Subject: console wiring project

Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 11:11:12 -0600

Hello I've noticed there hasn't been much activity on this list lately, so I thought I'd do my part to remedy the situation. I was recently able to acquire a small 2 manual wicks console for what I figured was a good price (under $300). I'd like to adapt it to play my Estey. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I presume that the Wicks had a wire from the console to the chests for each and every pipe. The Estey is duplexed electro-pneumatic, so for each manual chest it only needs 61x2 wires for the primaries and 2 wires for each stop action (Gr. & Sw.). The Wicks has 61-note gang switches in the console for each stop, = connecting to all of those individual wires to go to each magnet in the Wicks system. Question: Since I don't need the gang switches for the stop action, could I use them for couplers? The Estey has virtually all unison stops and was designed for = the use of octave couplers. The Wicks was highly unified and has no couplers. If I CAN use some of the gang switches as couplers, then I wonder what would be the best way to join those wires together so that there is only = one wire actually going to the chest for a given note. For example: for the Great there would be Gt. Unison, Gt. to Gt. 4', Sw. = to Gt. 16', Sw. to Gt. 8' and Sw. to Gt. 4'. This would use 5 of the gang switches = and I'd need to have a junction to join the five wires for any given note to one wire = to take to the chest. Is there any electrical reason why this won't work? Thanks! -Brian Graham

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] console wiring project

Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 16:28:54 -0800

Brian Graham wrote:Question: > ... > If I CAN use some of the gang switches as couplers, then I wonder what > would be the best way to join those wires together so that there is only = one > wire actually going to the chest for a given note. > I'm looking forward to comments on this, too. I have several = direct-electric (at least they COULD be by Wicks) chests & extension chests, and a 4' x 5' relay and = gang-switch board formerly used with a (aprxly) ten-rank installation, and I'm considering the different ways = of hooking up this melange. Mac Hayes

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Subject: Re: console wiring project

Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 20:40:00 -0500

Brian Graham mentioned a Wicks console with switching for unified stops = and Estey duplex windchests and asked about some of the wiring used in those two items and how they might be joined. The simple answer is, "yes, you can use the Wicks unit stop switches to operate couplers instead and you can use the result to operate the Estey chests". In effect, the Wicks unification is simply a large set of couplers applied to a large number of 1-rank "division" chests. Just imagine the Great 8' Flute instead as "Flute to Great 8'", and so on. Let us say you want to have the following couplers to operate your Estey = chest: Great to Great 16, 8off, 4 Now look at the Wicks stops. If you are really lucky, you might find something like this: Great: Flute 8', Flute 4, Flute 2' You could take the cable that went to the Flute chest and instead run it = to the Great magnets on the Estey chest. Wiring the cable such that Tenor C attaches to bottom CC on the chest, and so on. Now, when you draw the Great 4' Flute and play bottom C, you'll be firing 8' CC on the chest; = this has become the Great 8' coupler. (To make it a unison off, you need to reverse its operation, of course.) It is unlikely that the existing Wicks specification will match the couplers you want as-are, and so you may well have to re-wire the gang switches, the 61-pole single-throw normally-open switches that are controlled by the Wicks stoptabs. It is not difficult work, but it does require some patience and some neatness in wiring! If your Wicks console has an electronic relay for the switching, then different approaches may be needed, depending upon the design of the = relay. Did *any* of that make sense?!? Larry Chace

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Subject: Re: console wiring project

Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 08:33:30 -0500

As Larry Chace described, that is exactly what I did for my residence = organ. In my case, the components were: o 9 Unit chests o Kilgen "Harmonic Ensemble Console" which originally operated a 4-rank = unit organ o Wicks 4' x 6' 1970's vintage relay using power transistors and diode isolated gang switches The Wicks relay does all the stop switching. Its inputs are: o GREAT MAIN IN-61 o SWELL MAIN IN-61 o PEDAL MAIN IN-32 o Stop switching lines. The original Kilgen unit ranks were: 16' Flute 8' Open Diapason (from AA) 8' Dulciana 8' Salicional (TC) The Kilgen stop list (omitting fake oboes and quintadenas, etc.) was: Pedal Flute 16,8 4 Diapason 8,4 Dulciana 8 Great: Flute 8,4 Diapason 8,4,2 2/3,2 Dulciana 8,4 Salicional 8 Swell Flute 16(TC),8,4,2 2/3,2 Diapason 8,4 Dulciana 8 Salicional 8 The console was connected to the relay as follows: - GREAT MAIN IN to 8' Dulciana 1-61 - SWELL MAIN IN to 16' Flute 13-73 - PEDAL MAIN IN to Diapason 25-56 (rank stopped at AA) - Salicional switching not used (TC rank) This yielded the following couplers: Great to Great 8,4 derived from Great Dulciana 8,4 Swell to Swell 16,8,4 derived from Swell Flute 16,8,4 Great to Pedal 8 derived from Pedal Dulciana 8 Swell to Pedal 8,4 derived from Pedal Flute 16,8 Swell to Great 8 derived from Great Flute 8 Of course, other couplers were possible, but I ran out of tabs! Dave McClellan Atlanta

