Is this the end for the Wersi Comet?

Something went wrong.
I guess that's all there is to say about that. Off course I will try and see if there is something that can be done, and if not then if something can be salvaged. But right now things are looking pretty bad, and I need some time to figure out what I should do. So it will be a while before you see this organ again.
But then - some people say that you should also tell about your failures online, instead of only showing your life through rose tinted glasses. If nothing else then this is what I have been doing now....
The music is "To og To" by the Danish singer Ann-Liza. I play it on my Wersi Prisma DX-5 and Elka X-45 organs.

[@patrikknoerr9777]

This might be one occasion when you take two bad organs and make one working unit out of them.

[@BillBarber1957]

Fascinating. For the past 26-years, I've tuned and repaired pianos here in N. CA. Now and then I get a call about organ repair, and no one here does it. There was a guy years ago, but I think he passed away. I had a 25-pedel Baldwin from the 70s or 80s at one time. I had this guy out to fix it. When he opened it up, it must have had a mile or two of wiring in it. He never did get it working right. I ended up giving it away to make space in the shop. I refer organ repair to the Bay Area. Most of these units I imagine are more expensive to repair than they're worth. Like many old pianos, they are repaired for sentimental reasons. I look forward to seeing more of your videos.

[@organfairy]

I my opinion the 'fifty kilometers of wire' (I'm from Europe 🙂) type of organs are the ones that are easy to work on, because everything is separated into relatively simple modules. The reason why there are only a few ribbon cables in a modern (if you can call an organ from the 1980's "modern") is that it is basically made like a computer, with a data bus system. But this comes with the consequence that everything has to work together and if just a single circuit on the bus doesn't work then the whole pile is malfunctioning. So far I have been lucky with the organs from the 1980's and the Comet is the only one that I might have to give up on. I also had to scrap an old Hohner once, but I had had that for almost 10 years so I did manage to get some music out of it before it gave up the ghost.

[@zloboslav_]

Whatever you decide to do with it or it's remains I'm interested to see it. Good luck! :)

[@nicole_local]

Ouch, that is painful-- I know I've seen projects to recreate top octave generators with microcontrollers, but if any of the rest of the irreplaceable ICs are dead? Might be worth just thinking if it's worth turning into a big MIDI box...

[@organfairy]

I have two complete keying systems for Elka organs - and they are completely free of integrated circuits. They are made with hundreds of diodes and resistors instead. So much of it could be replace via the "Frankenorgan" idea.

[@macbit_chbe7988]

Very interesting!

2:17 reminds me of If Paradise is Half as Nice

[@premiumexpert]

2:43 the battery has caused some damage on the CPU pcb of the Wersimatic. The programm can not run correctly so all the LEDs are on. It is necessary to check the IC sockets. The Wersimatic CX1 is a great analog drummachine/accompaniment😊 and it has a separate service manual called 'Wersimatic CX1 for Comet'

[@organfairy]

Yes, I found it somewhere, or actually it was for the stand-alone CX-1, but it had a section called "Installation in Comet". Almost half of the circuit boards in the Comet is for the drum machine, which I find a bit odd because normally the rhythm section in an organ is just maybe 10% of the circuitry, but Wersi probably took accompaniment very seriously...

[@matthewmeno5279]

That poor keyboard is probably crying because no kids of this generation will be able to play this thing. That's such a shame!

[@timothyverbist5795]

C'mon Flemming, i'm sure you can fix it.

[@organfairy]

Thanks for believing in me :-)

[@timothyverbist5795]

@@organfairy You are welcome. ;)

[@ngle]

A musty instrument? I know this problem well, it is insoluble. Let go.

[@organfairy]

I have saved musty instruments before; my Hohner GP-180 was pretty stinky when I got it. I grew up in the country and I live in a house that used to belong to a 60-a-day smoker, so I have had my fair share of bad odeurs. What worries me with the Comet is the amount of circuits that are blown.

[@ngle]

The smell of cigarettes can be treated, but the musty smell is more than unpleasant. We have a saying that the smell of poverty doesn't go away. I've had instrument I've had to throw away, and now I have one that I have to store in a well-ventilated area. I've been following your work for a long time, I know you like challenges. Good luck for the smelly Comet!

[@larshaugepiano7207]

Hej. Har du mon et diagram på en wersi city rack kf2? Jeg har ledt forgæves online? Vh Lars:)

[@organfairy]

Desværre ikke. Jeg var selv overrasket over, at jeg kunne finde den til Comet'en. Det er nærmest et lykketræf, hvis man kan finde noget som helst til gamle orgler - i al fald hvis man ikke vil betale en frygtelig masse penge for det.

[@larshaugepiano7207]

@@organfairy tak alligevel:)