Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "mwesley3" <mwesley250@e...> 
wrote:
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "jimhayes361" 
> <jimhayes@j...> wrote:
> (snip)
> 
> > 
> > 1) If you remove the carts and examine the gold tines in the 
> printhead 
> > carefully, are any out of alignment, touching each other, twisted, 
> > bent too far out or in, etc? I have heard that chips that fall out 
> of 
> > the cart can cause the tines to get bent when cart is removed. 
> Maybe 
> > something less serious but still enough of a disruptive force on 
> > contacts has caused a misalignment (just takes one contact 
skewed). 
> I 
> > now use a small soldering tip to melt the nubbins on the cart over 
> the 
> > chips. Also remember that even if not shorting, what will happen 
> when 
> > a cart is put in? Will the tines depress so as to short or not 
make 
> > contact when a cart is inserted?
> 
> BINGO!! I had looked before but didn't see that on the color socket 
> of the first printer one of the pins is bent completely up and into 
> the groove above.
> 
> On the brand new printer one finger in the black cartridge socket is 
> slightly crimped.
> 
> Both are in a position to line up with the little chip holding nubs 
> on the carts.
> 
> They don't look user repairable. #@%&#!!! Oh boy. $1,000 worth of 
> printers and the warantee probably isn't going to cover it.
> 
> And now I need to buy a soldering! <G> :-(!
> 
> Well at least I know what the problem and solution is. Many thanks!
> 
> Martin
> 

Your welcome. Well that at least solves WHAT went wrong. My bread and 
butter used to be design and testing of gold plated connectors<g>. Had 
sort of a feeling...<g>.

So are you saying that it was the Nubbins that bent the tines? I've 
only recently started melting the nubbin tops, and mainly just to 
fasten the chip down. I've had no problem before with the nubbin. And 
when I melt mine, I only melt them a tiny bit- just one touch with a 
cooled down soldering iron. In fact, melting the nubbin can create a 
wider, if squashed nib of plastic, which I suspect can have just as 
bad a chance of catching a tine. Or perhaps you just have a chip that 
presses on deeper onto the nubbins than any I own, so they stick out 
above the chip higher.

It may also be due to a pit on the chip board- this could cause the 
tine to catch.

Here is what you want in a soldering iron: you want a tiny tip. Ask 
for a 0.8 mm dia tip, either conical or chisel shaped. If you can find 
one smaller than that, good luck. But don't use anything larger. It is 
best to get a very low wattage iron; unfortunately the small 15 watt 
units don't usually allow interchangable tips. I personally use a 40 
watt unit, but I leave it turned on only for a minute or so, then turn 
it off and wait until it cools enough to just melt the plastic. They 
make adjustable wattage units, but I got my unit for free, so I'm not 
complaining.

Jim H.