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Re: console wiring project

Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 22:26:41 -0500

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Subject: Wiring and cables

Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 10:04:37 -0500

I would like to hear from the list on two issues: Cabling and connectors. When I set up my organ, I will be using all new cable. Using an eight rank compound chest as an example, should I run two cables from the relay to the chest for the notes, and one separate smaller cable for the stop action? Since the ranks are all 61 notes, I could use two 64 conductor cables for the two sets of primaries, and one 24 conductor for all sixteen stops and perhaps also the trem. In the above example, the cables will originate by connection the junction board. How should they be connected to the chest (or primaries)? Should the chest have an external push down type connector? My intent is to be neat, reliable and close to standard practice. I am = not interested necessarily in finding the least expensive method. Bob Taylor

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 08:24:53 -0700

My own preference is for soldered connections, but I realize that in some cases, as with solid-state relays, that might not be best. I have heard from some builders that the punch-down, insulation-displacing connectors are unreliable, but the telephone company (Pacific Bell, my former employer) has been using them for years, and they wouldn't if they were = not reliable. Also, I know of a man in Walnut Creek (?) California who has (had?) his entire Moller wired to punch-downs with good results. In my experience, the biggest problem with cabling is 'dead wires', where a particular conductor will go open for no apparent reason. The solution in my mind is to provide LOTS of spares, so that repairs would be simple and rapid. Another thing to remember is that when a cabled board needs to be removed for servicing, wires that go from there to other places can really get in the way. Run a seperate cable or cables to each removable board so that they can be removed easily. Good luck! Keep us informed

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Subject: RE: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 11:55:33 -0500

Good day to you Bob! I will tell you what I have done. First, between my console and my relay driver boards in the chamber I used punch blocks at the console end and the other end at the relay in the chamber. That way it will be easy to remove the cable, if I ever want to. My relay / console cable takes about 68 wires. Plus I have extra wires = to play/experiment with. My console cable is a standard 50 pair "used/experienced" telephone cable. Between my relay driver boards and chests, I put junction boards with the brass pins that I soldered. (Got the pins from OSI.) I thought about = using the standard telephone cable connectors but decided to use the pins and = Mr. Soldering Iron. The telephone cables are 25 pair, or 50 wires, so I had = to use an additional 6 or 8 pair cable for the difference to the 61 notes. = The same with the cables to the chest. I found a lot of used 25 pair cables that were about 20 to 30 feet long. No cost, and I bet you can find the same. (Yell if you can't and need some, I think I have a number of them coiled up in my Garage and will be glad to share! They all have a = connector on one end.) Also if you or anyone needs punch blocks, I have a lot of them I would love to give to anyone that can use them. (You know, you accumulate a lot of STUFF when you build a pipe organ!) That is what I did. Good luck with your project. Craig Elders

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Subject: Re: Wiring and cable tricks..............

Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 15:02:49 EDT

Another cable trick that I use is when I find "extension" cables with a = male connector on one end and female on the other. The male end gets cut off = with some short cable to spare and this becomes the wiring at the chest bottom board. The female end with the long part of the remaining cable goes to = the punch block, to the switch stack spreader, or to the driver board = connectors. If I ever need to work on the bottom board the cable plugs at the bottom board get disconnected and I can take the whole of the board to work somewhere while standing up. It makes for easy releathering later and = fixing problems on a bench rather than under the chest. Al Sefl

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 23:01:35 EDT

I certainly agree...punch blocks, commonly called 66-blocks, I believe are = quite reliable. A good punchdown tool will cost some $40 US, and will feature an automatic impact unit within. Home Depot now has them. Color coding is another feature when used with the proper 25-pair and 200-pair phone cable. Common 66-blocks have 50 rows. If you use the type that have two separate = groups of IDT (insulation displacement technology) connectors in each row, = then you really have 100 sets of twin punches, one for incoming wire and = one for the outgoing wire. We plan to use them in a nine-rank reconstruction and installation in our church and have already asked the phone company for used blocks. We'll = also ask a local multi-conductor cable company for cable donations. Jon Fick Westford, Vermont

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 09:49:36 -0400

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Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 11:08:59 -0700

Ron Natalie wrote: ... > The 66 block had by and large been replaced by the 110 block... > Another big plus is that you can get preterminated cables. Where does one get 66-block (or 110-block)? Are they available at surplus outlets, or should they be gotten new, at a 66/110-block store? And, what is a "preterminated cable?" A low-experience organ builder wants to know. Maybe I should convert to mechanical action to avoid these complications? ;-) Mac Hayes

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Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 14:29:53 -0400

