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Re: input/output within old oberheim vs. new



I wrote this to Jim offline and thought it might be of use to others
considering changing the resistors for EDP input/output gain.  Please
let me know if you find errors or confusing statements:
---------

Jim,
First, I want to be sure of your tools.  You say soldering 'gun'. 
There are soldering guns, and soldering irons.  Guns are usually used
for heavy duty solder, and have a trigger to turn the heat on.   Irons,
look like a pencil, smaller tip, always hot when plugged in.

You want a soldering iron, with a pointed tip.  30 watts is probably in
the right power range. Too much power and you can do damage. 

You need a solder sucker, a spring operated device with a piston, sort
of like a hypodermic needle in reverse. This will be used to remove the
solder from the OLD parts, so you can pull off the OLD resistors's
leads
from the PCBA. Radio shack or other ectronics parts houses carry them. 

You need fine to medium size (diameter) ROSIN core solder, NOT acid
core.  Rosin core soler is designed for electronics.  Acid core will
destroy your pcba, in time.  Need sharp wire cutters to trim the new
resistors legs after soldering in place.  Needle nose pliers to shape
the legs of the new resistors to fit the holes, and to remove the old
resistors after solder removal.

The main difficulty with soldering on a PCBA is that you can overheat
the thin copper foil 'trace' that is on the surface of the pcba.  The
edp is what is called 'through hole' pcba and components.  

Where a component attaches to the pcba foil trace, there is a hole. 
The resistor (or other electronic part) is 'stuffed' through this hole,
and then soldered.  If you overheat the foil trace during removal of
the old part, or soldering the new part, then the foil can 'lift' off
the surface of the pcba.  The trace will longer stick to the pcba
surface, and will often tear up to the point on the trace where the
trace is still stuck to the pcba.  If this happens, you must repair the
trace with a small piece of wire (to substitute for the trace).

Keep your soldering iron tip clean and tinned at all times (or it won't
conduct heat well).  Use a flat metal file, or sandpaper or emery cloth
to clean the tip down to clean copper, with a good point, then tin the
tip with fresh rosin core solder.  Wipe the tip on a wet sponge to
remove excess solder from tinning, or to clean the tip again while
working.

http://www.loopers-delight.com/tools/echoplex/FAQ6.html

In order to replace a resistor on the EDP, you must dissasemble the
EDP.  I will try to step through this, but I may miss some detail, as I
am not actually taking apart my edp as I describe this.

MAKE SURE THE EDP HAS NO POWER CORD ATTACHED BEFORE YOU OPEN IT.  BE
SURE!

1.  remove the top cover, there are 7 screws.  Maybe different lengths,
if so, pay attention to where the short ones belong.  I suggest a multi
compartment tray, or plastic bags to keep track of the parts you will
remove.

1.5  First, inspect the parts that you think you want to upgrade.  For
the input and output gain modifications, it is R10 and R30
respectively.  Locate these on the PCBA by reading the white
silkscreened labels R10, R30. 

Visually, follow a line from the input jack on the back panel, towards
the front panel.  Before you visually reach the integrated circuit
chips (Ul etc.) you will see R10.  It is next to C16.  

R10 (iput gain) in the upgrade is 10 kilo ohms.  
10kohms resistor, 1% tolerance is brown, black, black, red, brown (you
may have to read it left to right, or right to left as resistors have
no direction of installation for them).

http://www.micro-ohm.com/colorcode/rescolor.html
You can also measure the resistor in circuit with a digital multimeter
(volt/ohm/miliameters), DVM.  The 10 kohm resistor at R10 will read
ABOUT 9.9 kohm in circuit with a DVM.  

If R10 is the OLD value, 2.21 kohms it will be
red, red, brown, brown, brown.  It will read ABOUT 2.2 kohm in circuit
with a DVM.

R30 location is 2 resistors to the right of R10, lined up with R10.
R30 (input gain) new value is 22.1kohms which is
red, red, brown, red, brown.  It will read ABOUT 22 Kohm in circuit
with a DVM
R30 old value was 82.5 kohm which is
grey, red, green, red, brown.  This resistor will read ABOUT 68 kohm in
circuit.

You do not need to proceed if you already have the upgraded values of
resistors.

2. remove all the 7 nuts on the backpanel jacks.

3.  Remove the 2 screws attaching the ac power socket to the back
panel.
4.  If you have the old voltage regulators, you will see a metal
rectangular block (heatsink) inside the back panel, between the inside
back panel, and connected to 2 transistor like devices (2 voltage
regualtors).  This will be between the 'brothersync' jack on the back
panel, and the 'ac voltage selector' switch on the back panel.  1 screw
attaches the rectangular metal heatsink block to the back panel.  There
is a white heat conducting (but electrically insulating) grease between
the heatsink and the inside back panel.  It is messy and gooey, try not
to get it all over you.  Try to save it for when you reassemble.

