Casio CZ/ VZ/ FZ - Pro Series

--- In CZsynth@yahoogroups.com, Marc Goemans LL.M. <beengeleiding@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks zoinky. Reading up on capacitors and op amps, I realize that a 24
> year old synth is going to give some problems. Esp capacitors (and I think I
> already found a huge bad one near the power unit). Maybe you can tell me, if
> I find a bad op amp, it is a chip yes?,

Yes, and in a synth that old, they'll luckily be in DIP format.

> do companies still sell them? 

Yes, and there are usually several alternative op-amps you could use for any given op-amp employed.  An op-amp can have completely different circuitry inside from the one you're replacing it with, but as long as the input and output of each pin matches the spec, it'll work.  People often swap the cheap stock op-amps out of guitar pedals and CD players to replace them with high-end op-amps in hope of getting better sound.


How do
> I recognize a bad op amp..

Find the spec sheet for the op-amp you want to test by googling the number stamped on top of it, which will tell you what voltages to expect on each pin, then use your multimeter to check the pins and see if they are responding with the correct values.