Antares 2 is a rare breed. This Synth was developed in Czechoslovakia in 1979 by VURT (Research Institute of Broadcast and Television) and only few prototypes were ever made. There was one small batch manufactured (<10 pieces) before the project was finally retired.

There were few issues with this particular piece. Mechanical problem with one of the keys and associated damage around the key J wires.

Major problem were the capacitors. I had to replace both the dried up electrolytic caps as well as metalised paper caps and ceramic caps which absorb moisture over time. Following the  cleanup of all the pots and switches as well as full recap Antares sprung back to life.

I’m giving special credit to the mechanical construction of this piece, all the electronics apart of keyboard itself are in one metal enclosure. This can be tilted upwards to allow for better access to the controls.

More pictures are little history in Czech language can be found here.

http://czechkeys.blog.cz/0912/syntetizer-antares-ii

All the electronics are in 5 modules and use gold plated high quality connectors. The entire PCB section can be also tilted and secured in place using thumb screws allowing full access to all the components.

Real joy to work on.