ELECTRONIC CONTROL
SYSTEMS FOR PIPE ORGANS
An
electronic control system for an electric action pipe organ has three
significant advantages:
1 It enables the console to be connected
to the pipes with a very small cable, in my system the
cable has only three wires.
2 It does away with all the large
multi-contact relays with their attendant cost and potential unreliability.
3 It significantly simplifies the
wiring. Just one wire
from our system to the action magnet regardless of extensions, couplers etc.
In our
case, an additional advantage is that we use the industry standard
The system
requires an ENCODER at the console end and a number of DECODERS according to
the requirements of the organ’s action.
THE ENCODER
SYSTEM
The encoder
comprises a processor board and as many scan boards as required by the
keyboards and stops.
A two
manual and pedal organ with 32 or less stops would require one processor board,
two 64 way scan boards (swell and great) and two 32 way scan boards (stops and
pedals). This would cost from
£246.00. The three standard inter-manual
couplers are included in this.
The
following additional options are available:
Melodic
Bass. This cuts off the pedals and plays
the lowest note of a chord played on the great, on the pedal stops. The cost is £65.
Unison Off,
Octave and Sub-Octave couplers: £50 a set per manual.
Adjustable capture
piston system: £100 per system (any
number of stops) plus £45 for each group of eight stops. This incorporates up to six pistons per
department, six general pistons, great and pedal pistons combined switch and
two separate memories. The wiring is
extremely simple, being one wire per piston to the stop scan board, and two
wires per stop (on & off coils) to the stop control boards.
15v/5v opto-isolator boards.
Sometimes stops are made in such a way that it is not possible to wire
5v directly to the contacts. These
boards enable you to use the 15v organ supply on the contacts and completely
isolate the two voltages. 32 way £50, 64
way £80
THE DECODER
SYSTEM
A unit
action non extension organ will require one decoder board per rank at £200.00
each. This controls up to 64 pipes.
Unit
extension organs will require the above plus an extension board controlling up
to an additional 32 pipes. These boards
cost £60.00 each. Power for the decoder
system is derived from the main organ 15v supply. The pipe magnets MUST be wired in such a way
that the common side of the magnets is +15v and they are switched to ground.
Other
action systems will require variations of the above but costs will be similar.
The above
costs cover the supply of the necessary printed circuit boards, ready connected
to ribbon cables to wire to your own pin-boards. Alternatively complete systems can be made
up, mounted on MDF panels and wired to KA cable junction strips.
I will be
pleased to quote firm prices on receipt of a detailed specification.
THERE IS NO
VAT TO PAY ON ANY OF THE ABOVE PRICES.