If there is no metal rectangular heatsink inside the back panel, then
you have the new voltage regulator, that is NOT attached to the back
panel.  I strongly recommend the new voltage regular as it runs MUCH
cooler than the old ones.

5.  remove the 4 screws that hold the PCBA assembly to the bottom of
the black chassis.  There are 3 screws across the front edge of the
pcba, and 1 near the ac power input jack.

6.  remove the 4 screws that hold the white front panel to the rest of
the black chassis.

7.  Unless I missed a screw, the whole assembly of front panel,
connected by ribbon cables to the main pcba assembly, should slide out
the front or can be lifted away from the black chassis.  BE CAREFUL to
NOT STRESS THE RIBBON CABLES.  Wires can break when bent back and forth
too much.  You do not want to have to repair or replace one of these
ribbon cables.

8.  Looking at the top of the pcba, locate the resistors that you
inspected before, R10, R30.  You now must identify the resistor
locations on the BOTTOM of the PCBA assembly.  As I recall, there are
no silkscreen labels here, so this can be a bit tricky.  Take you time,
be sure you match the right leads to the right resistor.

There are several ways to remove the old resistors. One way, if you
don't mind destroying the old resistors, is to clip the resistor's
leads on the TOP of the PCBA, where you can See the silkscreen label. 
You then can heat the remainder of the resistor's leads (from the top
or Bottom of the PCBA) with the soldering iron, and pull them out while
hot using the needle nose pliers. 

Then you must remove the remaining solder from the through holes where
the legs of the new resistor will fit.  Use the solder sucker to do
this.  

First, Cock the solder sucker, so it is ready to suck.  Heat the pad
and hole and remaining solder until melted, and while melted place the
tip of the solder sucker on the hole, and activate the sucker.  It
should slurp the liquid solder into the sucker.  You may have to repeat
this until the hole is cleared of solder.  You can also use 'solder
wick', but I find this is not as easy to use as a solder sucker.  Also,
I usually modify the tip of the solder sucker so that I can place BOTH
the tip of the soldering iron, AND the tip of the sucker on the through
hole AT THE SAME TIME.  This modification to the tip of the sucker is
just a narrow indention cut or melted into the edge of the sucker tip,
Right at the front opening.  It is hard to describe. After much usage,
the solder sucker needs to be cleaned to remove the solder from the
chamber.  The tip can also clog, reducing the sucking action.

DON"T OVERHEAT THE PADS OR THROUGH HOLES OR IT CAN LIFT THE PAD AND
TRACES FROM THE PCBA substrate.

When the hole is clean and open, you need to bend the new resistors
leads at right angles to the resistor body, so that they can be
inserted into the trough holes.  

Insert the resistor leads into the open through holes.  Push or pull
the resistor flush with the PCBA surface.  

On the BOTTOM of the PCBA assembly you will see the long, unsoldered
leads of the new resistor.  From the Bottom of the PCBA, position the
iron tip so that it is in contact with BOTH the resistor Lead, AND the
pcba pad/through hole.  Apply rosin core solder to the hot pad/lead,
feed enough solder to fill the through hole, and form a SLIGHT meniscus
of solder on the resistor lead.  Inspect the TOP of the pcba to insure
that the solder wicked well.  If not, reapply heat to either the top or
bottom of the resistor lead/through hole and feed a bit more solder. 

You don't want to see Balls of excess solder, just a good, wet coverage
of the pad and lead.  MAKE SURE that no excess solder creates a circuit
path or bridge to other pads or traces as this will cause malfunction.

TRIM the excess lead from the BOTTOM of the PCBA assembly for R10 so
that the leads CANNOT short out on the bottom chassis.  Trim the leads
to the approximate lenght of all the other resistors on the PCBA.

Repeat process of removal, cleaning hole, soldering for R30.  Visually
inspect your work again to insure a good, wet solder job, and no shorts
from excess solder, and that you cut the excess resistor leads short
enough.

Reassemble in reverse order.  Test, debug, repair as required.

I think this is pretty complete, but since I have not followed exactly
what I typed I cannot say there are no errors.

Please write if you have questions or comments.
regards,
bret



--- JIMFOWLER@prodigy.net wrote:
> bret-
> 
> i've done plenty of cable soldering, so i'm pretty 
> handy with a soldering gun but i've never worked on a 
> pcb.
> 
> i've got a 30-watt gun and some 60/40 solder.  if i 
> get in there and think i might do more damage than 
> good, i'll back out.  that having been said, if you 
> could give me a walkthrough, i'd appreciate it.
> 
> -jim
> 



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