Nord 5 Electro issue and main board replacement

[or barak]

Hi all,

I would like to share problem i had with my Nord Electro 5 and how it was solved.

I was playing and then at some point I heard high pitch beeps (instead of the sounds),
I restarted the keyboard and it booted into the state:
"Nord Electro 5
Update Mode
Ready."

Initially I tried the following:
1. Restarting the keyboard boots again in the same state.
2. Performing an OS update: Laptop: the update client shows: connected but can't get the TP version and build. When I click update,
Laptop: update client shows: Sending update... (and is not progressing) Keyboard: Update mode write error
3. Tried a factory restore (could not):
Nord sound manager: Product Not Supported, The OS version of the connected Nord Electro 5 is not supported. Please check about box for supported OS versions.

I went searching for support on the Clavia website (https://www.nordkeyboards.com/support)
they responded within a couple of days, directing me to a local partner company,
they connected me with various repair services which ended up being a waste of time (6 months) and money (driving around and paying a tech that couldn't resolve it).

At the advice of a colleague, I decided to give it a go myself.

From reading around and some common sense I figured/assumed the problem was due to a failure in the memory access.
The memory component are integrated in the mainboard. So I was set to find new main board.
I figured out the part model from the Syntaur website (https://syntaur.com/keyboard.php?keyboa ... ctro%205HP).
I ordered the new mainboard from a local shop that has contact with a Nord service center (somewhere near Belgium i think).

Installing the new mainboard:

1. Opening the keyboard is quite easy, (plenty of youtube tutorials about that),
basically: remove the side screws, back screws and the center screw at the bottom.
The tricky part was how to remove the mainboard, it's quite easy beside 1 step:
on the left side there's a small ribbon connector with a white small plug, right next to it there is a big board mounting screw.
It's important to be gentle with that connector and first connect the screw only then reconnect the connector.

2. It's important to set the mainboard jumper connection to match the panel / model of the device (the default clear = electro 5 61d).
Not doing this result in an error message:
"Panel board err:
Check version"

3. The next part is a bit counter intuitive, the keyboard starts with an unfamiliar message:
"NE5 73HP 0.36
MNB PNL KBD SYS"
This is a "bootloader / test / config" software that starts when you do not have any OS installed.
You can use it by clicking the buttons underneath the menus it presents, and run all sorts of tests...
To get pass it you need to install the latest OS.
Now this is where it got strange for me.
Nord has 2 thing that could fit:
1. OS update (Update Nord Electro 5 OS v2.02.dmg ±10MB)
2. Factory restore package (Nord Electro 5 Factory Restore RevC.ne5b ±1GB) => Not relevant
The solution is to install the OS update.
This "OS update" is the entire operating system (not solely update).
Install it by deploying the install package on a computer, connect the keyboard by USB and run the package.
Note that the Factory restore package is not relevant because the nord sound manager is not detecting the keyboard at this state.


Final thoughts,
It would be nice if Clavia openly shares the service manuals of all their products.
Given the lack in technician services that can handle this kind of issues,
a combination of good manual with some support, should resolve most issues.
For the most, these are computers. They are made of parts (boards and peripheral interfaces).
When something is wrong, the general approach is to diagnose which part broke and replace it.

Good luck to anyone else experiencing such issues.