Mac Hayes wrote: > > Ron Natalie wrote: > .. > > The 66 block had by and large been replaced by the 110 block... > > Another big plus is that you can get preterminated cables. > > Where does one get 66-block (or 110-block)? Are they available at > surplus outlets, or should they be gotten new, at a 66/110-block store? You can find them at surplus places sometimes, but you're more likely to find what you want at a telecom supply place. > > And, what is a "preterminated cable?" A low-experience organ builder > wants to know. Maybe I should convert to mechanical action to avoid > these complications? ;-) > Well by itself, one of these termination blocks has essentially place to stick two wires. You have 50 wires comming in one side and 50 wires going out the other. Now you can buy them with the 50 wires already connected to a 50 contact connector. You can then buy long cables with the appropriate connector on the other end. This saves you some = time: Imagine: CHEST (magnets connected to the fanned out end of a 25 pair cable) | 25 pair cable | PRETERMINATED BLOCK PRETERMINATED BLOCK | cable | Your relay (again connected to the free ends of the 25 pair cable) | cable | PRETERMINATED BLOCK PRETERMINATED BLOCK | cable | CONSOLE Now, you can use your punchdown tool to arbitrarily interconnect the = things on the BLOCKS above. Without the pretermination, you do the same thing except = you have to punch town the 50 conductors where the wires enter the block. The other advantage of the connectors is they can be unhooked to route the = cables up to console or to otherwise make it easy to move things.

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 13:57:58 -0700

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Subject: Punchdown blocks

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 17:13:09 EDT

Seimens makes the telephone punchdown blocks and Graybar Electric = which has outlets in most large cities sells them. Graybar also has a web page where they can be ordered. I would chose either the older 66 or newer 110 = but not mix although it wouldn't hurt. Even the 66's come in a newer shorter length. I have always stuck to the 50c (25pr) cable and 50 pin blocks just = because they seemed to be easier to come by. Also works out well with the = 25 pair connectors. Even the punch blocks can be had with a wired 25 pair connector kind of piggybacked. There is also a very handy long connector available called a tap-50 which plugs into the 50 pin punch block. A word = of caution though. Some of the punch blocks are split down the middle, electrically, which gives twice the number of pins. If you have those = there are very inexpensive bridging clips available, also at Graybar. I use the punch blocks whereever I can. No more stripping, twisting, soldering. = Radio Shack also carrys a butt splice connector now for 22-26 gauge wire. Its = part no is 64-3073 but you will probably need their crimping tool #64-410. Also = very handy for when you have to extend a wire because of reading the color = wrong or whatever. If necessary, the blocks can be sawed through the = plastic and create two 25's or they can be sawed anywhere you like to create 61, = 73, or 85 pin blocks. Another consideration to keep in mind is that the telephone people = always work with pairs where organ people don't have to. For instance the = prewired connectors have the first pair (wh/bu & bu/wh) on pins 1 and 26 because = the pins are opposite each other. When you are wiring a block it is better to = put #1 on #1 one and #26 on #2. If you don't then you will be unwinding each pair unnecessarily. Doesn't make much difference as long as the very beginning and very end are the same color. That last sentence probably is more confusing than helpful. John Adams

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Subject: RE: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 21:46:09 -0700

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 21:56:05 -0700

And for tracing out all of these cables and wires that you just put together in your new punch down blocks, may I suggest the 701K Classic Tone/Probe Kit by Progressive Electronics, Inc? The kit consists of the = 77 HP tone generator to send a tone or test for continuity and the Model 200 EP inductive amplifier/probe. Both are contained in a woven polyester carrying case and are 9v battery powered. The 77 HP tone generator is connected to a wire or terminal strip at one end of your cable, and the inductive probe is used on the other end for locating the same wire. The inductive probe will pick up the signal just by being near the wire. The wire doesn't have to be stripped. It can easily locate the wire you are after out of a whole bunch or in several cables. Saves lots of time. Jensen has the 701K for $97 in their 1999/2000 catalog, and Specialized Products has the 701K in their Fall 2000 catalog for $99. This is the greatest thing since "sliced bread" for trouble shooting and tracing = wiring systems. Forrest (in Southern Oregon tracing out wires in an old Estey

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Subject: Punchdown "66-blocks"

Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 08:46:22 EDT

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Wiring and cables

Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 10:54:37 EDT

If you are cheap like me and have Home Depot near buy, and who does'nt,you = can build a buzzer and buzz out the wires when the colors start getting blurry after 6 or 7 hours of wiring. Parts needed; door bell ringer something to mount it on alligator clips 2 and 2o feet of wire 110 pig tail. Works good. Have fun Dennis Allen

