Eliminating flashing lights on Fatar keyboards

I posted a video of me playing on my Hauptwerk system. One of the comments I received was asking me if those flashing lights at either end of the keyboards bothered me. I suppose that after years of putting up with it, it was no bother. Someone else commented that the flashing light issue can be eliminated by a simple change. I am always concerned that changes of any kind may affect something else, etc. Where in the operating manual does it show how to shut off the flashing lights ? I suppose I could always put a piece of black electrical tape over the bulb but that would look crude. Any help would be appreciated.

Antoni

Someone else commented that the flashing light issue can be eliminated by a simple change.

My keyboards from MidiWorks Canada have this feature. One light indicates MIDI received by that Keyboard (from another Keyboard or the PedalBoard), and one light indicates MIDI sent by that Keyboard (including MIDI through from another one). I rather like seeing them, as reassurance that everything is working nicely.

When I got the Keyboards, they also gave me some configuration software, which I used to set up appropriate MIDI channels for each Keyboard, and so forth. One of the options there was to turn off those lights.

So if those are your keyboards, and that is your concern, then there is your answer. Just dig up that configuration software that you received way back when (or ask for a new copy?), and follow the directions like you did when you first got everything set up.

By the way, if the lights don't bother you... then why turn them off?

You should be able to do this from the keyboards without the need for any other software using these instructions I got with when I bought my console from Midiworks in 2011:

Press and hold the set button
Press and release the last sharp on the right (A#5).
Press and release the 2nd from furthest right black key to deactivate MIDI indicators
Release the set button

OR Press and Release the 3rd from furthest right black key to activate MIDI indicators

It worked fine on my Fatars back then.

Cheers,
Erik

Antoni,
My thought would be to get a small jar of Black Paint, or Nail Polish,
and carefully brush it on to the LED's surface ?
Nice and neat, No wires cut, and no electrical tape !
Mel

[B. Milan]

[Topic moved, not Hauptwerk technical support.]

You should be able to do this from the keyboards without the need for any other software... Press and hold the set button... (etc.)
It worked fine on my Fatars back then.

Nice. On my own system, I used the Configuration software to Disable programming the Keyboards from the Keyboards. So I guess that wouldn't work for me anymore.

I just worried that maybe I'd accidentally play the wrong combination of notes while holding some magic combination of Pistons, and inadvertently re-program the whole thing (and only find out later, when something wasn't working right anymore).

One interesting point... hold "set" (leftmost piston) and then press "general cancel" (rightmost piston): this performs a hot reset of the keyboard. Nice in case it jams up (but I can usually achieve the same result just by pressing a Pedal key and sending the keyboard that MIDI input).

This means you cannot use the keyboard's "set" piston to program any contents into that rightmost piston. The only way to program it is with a right-click identification with some feature/function in the Hauptwerk program or in the Sample Set. Such as a "general cancel", or (for Sample Sets where that may not function correctly) to an unused "general combination" (whose contents happen to be empty, as for general cancel, except for whatever ventils or other background features you may wish to have always on, and reset to ON in case of a general cancel.

Antoni, I have four Fatars ---> lots of blinky lights!!.... I used Plasti Dip (PDILT140Z3) LIQUID ELECTRICAL TAPE (BLACK) to coat mine.... also coated the silly blinking (blue) bluetooth transmitter in my USB hub. Works wonders.... I now sit there and wonder IF my midi in / out is working as it's dark as a tomb when I turn the lights out and light candles and play you-know-what in D Minor. Here's a link to it -

http://www.tooltopia.com/search.aspx?find=PDILT140Z3

You might even find it at Home Depot....

Regards,
Mark

Just a thought, maybe don't coat ALL of the light, just leave a little inconspicuous bit at the base open so that you can check it.

~Scott