Vintage Synth Repair

Greetings,

My Taurus II pedals power became too intermittant.  The connector seemed 
to be the problem so I openener up the synth part to find that one 
connection on the power jack HAD NO SOLDER!!!  So I soldered it.  
Unfortunately, now there's another problem.  The black insulator pad 
between the PCB and faceplate has deteriorated into an inky mess that 
disintegrates as you touch it and has left its residue all over the 
place, mostly oin the electronics.

1.  How do I clean the inky mess off of the electronics?
2.  What should I use to replace it?  Are there any diagrams showing the 
insulator's proprer placement?

Thanks!

Bill Fox

>>1.  How do I clean the inky mess off of the electronics?
2.  What should I use to replace it?  Are there any diagrams showing
the insulator's proprer placement?<<

is that the bill fox that I know? 
well, anyway... this gooey mess is a common problem with the t2, the
rogue & several other moog products from that era. 
first up, you don't necessarily need to replace this stuff unless you
are worried about dust getting into the faders. if you think this is
going to be a problem, then you could probably manufacture something
suitable using thick polythene (like the clear sleeves you used to get
for LPs) & a craft knife. it needs to approximately match the
apertures in the control panel; perahps the best approach would be to
apply a layer completely over the inside of the panel (rather than try
to "sit" it over the pcb) & cut holes where necessary.
tbh, I didn't bother with my rogue, & it's been fine for 15 years.
ymmv.

the annoying part of the job, whilst more tedious than tricky, is
cleaning off the residue. I've heard mixed opinions on this stuff-
some say that it is partially conductive & that in the wrong place it
will cause problems. this has not been my experience, though it's
presence certainly hinders other service ops & looks unsightly. I used
isopropyl alcohol (I can't remember what this is called in the US-
denatured? same stuff you would clean tape-heads with, anyway). try to
avoid getting this in the faders themselves, as it may damage the
carbon track, but it won't hurt anything else. & let it all "boil off"
(an hour or so) before firing the synth up again.

good luck!

duncan/r.m.i.

--- In vintagesynthrepair@yahoogroups.com, "ferrograph632"
<ferrograph@...> wrote:
> >>1.  How do I clean the inky mess off of the electronics?
> 2.  What should I use to replace it?  Are there any diagrams showing
> the insulator's proprer placement?<<
> 
> is that the bill fox that I know?

It certainly is!  Howdy, mate.  It took me a little time to realize
that I never told Spam Arrest to allow this list's messages through. 
And here I thought that no one was answering my question.  ;-)  I had
to go to the messages link on the group site to pick up this message I
had missed.

> first up, you don't necessarily need to replace this stuff unless you
> are worried about dust getting into the faders.

Not too worried about that.  I was more concerned about electrical
shorts between the faceplate and the circuit board.  If that's not an
issue, then I'm not very keen to put anything in there immediately.  I
just want to get my T2 back in working order.

> the annoying part of the job, whilst more tedious than tricky, is
> cleaning off the residue. I've heard mixed opinions on this stuff-
> some say that it is partially conductive & that in the wrong place it
> will cause problems. this has not been my experience, though it's
> presence certainly hinders other service ops & looks unsightly. I used
> isopropyl alcohol (I can't remember what this is called in the US-
> denatured? same stuff you would clean tape-heads with, anyway).

Yes, we call it isopropyl alcohol, too.  For cleaning tape heads, one
uses 92% to 98% solution because the typical stuff for general use has
a lower percentage of alcohol with the difference being made up with
perfume!  Certainly not something one wants on their tape heads!

> try to
> avoid getting this in the faders themselves, as it may damage the
> carbon track, but it won't hurt anything else. & let it all "boil off"
> (an hour or so) before firing the synth up again.

Thanks for the help, Duncan!

Cheers,

Bill Fox - http://soundscapes.us

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