We’ve had some recent instances of one of the oldest K2000 technical support questions reoccurring lately.
“I just got a new K2VP keyboard and something must be wrong with it. It is running very hot. So hot I can hardly touch the output jacks. What’s wrong?”
Probably nothing is wrong. Kurzweil uses the output jacks as part of the heat sink for the power supply. They basically get as hot as the power supply does. It is not uncommon for a power supply to become hot. Of course “hot” is an ambiguous term. Suffice to say that hot to human touch is not unusual for many products. It really just depends on the type of power supply and how it is designed. All K2000’s get hot to the touch like that. It’s nothing to worry about as long as the machine seems to be functioning properly.
You just need to be sure to keep the fan path clean. There is a filter that can be taken out and cleaned. Just use mild soap and water. And let it dry thoroughly before using.
All K2000’s should have the fan installed. The current versions, which tend to come with some RAM and other options installed have fans included. Older variants did not come with the fan as a stock component. We’ve said from the very beginning back in 1992 that all of them should really have the fan installed. Sometimes customers (and even Kurzweil) have fought us on this issue, but now we have the statistical data to back up our theories. Machines without fans have had a higher incidence of display and power supply related failures. The FK1 fan kit carries a retail price of only $69.95.
If you put any options at all in one (RAM, ROM block, etc.) you simply must put in a fan. To not do so is a big gamble with an expensive piece of equipment.