Allen MIDI conversion

Hello all,
My church has asked me to upgrade our Allen MADC 730B for use with Hauptwerk. The console has installed midi for manuals and pedals, however the electronics are flaky and we would prefer to use all new encoders.

Is anyone able to advise of suitable encoders to use with the keyboard and pedal matrix of this organ? I am hoping to use the original keyboard and pedal circuit boards and remove all other components.

Many thanks for any advice!

Steven,
Sydney, Aus.

Pretty much depending on the year of manufacture, the keyboards/pedal board may be wired either parallel or matrix. This in part would determine which encoder. Parallel being one wire for each key (note plus a common) while matrix uses fewer wires with the addition of matrix diodes. An easy way to check this is by counting the (approx) number of wires coming out the wiring harness(es) of the manuals and pedal board. Depending on the number of manuals you wish to convert will also determine which is the best/better encoder to be used.

If, as you say, the electronics are flaky, I would eliminate all of the boards involved and basically start from scratch. Sometimes a flaky (intermittent condition) can be traced to one or more "cold solder" joints. If you use boards or connections where this condition was present in the past, you'll continue to have the problem(s) in the future with Hauptwerk organs as well.

Quite a while ago, before Hauptwerk, I repaired an organ by re-soldering every connecting point. Took 2 days. Never did find the exact point of the original issue, but the re-solder did the job albeit a long one.

Rgds,
Ed

Thanks so much for the advice!
It seems that we have matrix circuits....I just need to figure out what kind of matrix The organ is ca. 1989, I believe.
I agree that new encoders and harnesses will probably be the way to go for future reliability.
I will post when I figure out what matrix is being used.
Thanks again!

I will post when I figure out what matrix is being used.

Quite commonly an 8 X 8 matrix would be used for the manuals which uses 16 wires. For a pedal board, a 4 X 8 matrix uses 12 wires.

Rgds,
Ed

I've used my own encoder/decoder on half a dozen Allen organs and it's likely it would work for yours as well. Feel free to contact me either here or through my website contact info (below).

The encoder design handles three manuals plus pedals, pistons, SAMs, expression pedals, status indicators, an LCD, and power control to amplifiers. You can order your own PCB or I might be able to provide one at cost. The solution is extremely affordable and the only comprehensive encoder/decoder that I'm aware of which can work with the Allen's existing capture system power supply and high voltage SAMs along with the entire console.

Lots of wiring of course, but the total cost will come in well below $1000 USD.

Thanks John,
PM sent.
Steven.