Vintage Synth Repair

--- 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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