Looking for help/suggestions regarding electrical repair of drum pad...

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quibb
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2012/06/06 06:28:23 (permalink)

Looking for help/suggestions regarding electrical repair of drum pad...

Hey everyone,
My dm5 pro kit electronic bass drum pad recently went on the blink, and upon inspection I found that one of the wires to the peizo had broken.
 
Due to the logistics of the repair, I had to cut both wires and decided to replace 3 or so inches of eacy wire to the connector. The wires from the peizo are teenie, and I had a very hard time finding something in a similar size. I ended up buying the smallest guage (22ga) that radio shack had, and I soldered the connections.
 
When I tested he pad, it didn't work, so I hooked up a volt meter which showed that the pad was still generating a voltage when struck. I reconnected everything and tried again. This time I cranked up the sensitivity on my Alesis dm5 drum module/trigger, and lo and behold, it worked.
 
The problem is that I have to strike the pad pretty hard to get it to trigger, and a lot of hits that would normally trigger the sample don't get through. Would the different guage of wire make that much difference? 
 
I guess my concern is there may be some other damage from disassembly, or some other issue that has diminished the voltage ouput of the peizo. At least I've got it to the point that it is somewhat usable, but I'd really like to figure it out and get it back to the way it was.
 
If it isn't a wiring issue - has anybody dealt with Alesis repair? They don't even sell parts for the dm5 pro kit anymore, so I'm not sure how much help they'll be, and I also wonder about cost. Any other repair shops for drum pads that anyone knows about? 
Thanks in advance,
Vernon
 
post edited by quibb - 2012/06/06 06:32:56

I7, 8GB, Win 7 64-bit, Sonar Platinum, R11 driver, Focusrite Pro40, Helios II fly rod


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    Shadow of The Wind
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    Re:Looking for help/suggestions regarding electrical repair of drum pad... 2012/06/06 21:10:59 (permalink)
    Hi Vernon,

    Did you solder on the end of the piezo?
    22 is not a small gauge. A picture would be helpful. Electrically the size of the wire shouldn't be a problem. It could be a mechanical problem. You may have reversed the polarity. Or, if you soldered to the piezo, you may have overheated the piezo.

    Wilko
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    quibb
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    Re:Looking for help/suggestions regarding electrical repair of drum pad... 2012/06/10 07:35:31 (permalink)
    Thx Wilco,
    Sry for the delayed response... You make all good points..
    I'm now cautiously optimistic in that my trigger response/voltage has improved since I reassembled the unit. I think I may have had a gap between the pad and drum head, or some other weirdness that decreased my sensitivity. Hoping for the best...the peizo seems to have survived, but I need to play with it some more. At least I seem to be moving in the right direction. Thanks for the help.   V

    I7, 8GB, Win 7 64-bit, Sonar Platinum, R11 driver, Focusrite Pro40, Helios II fly rod


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