[sdiy] Future SYNTH-DIY/breadboard

[Tony Clark]

> But that's not a problem of SMT per se, but rather that there is nothing 
> fixable in any newer machine.

   Well certainly not customized ASICs and PGAs and the like, but sure, 
you can definately fix a newer machine.  I had a local person bring me a 
Yamaha PSS-something or another, a fancy new home keyboard with big color 
screen and tons of buttons, leds and the like (the guy who owned it is 
blind and used it to gig at local nursing homes).
   Anyway, I was rather skeptical about fixing it (because of the common 
practice of using custom ICs).  The problem was that it had been zapped 
by a static shock and a bunch of the front panel buttons were no longer 
working.  I figured that was probably something rather simple.
   Well getting the machine apart was NO FUN!  That thing was packed full 
of wiring and boards stacked on top of each other.  I traced the front 
panel wiring back to the main CPU board and found two buss buffer chips.  
74244s in SSOP form.  Fixable?  Definately.  Got it working in no time 
and charged a heck of a lot less than what the local Yamaha shop wanted 
to even LOOK at the machine.  And more than likely, they would have just 
swapped a new board in and chucked the old one out.
   Now to me, THAT sort of practice is pure heresy!

   Of course not all modern repairs will be that easy... but to call 
everything new not fixable.  Not true.

   Tony, back to doing layout for a appliance controller PCB, with SMT.

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