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Subject: Console wiring

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 23:40:43 EDT

I guess as they say, "The fun begins" (R) I now have my 75' 100 pair = cable at least to the relay cabinet in the basement, up through the floor and = into the console. I also have the console terminal board set to the point where = I have all 73 sw and all 73 gt wires cable tied and harnessed, and pushed through their respective holes, and ready to strip ends and solder to the brass pins. I also earlier in the year put in new wires from the 8 thumb piston = magnets, and from all of the stop tabs down to the bottom of the console but = leaving the ends of all the wires just loose. Looks like I can start connecting those this week end, and I believe the 8 = thumb pistons simply wire up one to each of the 8 magnets. I also had previously wired the two manuals with all new wiring, I gather that the sw-sw 4 the gt-gt 4, sw-sw 16 and gt-gt16 and sw unison off are = obtained by the cross wiring under the manuals. I remember each key had = three wires, with one wire connecting "up" one octave and one conencting "down" = one octave. There are 3 contact strips for the swell manual and 5 for the great and = what confused the heck out of me all along was that there were ALSO 8 manual = ranks and 8 thumb pistons, so for a long time I thought 8 contact strips to connect 8 ranks. But I couldn't figure out why the Swell only had 3 = contact strips when I knew the Swell division had 4 ranks. I put it all aside and thought, someday I'll get around to figuring that out. "Someday" is here, today :) Part of the problem is the original console harness was axed, and the = other part is there are 4 straight 2 rank unit chests now for the Great and = Swell replacing the one pitman chest which also had 3, 4' stops taken off 8' = ranks which is no longer the case. Supposedly the design is a simpler thing to wire up, with the keys all = going to their respective relays, then to the chests, the stops which have = actual ranks going to their respective relays and then to their chests. I see where the unison off was connected. The confusing thing I suppose looking at hundreds of multi-colored wires like so many strands of spaghetti, was figuring out how the Sw-Gt, = Gt-Ped, SW-Ped, Gt-Gt-16, Gt-Gt-4, Sw-Sw4, Sw-Sw16 is supposed to be connected. The pedal also has 44 notes, and has a stop for "4' flute" which was just octaved off the bourdon. I believe the key to all this is in those 3 and 5 contact strips, with 2 = and 4 of them respectively being movable, with the other 2 fixed in place and = have an adjustment screw. I gather the fixed strip on the Sw is the 8' = and one movable strip is the 16' and another is the 4', and the fixed strip = gets disconnected for the Sw "unison off" That covers the Swell. But the Great has 5 strips, so following the above that leaves 2 strips I forgot or don't know what they were connected to. It also appears to me that the 4' and 16' are done with that internal = cross wiring under the manuals and the movable strips which if I am right would = be activated by the rack of small pneumatics with threaded rods that connect = to them. There is a small wood box with lead tubes and magnets that was all disconnected but I was able to piece together where the tubes went to, and = some went to those pneumatics, some to 3 pneumatics for the pedalboard contact strips and I will have to refer to my notes for the rest. So if I have this somewhat right so far, then all of the coupler and intermanual tabs would connect to those magnets on that small box, the = thumb pistons would connect to the 8 magnets up top, and all of the coupling etc = is done right there in the console with no special jumper wires I would have = to add to get 4' and 16' There is also on the console a small green light labeled "test light" was that just connected to the blower circuit or was it used to "test" = something" as the label implies? I will also be connecting the 20 tube Liberty chimes, the Moller had a = small Deagan keyboard mounted under the Great, I won't have that, the chimes would be wired into the console, which manual is the one to use and would I connect the chimes to their respective pitch key notes or some other way = like an octave higher? I'm inclined to say Swell manual and respective pitch keys. Will also have to get a small wind line to the console. I think I have it mostly figured out which isn't bad considering I never = saw any connections for this nor the inside of any other Moller console to go = by. Sure wish I had Moller blueprints of the organ or orginal wiring diagram = of the console. Randall

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Randy, Do yourself (and anyone else who may have to help you out at some future point!) a HUGE favor and have Clifford of Vermont, from whom you bought the cables, FAX the shop a copy of the Telephone Color Code standard, which sets out the proper numerical sequence for wiring the cables to you before you get started. Better to change it now, if you didn't follow the standard than to wish you had later. Makes troubleshooting MUCH easier in the future, believe me! <snip> > The confusing thing I suppose looking at hundreds of multi-colored = wires > like so many strands of spaghetti, That's exactly why you need to follow that color code. Once you "memorize" it, you'll be surprised just how fast the wiring goes, if you focus on one wire at a time. In no time (yeah, right!) you'll be all done! <Very big Snip> > Sure wish I had Moller blueprints of the organ or orginal wiring diagram = of > the console. Most of this was "second nature" to them, Randy. If you think out how these are used, it won't take you long to map-out a strategy. Again: follow that color code!!! Happy wiring! Richard Schneider, PRES/CEO

