Xpantastic!

I fitted the Syntaur kit over the weekend and it works a treat.  It was quite a lot of soldering and exchanging of capacitors though (removal of 12 capacitors and soldering in of 18).  I am just thankful it works :)

Just a comment though, I think the resolution of the encoders has changed as now it takes two or three clicks to change a value... not so bad really and easy to get used to... maybe I am wrong but weren't the original encoders one click to an increment/decrement?


--- In xpantastic@yahoogroups.com, Omar <holografique@...> wrote:
>
> the new encoders from Syntaur are MUCH better than the originals and are high
> quality. I don't see any reason why they wouldnt last as long or longer
> than the NOS encoders.
> 
> 
> 
> On Saturday, March 23, 2013, PeWe wrote:
> 
> > **
> >
> >
> >
> > >>>
> >
> > Am 23.03.2013 21:49, schrieb Omar:
> >
> >
> >
> > good to know as an option. Ive used cleaning solutions on some of my other
> > gear, like my System-100m. However usually it does not change the physical
> > "feel" of the pot/fader movement. So if it feels tough to move or doesnt
> > slide smoothly and evenly, then it usually needs to be replaced regardless
> > of how much cleaning you do.
> >
> >
> > The original encoders never felt "smooth",- I´m 1st owner of my Xpander.
> > But they are very rugged and any replacements aren´t !
> >
> > When we ordered the replacement encoders from Mouser, one soldering lug
> > broke on one of the encoders while unpacking,- and we did it careful !
> >
> >
> >  Im just very particular of how faders/pots feel to the touch when being
> > moved. Its part of the hands-on experience and "feeling" the quality of the
> > instrument.
> >
> >
> > The instrument is and keeps a quality one also w/ the original encoders.
> >
> > I´m sure these are cleanable for several times and I had to do it for the
> > 1st time after a quarter of a century.
> > That said,- I replaced 2 of ´em many years ago w/ original parts,- that´s
> > why I have 2 left over now.
> >
> > The Schmitt Trigger chips are very responsible for the functionality of
> > the rotary encoders and it was already much better after replacement of the
> > chips w/ rotarys uncleaned.
> > The clean job was the ice on the cake then.
> > I haven´t done it myself,- my tech did and he worked in a very well known
> > music shop in my hometown as a service tech already in the 80s, so he had
> > experience disassembling the Xpander and opening the rotarys.
> >
> > We did a almost complete overhaul, step by step and up to now,- replaced
> > all switches and re-capped the PSU.
> >
> > I also had the issue tuning proceedure failed on some voices randomly when
> > pushing the [ALL] button.
> > After the switch was replaced,- no issues anymore so it seemed it double
> > triggered.
> >
> > My original intention was also to replace all the 2.2uF voiceboard caps,-
> > but that was totally unnecessary,- it works and sounds like a charme again.
> >
> > Now for the future, I don´t want to overstress the beauty like I did when
> > touring w/ it,- so I´ll buy Xplorer application in addition.
> > I hope it gets Multi-Patch support one day.
> >
> >
> >  how do your Xpander encoders feel after cleaning them?
> >
> >
> > They feel like they did when I buyed it new,- see above ...
> > They are relatively loud and have some resistance though.
> >
> > But I´ve found it better to keep the instrument as original as it can be,-
> > so replacing stuff by other parts is the last option for me.
> > I´m pretty sure, none of todays replacement encoder will last that long as
> > the originals did and do.
> >
> > I´m happy I didn´t have to modify much,- not to deal w/ different encoder
> > bushing sizes and different debounce parts.
> >
> > Your milage may vary ...
> >
> > PeWe
> >
> >  
> >
>