 AM
My CVP-207 is 4.5 years old. It has developed two problems. I would be interested if anyone else here has had similar problems.

LCD FADING

The first problem is that the LCD screen image is fading -- it looks washed out. Changing the contrast and brightness controls does not help.

What is odd is that every now and then, when I press a button or press many keys on the keyboard, the screen will flash back to its normal higher contrast. This does not seem to be mechanical (a loose connection). For example, pressing on the background area surrounding the buttons does not cause brightening. But pressing buttons or keys themselves sometimes causes brightening.

PHANTOM NOTES AND SOUNDS, THEN CRASH

The second problem is much worse. When playing, I start to get "phantom notes". It is as if someone presses random keys which have random sounds and random volumes assigned to them. Then within a few minutes or even a few seconds, the LCD screen goes blank and there is a text-only message: "Unexpected error! Turn the power off and on again. hisysdwn.c /133 /8C1B1E14". Obviously the operating system has crashed.

The last note(s) played continue to sound until the CVP-207 is turned off.

Turning the CVP-207 off and on temporarily fixes the problem. However, depending on how long the Clavinova has been on, and on the number of notes played, the problem will happen again:

:RIGHT: If the Clavinova has been off for a while (cooled down), then I turn it on, I can play for perhaps 30 minutes (about 6 notes maximum at any one time) before the problem appears.

:RIGHT: If the Clavinova has been on for a while (warmed up), the phantom notes and then crash happen in about two minutes.

:RIGHT: If the Clavinova has been on for a while, AND I play back a pre-recorded song AND I play along with it (more than 6 notes being sounded simultaneously), the crash can happen in as little as 15 seconds after starting to play.

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE CRASH PROBLEM

This problem came on suddenly -- it just appeared one day. It has continued for the past month; I was kind of hoping it would disappear just as suddenly!

I cannot recall any changes that might have caused it (lightning storm, inserting a new disk with a virus, etc.). The CVP-207 is plugged into an uninterruptable power supply with surge protector so even if power goes off, it will stay on for a while.

I called a local authorized repair shop. They have ordered a new CPU and LCD screen. Fortunately, the parts appear to be under warranty; otherwise, it would be "about $1000".

After the parts come in and are replaced, I'll report on whether that fixes the problems. Again, if anyone else has had similar problems, I would be interested to hear about them.

kempedkemp
08-27-2006, 07:45 AM
Whew! Glad you got in under the warranty! Kind of has me worried what might be coming down the road for all of us.

lasershow2000
09-19-2006, 03:43 PM
This is an update on my CVP-207 having problems with the LCD fading, and with phantom notes and crashes. Basically, it was solved by replacing the motherboard.

My local service person ordered a new LCD and motherboard, based on the info I gave him over the phone. When the parts came in (and it took about a month), he then scheduled his first and only service call.

When he arrived, he held down certain keys on the keyboard during power-up, which put the CVP into a very interesting test mode. You could scroll through the tests and do things like light up all the LEDs, play tone generators automatically, etc. It helped him check that all the switches, LCD, speaker, etc. were working.

He confirmed the problems I had reported. So he began the repair proper by replacing the LCD panel. It looked fixed at first, but when I played more than a few notes on the piano, the new LCD dimmed out.

He then said he would replace the motherboard. This was traumatic, because the entire memory -- all the songs, voices, OTRs etc. that I had created -- would be wiped out. I could have downloaded to floppies but that would take a while. So I had him go ahead and replace the motherboard. (Note to self: Next time, copy all the important files onto disks before the service person arrives!)

That did the trick. The LCD worked fine and the phantom notes and crashes problem disappeared. I have a strong feeling that the old LCD was working fine and the problem was just in the motherboard. But the new one stayed in my piano anyway.

Since the repair last week, my CVP-207 has performed like new... almost literally, since all of my preferences, etc. were wiped out by installing the new motherboard.

The service was done by Ekdahl's Organ Service in Altamonte Springs Florida (near Orlando). I was very happy with the service, and enjoyed the experience. The parts would have cost around $1000; fortunately my CVP-207 was 4.5 years into the 5-year warranty so there was no parts cost. The service fee was $135.

Although my Clavinova is fixed, I'd still be interested if anyone else reports a similar problem.

dancaputi
09-19-2006, 10:31 PM
Originally posted by lasershow2000
When he arrived, he held down certain keys on the keyboard during power-up, which put the CVP into a very interesting test mode. Cool! ... Any chance you (or anyone else) knows what those magic keys are? :confused:

lasershow2000
09-20-2006, 12:44 AM
All instructions are "at your own risk". These seem to be test routines and not ways to change the programming, so I think they are safe.

On CVP-207 while power is off, hold down the third C-sharp (under the Sync Start button) plus F plus G-sharp. Turn on power. Startup screen and keyboard lights will display as per normal. But then...

LCD screen will show "Test". Release keyboard chord and press right Tempo key .

LCD screen will show "001 Version". Press green Start/Stop key at lower right of left panel. Version info will come up. Press Start/Stop again. LCD screen will show "*001 Version" with the asterisk indicating this test has been viewed/passed.

Each time you press the right Tempo key, you get another test, which is started and stopped using the lower right green Start/Stop key. Here are the tests:

002: ROM Check1
003: RAM Check1
004: Flash Check1
005: Wave ROM Check1
006: Wave RAM Check1
007: FDD Check
008: Effect RAM Check
009: Effect2 RAM Check
010: Effect3 RAM Check
(no 011 on my CVP-207)
012: TG 1 Check -- this is great, it checks the tone generators, doing an upwards scale (turn down the volume)
013: TG 2 Check
014: TG 3 Check
015: Pitch Check -- really turn down the volume on this constant sine tone
016: Output R Check -- right channel tone only
017: Output L Check -- left channel tone only
018: EQ Low Check -- a low tone
019: EQ Mid Check -- a mid-range tone
020: EQ High Check -- a high tone
(no 021 on my CVP-207)
022: D/A Noise Check -- no sound so I guess it is quiet!

023: SW,LED Check -- One of the most fun. You are cued to press a key. Each time, a tone plays and the LED lights up for that key. When finished, the whole console is lit! But I don't think you can escape out of it with Start/Stop -- you have to use every control before you can exit.

024: All Panel LED On Check -- Very pretty; turns on all the LEDs
025: Red LED On Check -- Only turns on the red LEDs
026: Green LED On Check -- Only turns on the green LEDs
027: All Key LED On Check -- Another pretty one; turns on all of the guide lights over the keyboard.

028: All LCD On Check -- On mine, the text goes away on the LCD screen and that's it.
029: All LCD Off Check -- On mine, the screen gets brighter.
030: LCD Contrast Check -- Push the four OTS buttons to get four different contrast settings.
031: LCD Brightness Check -- Same as above

032: Soft Pedal Check -- Press the pedal, get a tone
033: Sostenute Pedal Check
034: Damper Pedal Check
035: Aux Pedal Check -- Don't press this if you don't have an Aux pedal!
040: MIDI Check
041: To Host Check
042: Mic Check
043: ROM Check2
044: RAM Check2
045: Flash Check2
046: Wave ROM Check2
047: Wave RAM Check2
048: Video Out NTSC RED
049: Video Out NTSC GREEN
050: Video Out NTSC BLUE
051: Video Out PAL RED
052: Video Out PAL GREEN
053: Video Out PAL BLUE
055: Factory Set -- Don't know what this one is -- could be dangerous
056: Test Exit -- Press Start/Stop and the keyboard boots up normally.

That's it. Hope this helps anyone who might be having hard-to-track problems.