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I already have the color code chart off a telephone wiring web site :) Here is a sample of how I am using it, just the first octave is shown; Binder strips; White, Blue WHITE/BLUE C1 BLUE/WHITE C#2 WHITE/ORANGE D3 ORANGE/WHITE D#4 WHITE/GREEN E5 GREEN/WHITE F6 WHITE/BROWN F#7 BROWN/WHITE G8 WHITE/SLATE G#9 SLATE/WHITE A10 RED/BLUE A#11 BLUE/RED B12 RED/ORANGE C13 Etc. Then when that 25 pair bundle ends at note 50, the next 25 pair bundle is; Binder strips: White, Orange WHITE/BLUE D51 BLUE/WHITE D#52 WHITE/ORANGE E53 ORANGE/WHITE F54 WHITE/GREEN F#55 GREEN/WHITE G56 WHITE/BROWN G#57 BROWN/WHITE A58 WHITE/SLATE A#59 SLATE/WHITE B60 RED/BLUE C61 Etc I used the first two bundles (50 pairs) for the Sw and the second two for = the Gt, leaving 27 spare/extra wires for each manual division. >> The confusing thing I suppose looking at hundreds of multi-colored = wires >> like so many strands of spaghetti, > >That's exactly why you need to follow that color code. Once you >"memorize" it, you'll be surprised just how fast the wiring goes, if you >focus on one wire at a time. In no time (yeah, right!) you'll be all >done! I am following the new color code, but remember that is of no use to = decipher the old, the console originally had all 1929 cloth wires and all the were SAME color green and had been uncerimoneously chopped and totally useless = to me to even try sorting out stubs that were left. Unfortunately 4 years ago when I rewired the manuals internally, I had no color code nor a clue that anything coded for *telephone* connections = would even be remotely applicable to pipe organ manuals, so the various pairs of = colors went in in random order, other than the individual pairs going to adjacent terminals. So while the rest of the organ from the console = terminal board will have C1 and C#2 having WHITE/BLUE for all the C1's and BLUE/WHITE for all the C#2's etc., the C1 and C#2 on the manuals are = whatever color came to hand 4 years ago, so that will take some time to sort. I = used 12 pair cable as I recall, so there are several individual cables and = those are marked underside of the manuals, with cable 1 wired to C1-B24, cable 2 = C25 to 48 etc., so that won't be too bad. I sure as heck am not going to take all that out and redo it, it's in = there for life, but once wired to the console terminal board the rest will be consistant. Randall

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Console wiring, color code

Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 00:05:36 -0500

Hi List, I believe this is all correct. It's what I've been using. John CABLE WIRING ORDER 1 Wht-Blu 26 Grn-Blk 2 Blu-Wht 27 Blk-Brn 3 Wht-Orn 28 Brn-Blk 4 Orn-Wht 29 Blk-Sla 5 Wht-Grn 30 Sla-Blk 6 Grn-Wht 31 Yel-Blu 7 Wht-Brn 32 Blu-Yel 8 Brn-Wht 33 Yel-Orn 9 Wht-Sla 34 Orn-Yel 10 Sla-Wht 35 Yel-Grn 11 Red-Blu 36 Grn-Yel 12 Blu-Red 37 Yel-Brn 13 Red-Orn 38 Brn-Yel 14 Orn-Red 39 Yel-Sla 15 Red-Grn 40 Sla-Yel 16 Grn-Red 41 Vio-Blu 17 Red-Brn 42 Blu-Vio 18 Brn-Red 43 Vio-Orn 19 Red-Sla 44 Orn-Vio 20 Sla-Red 45 Vio-Grn 21 Blk-Blu 46 Grn-Vio 22 Blu-Blk 47 Vio-Brn 23 Blk-Orn 48 Brn-Vio 24 Orn-Blk 49 Vio-Sla 25 Blk-Grn 50 Sla-Vio Blu Blue Orn Orange Grn Green Brn Brown Sla Slate [Gray] Wht White Yel Yellow Blk Black Vio Violet The Schneider Family wrote: > > > Do yourself [snip] a HUGE favor [SNIP, - Use the telco color code] > Better to change it now, if you didn't follow the standard > than to wish you had later. Makes troubleshooting > MUCH easier in the future, believe me! > Snip > Again: > follow that color code!!! > > Happy wiring! > > Richard Schneider, PRES/CEO

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Console wiring, color code

Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 13:16:42 EDT

Here is the chart I generated the other day; ORGAN COLOR CODES, CONSOLE TO RELAYS, GT and SW; 100 Pair cable. SWELL; Pair 1-25 Binder: White/Blue Pair 26-50 Binder: White/Orange GREAT; Pair 51-75 Binder: White/Green Pair 76-100 Binder: White/Brown PEDAL, and Stops; 50 pair cable. Pair 1-25 Binder: White/Blue Pair 26-50 Binder: White/Orange CHIMES, 12 Pair cable WHITE/BLUE C1 D51 BLUE/WHITE C#2 D#52 WHITE/ORANGE D3 E53 ORANGE/WHITE D#4 F54 WHITE/GREEN E5 F#55 GREEN/WHITE F6 G56 WHITE/BROWN F#7 G#57 BROWN/WHITE G8 A58 WHITE/SLATE G#9 A#59 SLATE/WHITE A10 B60 RED/BLUE A#11 C61 BLUE/RED B12 C#62 RED/ORANGE C13 D63 ORANGE/RED C#14 D#64 RED/GREEN D15 E65 GREEN/RED D#16 F66 RED/BROWN E17 F#67 BROWN/RED F18 G68 RED/SLATE F#19 G#69 SLATE/RED G20 A70 BLACK/BLUE G#21 A#71 BLUE/BLACK A22 B72 BLACK/ORANGE A#23 C73 ORANGE/BLACK B24 BLACK/GREEN C25 GREEN/BLACK C#26 BLACK/BROWN D27 BROWN/BLACK D#28 BLACK/SLATE E29 SLATE/BLACK F30 YELLOW/BLUE F#31 BLUE/YELLOW G32 YELLOW/ORANGE G#33 ORANGE/YELLOW A34 YELLOW/GREEN A#35 GREEN/YELLOW B36 YELLOW/BROWN C37 BROWN/YELLOW C#38 YELLOW/SLATE D39 SLATE/YELLOW D#40 VIOLET/BLUE E41 BLUE/VIOLET F42 VIOLET/ORANGE F#43 ORANGE/VIOLET G44 VIOLET/GREEN G#45 GREEN/VIOLET A46 VIOLET/BROWN A#47 BROWN/VIOLET B48 VIOLET/SLATE C49 SLATE/VIOLET C#50

