MOTM

Paul's recommendations for construction tools at the back of the pdf
catalogue http://www.synthtech.com/motmcat5.pdf are all good ones.  

A 'Solder Sucker'-This is a vacuum de-soldering tool. You'll be doing an
awful lot of soldering, but no matter how careful you may
be, eventually you will need to unsolder something. There are high-end
pedal-controlled electric de-soldering stations available, but
all you really need is something like the Soldapullt model AS196, about $21.
You 'cock' it, then press a button to release a springloaded
plunger that sucks molten solder right up. It has Teflon tips; it will last
a good 5 years if you clean it. Smaller versions are
available, but they just don't have the vacuum of this big boy.

John Loffink
The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site
http://www.microtonal-synthesis.com
The Wavemakers Synthesizer Web Site
http://www.wavemakers-synth.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: motm@yahoogroups.com [mailto:motm@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Phil
> 
> I am in need of some advice about de-soldering tools and
> techniques.  I have a couple of MOTM-300's, one of which has been
> rendered silent by a power supply connection goof (please don't ask,
> I hate to relive it!) 8 months ago.  I was going to send it to Paul
> for repair, but he suggested if I wanted to be adventerous, to buy a
> set if IC's and replace them one by one - process of eliniation
> style troubleshooting!
> 
> So I've finally gotten around to it (work has been getting the way),
> and have found my desoldering tool, which is a no-name iron with a
> suction bulb at the end of a short tube.  The bulb can draw a pretty
> good amount of air, but the tip of the iron that it is attached to
> seems kind of crappy.  I've removed the TL074, but have had to do
> some clean up, and don't want to risk damaging anything here.
> 
> So what is the recommended desoldering hardware, and what is the
> best way to actually do this?
>