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Our Message Board in a different format is back, thank you Pete Stark!
 

Poor Electrical Contacts

It was only recently (within the last 3-5 years) that I learned of "Deoxit" (manufactured by Caig Laboratories, San Diego, CA) and available at many of the larger electronics supply outlets. After spraying the Schober organ contacts liberally (not really dripping wet though) and playing as many potentially affected contacts as possible soon after the application (as recommended), intermittent contact problems have virtually vanished. This is a very significant accomplishment considering that the organ has been around for 33+ years, not always closed (not completely covered and the back sometimes off for weeks at a time), characteristically dusty all over the interior, and located in some of the worst atmospheric conditions around (damp basement-area family rooms, industrial areas, fluctuating humidity and temperatures, etc.). Whatever this product is (message on the can says: "improves conductivity, deoxidizes, seals and protects conductors and contacts"), it seems ideally suited for Schober organs, and probably other electronic organs, as well. It is great stuff!

It may be of passing interest to note that the electrical (12 volt, D.C.) contacts in the 1935 Moller pipe organ are simple thin flexible leaf contacts (of German silver, I think) that wipe across busbar-like rods of a similar alloy composition. In my opinion, the critical feature here is in the wiping mode of contact, which tends to clean the contact surfaces whenever contact is made. When we were installing the pipe organ, I observed what appeared to be heavy deposits of dirt and dust, and probably oxide, on all metal contacts (keys and stop tabs). Accordingly, I suspected major problems down the road and therefore obtained a good supply of Deoxit thinking it would be indispensable to get that organ playing. To my great surprise, not a drop was ever needed -- never had a contact problem! I attribute it to the wiping nature of those contacts.

Reverbatape Unit

If tuned back (reverberation level decreased) the "thump" was not quite so noticeable, but still there. After Schober closed, my stock of useable tapes dwindled to zero. Attempts to fabricate my own worked for a time but the product had an unacceptably short life, and the "thump" was always there. To provide the necessary reverberation effect and to bypass the Reverbatape unit, I purchased in about 1973 a commercial solid-state Pioneer reverberation unit (Model SR-202W) and installed it in the Schober organ in place of the Reverbatape unit. I have used it ever since (it sits atop the organ console) and it responds well. It can be noisy though if the console is struck with a foot or something that rattles the element inside the units.

Stop Tablet Assembly

My approach to repair has been to clamp the broken pieces in alignment as good as possible using modified hemostats, then applying fast-curing epoxy at and around the fracture using the tip of a toothpick. This requires plenty of light, a steady hand, and a lot of patience. For some locations, it is necessary to remove a nearby wire bundle or two to merely gain access. It is important here to avoid dropping epoxy onto adjacent components or even getting too much on the item being repaired. The epoxy does not really adhere well to the plastic either, so it is not an altogether satisfactory repair. I have also experimented with a commercial adhesive marketed for cementing sub floor panels in building construction and other construction uses, and it does adhere to the plastic better. But this adhesive comes in large tubes for use in caulking guns, making it a challenge to get just a pinhead-sized amount out of the tube and onto the broken organ part. Besides, it starts to cure the moment it comes out of the tube, requiring the repairer to move quickly.

These are finicky time-consuming repairs to make and are not entirely satisfactory either as there is a question about their long-term survival. I have had repaired pivots break again later. From perusal of organ component supply catalogs, stop tablet assemblies are readily available and would probably work, with the right modifications, in the Schober Recital organ. This application for any organ is the same as Schober; the only consideration is fitting the assembly in there behind the wire bundles with everything all assembled. For us, it is not an immediately urgent requirement, and I am not looking forward to removing the whole stop tablet assembly (three assemblies, actually) and trying to make another one from another organ fit. Sooner or later, though, these original assemblies will have to be removed and new ones from another organ modified to fit.

Tuning

I do have one oscillator (D) that drifts significantly if the organ is not played regularly. Once the oscillator is retuned with the electronic tuner box, it stays on pitch for a given playing session (up to a few hours or so) but is usually off again when the organ is turned on the next day. Not being an electronic genius makes me reluctant to try to troubleshoot an intermittent oscillator drift problem. So, unless it becomes excessive or gives out entirely, I am inclined to live with it. That is, unless another "orphan" has had the problem and knows how to cure it.

Noise

Combination Action Unit

Because of the delicate nature of the whole combination action (primarily the ever-present threat of dislodging one of those wretched spring retainer clip thingys), my wife has just about refused to use it. By way of comparison, the combination action on the Moller pipe organ is not trouble-free by any means either. Of course, its design is based on how things were done in the 1920s and it has been doing it since then. It is presently finicky, at best. When "properly" adjusted it tends to set OK and thereafter move the stop tablets as desired. But the adjustment is delicate and ordinarily inaccessible, requiring complete removal of the tambour top from the organ console, among other things. This is an application where I believe the electronic versions that are currently being used on new-generation electronic and pipe organ retrofits are practically indispensable if a combination action is desired.

Stop Filters

The boards are simple enough that they could probably be duplicated using the do-it-yourself printed circuit kits sold in electronic parts supply stores. I have made a layout from an unused card using my computer scanner. A blow-up on appropriately-dimensioned high-contrast film (as used in graphic arts work) would provide the negative for making the printer circuit exposure. I still have an unused circuit board or two to work with before I try to make one following this approach.
 

Other side issues about me are that I have been a motorcyclist (until a bad accident 12 years ago) and a Harley-Davidson rider--not an outlaw, though! I greatly enjoy scenic photography and pistol shooting and have done both for many years.