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Console wiring, color code

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Subject: Contact cleaner

Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 01:38:22 EDT

Anyone have information on a contact cleaner that does the job? We have a spay on "electric motor and contact" cleaner but all it seems to = do is remove oils, grease and dirt but still leaves the bronze metal contacts = looking like an old brown oxydized penny in color. I was sure the contacts = should be cleaned to a shine for minimum resistance, but is that the case = or just cleaning the dirt, dried tallow/grease whatever off sufficient? I suppose I was wishing there was a sort of "Tarn-X" for bronze that would = do for bronze what Tarn-X does for silver and if anyone here has used that on = silver you know how simply dipping silver in the stuff instantly turns it bright shiney silver color. The drawback is you have to rinse and that's = got to be a neat trick to not do with contacts attached to the manuals! Randall

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Contact cleaner

Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 04:39:44 -0500

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Subject: Console pneumatics

Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 15:09:42 EDT

I can't believe I spent the last two hours searching over hill and dael, = the basement, closets, chamber for the rack of 8 pneumatics that came out of = the console 2 years ago, and it was on the floor by the console the whole = time where I took it out with the other stuff in the console last night real = late arghhh!!! I was worried it somehow was thrown away or who knows what, then I even started to wonder if there WAS such a thing or if the 4 pneumatic rack I = had in hand was somehow confused with there being another one. I knew there = was another because I had one pneumatic I took out to look at 2 years ago and found that. Okay heres my new problem :) I have the coupler control box, when viewed from the back of the console, reading from left to right were the following lead tubes once came from = these holes; Gt-ped rev Gt-ped rev Gt 4 Gt 16 Sw-Gt Sw-Gt 4 Sw-Gt 16 Sw- Unison Sw 4 Sw 16 Lieb Ged Flute Sw-Ped Gt-ped The last four went to a rack of 4 pneumatics mounted on the pedal contact board on the floor of the console, that's easy enough to figure out which pneumatic went with which tube, same for the Gt- Ped rev. The other 8 tubes went to the rack of 8 pneumatics which if you are = looking inside from the back of the console was mounted hanging from the left underside of the manual support frame. 8 threaded rods went up through the = support frame rail and 5 went to 5 of the 6 the great contact shifters and = 3 went to the sw contact shifters. With the tubing long gone and the pneumatics not labeled any way, I have = no realistic way to determine WHICH pneumatic was connected to which tube on = the control box, and thus, which pneumatic does what. Sitting on the BENCH now for reference purposes, looking at the great's 5 = sliding contact rails, plus 1 fixed in place non movable, the threaded = rods and contact rail shifter pivots are on the right. The first rail nearest = the organist is fixed in place with a set screw and does not move, the other 5 = do by the threaded rods from the pneumatics below. For the swell I made a mistake in posting last night, actually all 3 of = it's contact shift rails DO move and are controlled by the 3 threaded rods = coming up from the pneumatics below. Only the one on the great is fixed in place = to not move. Does anyone know about this? I think if I can get this information first, then I can finish wiring the = manuals to the terminal board because I will know what each of the 8 = contact rails DOES and what they were originally connected to. Any leads will help! The one fixed in place rail on the Great has an adjustment screw on it, I am thinking this was a main strip, and then two = of the rails of course lack a wire to 12 of their contacts so one has to be = the 4' and one is the 16' coupler. Looking at the control box, I gather these = 3 went to the 3 contact rails on the swell; Sw- Unison Sw 4 Sw 16 I should be able to figure that one out, so it's really the other 5 that = are a semi-mystery; Gt 4 Gt 16 Sw-Gt Sw-Gt 4 Sw-Gt 16 And the last item there at issue is the Sw-Gt coupler which is a little confusing, I gather the Great has a contact strip whose wires are = connected to a strip on the Swell via the terminal board in the console, the = connection made and broken by one sliding contact rail of the great's 6, which = one??!! Randall

