Digital Accordion Maintenance

[KeysFla]

It is that time of year to order a new of rechargeable batteries. I change them yearly at this time. My records show they were recharged 90 times. 182 gigs so far this year, I get two sets. The old ones will retire to my home electronics. Have no issues with still using them in accordion. But time to change.
May look at the contacts on the accordion too in 2025. As with my old Korg PA3x, they were pitted. Had to change them. Hopefully, just remove them, inspect and clean.

 

[JerryPH]

The idea about the batteries... brilliant, so many people use then to failure and then scratch their heads wondering why. Doing this on an 8X is way more expensive, unless you do make the battery yourself, which cuts the price down by about 70%.

About checking the contacts... wow, not many people on this forum would be qualified to do so, thats where having a friend that is good in basic electronics and a can of DeOxit never fails.

 

[KeysFla]

The idea about the batteries... brilliant, so many people use then to failure and then scratch their heads wondering why. Doing this on an 8X is way more expensive, unless you do make the battery yourself, which cuts the price down by about 70%.

About checking the contacts... wow, not many people on this forum would be qualified to do so, thats where having a friend that is good in basic electronics and a can of DeOxit never fails.

You need to remove the rubber contacts, inspect, clean or replace…and yes a skilled technician is needed. Sometimes a pencil eraser is all you need once you expose the contact board. I would stay away from sprays, no matter what they say on the label.

 

[dak]

It is that time of year to order a new of rechargeable batteries. I change them yearly at this time. My records show they were recharged 90 times. 182 gigs so far this year, I get two sets. The old ones will retire to my home electronics. Have no issues with still using them in accordion. But time to change.
May look at the contacts on the accordion too in 2025. As with my old Korg PA3x, they were pitted. Had to change them. Hopefully, just remove them, inspect and clean.

eneloop pro will stand for 500 recharges, eneloop for 2000. For my purposes, I get along with the capacity of the eneloops. Where I use eneloop pro is for photographic flashes.

 

[KeysFla]

eneloop pro will stand for 500 recharges, eneloop for 2000. For my purposes, I get along with the capacity of the eneloops. Where I use eneloop pro is for photographic flashes.

I change mine regardless, once a year.

 

[Tom]

I change mine regardless, once a year.

What brand of batteries did you get Keys?

 

[JerryPH]

What brand of batteries did you get Keys?

He was talking the eneloops, but I doubt he charges them 2000 times in a year. For me, I'd use the eNeloop pros because they are good for 500 recharges and carry a greater mAh rating resulting in significantly longer play times in between recharging.

Now, this brings back to me the issue of having quality chargers. A good charger will easily double the life of batteries. When I was doing the photography thing and always had a TON of batteries that needed changing, I purchased two chargers that could handle 8 AAA, AA and A batteries and each socket in any combination and could do slow, fast and re-conditioning charges. The reconditioning part took a long time (left it go overnight normally) and that added a good 6 months to the batteries to bring them back up to full capacity. I still have those chargers today and they continue to serve my needs.

It's no biggie if you have 10-20 batteries to charge, but on a typical wedding photoshoot (15+ hour day), I had to have (typically) 100-120 batteries at full charge and ready for me. On an average wedding day, I would come home and nearly all batteries were very well used. Just in flashes, I had 10 battery operated flashes with AA powered receivers (60 batteries per single use right there)... lol

All that is major overkill for an FR-4x, but in the above case, we are talking about a musician that gigs not only regularly, but several days a week, so his methods assure that the 4X always has reliable power and the issue of battery reliability is never a concern... to this I say well done!

 

[KeysFla]

What brand of batteries did you get Keys?

I always used Everready Power Plus. 2300 mah. I have two packs and rotate them now Three nights a week. Always available at my local stores, if needed. I avoid buying from Amazon, EBay. Anything you buy, be sure the date is embossed in each battery. Some sell fake batteries.

 

[KeysFla]

He was talking the eneloops, but I doubt he charges them 2000 times in a year. For me, I'd use the eNeloop pros because they are good for 500 recharges and carry a greater mAh rating resulting in significantly longer play times in between recharging.

Now, this brings back to me the issue of having quality chargers. A good charger will easily double the life of batteries. When I was doing the photography thing and always had a TON of batteries that needed changing, I purchased two chargers that could handle 8 AAA, AA and A batteries and each socket in any combination and could do slow, fast and re-conditioning charges. The reconditioning part took a long time (left it go overnight normally) and that added a good 6 months to the batteries to bring them back up to full capacity. I still have those chargers today and they continue to serve my needs.

It's no biggie if you have 10-20 batteries to charge, but on a typical wedding photoshoot (15+ hour day), I had to have (typically) 100-120 batteries at full charge and ready for me. On an average wedding day, I would come home and nearly all batteries were very well used. Just in flashes, I had 10 battery operated flashes with AA powered receivers (60 batteries per single use right there)... lol

All that is major overkill for an FR-4x, but in the above case, we are talking about a musician that gigs not only regularly, but several days a week, so his methods assure that the 4X always has reliable power and the issue of battery reliability is never a concern... to this I say well done!

I tried the recondioning part of the charger a couple times. Very good feature…