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Subject: Console progress

Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 00:00:30 EDT

Very happy to say that I found on the wood some very faint soft pencil = marked names for each of the sliding contact rails, very hard to see but I can = make out; sw uns, 16, 4 etc. So I now have the Sw Unison contact rail wired to the junction board to = start with. I also decided since I have the manuals out, to examine and clean them. I wound up replacing the hammer rail felt and the key tail felt squares = and adding a bushing cloth disk on top of each of the balance rail felt disks since they seemed to have settled down a little and there is also an excessive gap between the key tail felt pads and the underside of the = spring loaded contact rods of about 1/8th of an inch. Now cleaning and oiling the keys with a solution of gum turpentine and linseed oil, about 25% linseed oil 75% turpentine. Also McLubing the pins. Looks like several of the bottom octave Sw sharp keys will need new = bushing cloth in the balance pin holes, real wobbly! Next I'll have to order some plastic buttons to replace the rotted leather = nu ts, and I also need 4 of the phosphor bronze coil springs Moller used that = were soldered onto the ground wire and to the phosphor bronze contact activator rods to act as the electrical wire and the return spring. So far = I have not found either on the OSI web site. They keys also had excessive travel, no doubt due to the bad hammer rail felt, I understand the edges of the natural keys should depress 9.5 mm/ = 3/8" is that correct? What about the sparp keys? And what is the AGO standard "weighting" for the manual keys? Back to cleaning I guess, so sign me; A very pine scented Randall

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Console progress

Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 07:47:23 -0400 At 12:00 AM -0400 8/26/01,

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Subject: Stop relays

Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2001 15:52:26 EDT

I received the Radio SHack relays I ordered, these were amazingly unlike = most Radio Shack components made in England! They are catalog # 275-226 30 AMP auto relay, $5.99 each. They will = pull in contacts on 6V. I bought 6, need 17 I figured, but will get the rest later, I mounted on = a nice piece of cherry plywood edged with a 3/4" maple frame the 4 I need = for the Swell, and installed one for the Gt and one for the pedal for now to = get the spacing and wire layout for it started. One terminal on each relay goes to the console stop tab for it's = associated rank (+), one terminal is the relay coil ground, and the other two = terminals are connected when the contacts close and those two terminals will be what = I connect the individual rank ground wires to. I consider this to be real simple, inexpensive and will do the job, just couldn't find anything in the OSI catalog suitable. I only found gang switches and the console relay coil units with the tabs. My design can't = be THAT different from the norm that OSI didn't have something. I'm just simply making each rank a separate circuit, and the stop relay = just grounds the wire that one leg of the chest magnets are connected to for = the rank it controls. The other leg wires of those magnets goes to the key = action relays, so one leg wire of all of the C1 magnets connects to the C1 key action relay which is controlled by key C1, and one leg wire for each C#2 magnets goes to the C#2 key relay and so on. So the key relays will close all of the connections on them with the keys, = but only the ranks whose stop action relay is engergized will play. I'm using 8 GA wire to the console (+) side and fusing each stop action = relay with a 5 amp fuse block in each of the 12 GA ground wires to the ranks the = relays controll. So each stop action relay has a nice fuse holder right = next to it.

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Subject: Electrical...

Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2001 12:28:10 -0800 (PST)

Hi, The electrician wants to know how much power I need in my room addition for the Organ. The Architect helpfully (?) shows a 100amp sub-panel in the blower room! I'm planning for an organ of 20 ranks or less, direct-electric action, and one, possibly two blowers. How do I figure this stuff out? The electrician says a 60amp panel will be considerably cheaper than a 100amp panel. ---john.

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Electrical...

Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 19:48:00 -0500

Hi John. I agree totally. While you may not need 60 amps initially, let alone 100 amps, I would definitely put in the 100 Amp panel. In addition I would make certain that it is a Square D QO panel. These are the best on the market according to any tests I have ever seen done and according to their specifications. Don=B9t be confused by the company's cheaper "HomeLine= " which is meant to compete in the market of economy panels. Your organ is worth Square D QO! Consider it to be the 8 inch PVC wind line as opposed t= o the 8 inch flex duct (kind of) :-). ~jon

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Subject: Re: [Residence Organs] Electrical...

Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 19:12:56 -0600

Hi, John! Gosh! A whole 100A sub-panel just for a blower (or two) and a rectifier...?? For 20 rks of organ...? How LUXURIOUS!! <g> Seriously, that sounds like extreme overkill to me, off the top of my = head. Unless your blower (or your new house) is inordinately large, why = couldn't you just make certain that the main panelboard had sufficient space for a couple of extra breakers (even 220V, if needed) for an extra branch = circuit or two? The organ (complete) certainly wouldn't use as much juice as, = say, an electric stove/oven or air conditioner going full-tilt...and that's the way they wire up *those* devices...<g> Then again -- if cost is no object.....<lol>, or maybe you've got really really BIG chamber lights. <lol, again> Of course, I'm not a licensed electrician, and I don't have a clue what your codes might/might not be...but maybe something to think about anyway. Or to discuss with your electrician. Good luck -- let us know how it all turns out! Tim Bovard

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Not necessarily. While I don't play a Registered Electrical Contractor on T.V., I *do* play Registered Electrical Contractor/Organbuilder in real life! Whenever possible, we like to see 3 Phase put in for blowers, since most of them in use nowadays are built by Laukhuff in Germany and are of the 3 phase variety. However, in a residence installation, that's rarely done, although it *is* possible (with a great deal of arm-twisting to the Electric Utility!!) It's never a bad idea to have a separate panel in the Blower area for the various loads served, such as the rectifier(s), blower(s) (each needs its own breaker and Magnetic Starter with the proper-sized "Heater Elements", BTW!!!) On an organ installation we did in a Catholic Church some years ago, that was divided on either side of the Chancel, we had (count them!) TWO 3 Phase breaker panels and used all but 2 of the knockouts in each of those panels! Then we added a Choir Organ a few year later and had to put in a couple of tandem breakers to accommodate *that* blower in one of those panels! An important point: be sure to have your electrician hook up your organ with an independent blower shutoff switch, so that you have the ability to turn on the organ power (rectifier) without the blower(s) running. This is VERY important for electrical troubleshooting, and you'll thank me many times later for telling you to INSIST on this being done! And you simply CANNOT EVER have too many 20 amp receptacles (on several different circuits) in an organ chamber!!! There's always things like Swell Engines, Tremulant Drivers, drill motors, vacuums, etc. that need a convenient place to plug into. 10 or 12 receptacles peppered throughout the installation would not be at all unreasonable. And above all: install ONLY FLUORESCENT LIGHTING!!! Spend a bit of extra money and get the new fixtures with electronic Ballasts that use the new skinny T-8 lamps. That way, you've eliminated the 60 HZ "hum" that these fixtures are so notorious for! You'll have also eliminated the obsolescence factor in that the manufacture of 40 watt T-12 lamps has been phased-out and once the enormous stockpile of these lamps is depleted, well, that's it. Using the fixtures with the plastic "wraparound" lenses is a nice extra touch and will help prevent lamp breakage in case you swing a pipe around and don't realize that the fixture was *that* close. .. . We are always WAY OVERKILL on our organ electrical installations and have yet to be sorry for having done so. Faithfully, Richard Schneider, PRES/CEO

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While I agree wholeheartedly with JCH's pronouncement about Square D (I use this primarily in most of our work) there *are* a couple of other brands that are worth considering. Cutler-Hammer is good stuff. I know. I used to work in their plant in Lincoln, IL many years ago. Siemens is also a good brand. However, stay away from the vast majority of the stuff sold by places like Menards, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. The brand to stay away from under ALL circumstances is MURRAY! It is bottom-of-the-line JUNK!!! In fact: I think it's considered so dangerous that some municipalities won't even allow it to be installed in their jurisdictions. Faithfully, =20 Richard Schneider, PRES/CEO

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Then I'd say he needs to find a different electrical supply house. Assuming he's sub-feeding your 60 or 100 amp organ room panel with a 60 or 100 amp breaker, the cost on them is nearly the same (at least according to my Square D catalog). Most of the main lug panels (which is the kind that he should be using, since he already has a sub-feed breaker at the main panel) are already 100 amp (actually: usually 125 amp mains) for even the smallest 6 circuit panels. The price doesn't change that appreciably for main lug panels up to even 20 circuits! So, the only real cost differential is the heavier wire required from the main panel to the sub-feed panel, and even that should not be all that significant, unless the distance is considerable. If in doubt on this, go do some checking, just to keep the man honest. Good luck! Faithfully, Richard Schneider, PRES/CEO

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Seems all you need to know is the blower(s) motor sizes plus the = rectifier's input volts/amps, doesn't matter too much how many ranks you have, it is = the blower motors and the rectifier that draw the A/C My blower has a 2 HP Century motor, with starter relay, I ran about (3) 15 = foot #8 wires to the circuit panel. It's a 110/220 motor so I left it = on the 220v mode, (2) 15 amp breakers is what I think I used. Also added a = fused cutoff box next to the blower. Rectifier on it's own circuit and breaker. Randall

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Yes, but you can't put a Square D breaker in a Cutler Hammer enclosure, etc. So that will determine the brand of enclosure you buy. I too like the = Square D, QO panels and breakers best. Beware though that there are some fake Square D breakers out there. We have two electrical outlets here. One = sells Square D, the other Cutler Hammer. I was at the Cutler Hammer dealer = the other day and a customer asked for a Square D breaker. The salesman brought one out and gave it to the customer. I said, I didn't know they sold the Square D breakers. After looking at the breaker though I realized = it wasn't an original. It didn't even have the orange flag and looked totally different. I then told the customer he'd be better off going = across town to get the real thing. Eric

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Subject: Re: Organ phenomena

Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 09:12:30 -0400