To fix or not to fix

[EdGs]

Well, I need some honest opinions here. Hope you all don't think this topic is stupid.

I posted awhile back about a very neglected E1. I finally am to the point where I am ready to try to get her cleaned up and running. Here's the link: http://www.vintagesynth.com/forum/viewt ... =3&t=53875

Am I crazy for wanting to try to get her running again? I probably will put more money into her than she is worth....AND no guarantees that she will work.

I really hate to part with her, or part her out.

What would you do?

Thanks

[rhino]

MANY of my personal synths were money pits. Part of the fun is finding vintage parts, re-constructing un-findable ones tracking down antique upgrades etc. Fix her, keep her, cherish her. Enjoy.

[MIDI_Thru_Kid]

Yeah dude keep it. Seriously, It'd be fun for you, and you'd cherish... her/it... forever!

If you end up not wanting to pursue it, I call dibs. I'll pay money for that.

[EdGs]

Thanks

It will be a long uphill battle, that's for sure.

There is a fair amount of oxidation on the exposed IC pins, so I am thinking that replacing the IC sockets and cleaning up the IC pins will be one of the first things to do here.

I counted roughly 300 sockets totaling almost 5000 solder connections, so it looks like I will be having lots of fun with her. I will use machined pin sockets for all the ribbon connections and standard dual leaf ones for all the IC's. I would like to use machine pin sockets for all, but the sheer cost of this will be enourmous. $60+ just for sockets going the cheaper route with a few extra ones......AND lots and lots of time.

I will try to take pics as I go, but my camera is on the blink right now.

Say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed for me.

[rhino]

Say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed for me.

O, Great God of Vintage..Smile down on our brother EdGs as he embarks on this long and rocky road of discovery and growth.

May his hand and eye be steady, his iron temp correct and his schematics clear and readable.

Keep at bay the demons of lifted traces and solder bridges.

Send Your power to his credit card and may the UPS boxes arrive swiftly.

Guard him from the pitfall of vintage ownership....the demonic urge to pitch his old gear whenever some shiny new plastic toy comes on the market.

Bear him up with the thoughts of the sweet sounds of the coming day...when the floppies will spin again and bits will flow at his command.

Help him to not forget his friends here and post copious updates (with pics and audio).

Amen.

[EdGs]

Wow, great prayer. Thank you very much. I can use all the help I can get.

Started checking some of the chip to socket connections on the CPU board and surprisingly got decent readings. I am not too sure how the ribbons will fare though. maybe I won't have to replace alot of sockets after all.

Any advice as to general cleaning etc? I am tempted to use some 99% isopropyl alcohol for a general cleaning of the boards. It evaporates fast and isn't too harsh on the board coatings. I will test on a small area first to be sure.

With regard to copious pics, anything in particular you'd like to see?

Thanks again.

[madtheory]

rhino- very wise. And very funny

Re copious pics: something like hideawaystudios Novachord restoration thread, would be perfect.

[EdGs]

Thanks,

I took some pictures of the boards, but I am not entirely happy with them. My camera has developed an exposure issue, which makes the pictures too bright. Here are a few that I already had from before.

Pretty screwed up, huh? I think I need a miracle....lol

[rhino]

Seen worse.
1) Never used it, but heard good things about an electronic clean called 'Blue Shower'
2) check the keyboard for a name: It looks like a Pratt-Reed. if so, you can still get rubber bushings on the web.
3) when you get it all pulled apart, take the metal keybed and other rusty parts and have a machine shop blast them with walnut hulls...sand blasting is too rough.
4) With everything out of it, it looks like the plastic case will clean up well with soap and water.
5) Use De-OX-It on all pins and connectors
6) scrap the XLR connectors and get new ones... Those outputs give a new meaning to "FUZZ" (lol)

[MIDI_Thru_Kid]

6) scrap the XLR connectors and get new ones... Those outputs give a new meaning to "FUZZ" (lol)

WOW. That's scary. It makes me scared to look at those. WOW. lol

I have no where near the experience rhino has with this stuff, but yeah, do all those things, and just give everything a good dusting/rinsing (maybe even soap and water on EVERYTHING... but I dunno how that would go down), minus of course the boards...

[EdGs]

Thanks Rhino, and MIDI

Yes, the keyboard is a pratt-reed, so that shouldn't be too bad.

The company I work for has a machine shop, but no sandblast equipment. There's a place down the street that does sand/bead blasting. I'll ask them about the walnut hulls. The prophet 5 I got along with this one had a rusted keybed too, but not as bad as this one. That one cleaned up OK with a fine wire wheel.

The gray you see on the labels is the clearcoat on top. I'm not sure how to address that issue without taking the lettering off with it.

De-Ox-it is good for the IC sockets too? Does it leave a residue that has to be rinsed out?

One good thing is that the switches and pots still have a good feel to them. I'm sure the sliders could use a lube job.

I believe I have heard of "Blue Shower". I think TV shops used it to clean the old click tuners and such.

The XLR's are a bit fuzzy, aren't they.

The Disk drive will be my biggest worry. The mechanism works and the motor is not frozen, so that's the best I can hope for at this point. Also, I have NO software at all. But I have talked with a couple of people that said they will help me out with a few disks for it.

I will post more pics as I take them. Thanks again for the help.

[rhino]

on second thought, maybe better to use Blue Shower II...it's milder.

if your budget can take a hit, CustomSynth in UK does AMAZING work restoring cabinet and panel lettering.

[EdGs]

I did a search for deoxit and found several different types they have. Which one would be best?

And would it need to be rinsed out after treatment?

I'll keep that label restorer in mind. I e-mailed someone awhile back about the panel labels, not sure if it was the same guy. I would have to send them over and it wasn't cheap, but I didn't expect it would be either. If I can get her up and running, I will give that a shot.

I still have to detach the pitch/depth wheel assembly from the case. Things are getting hectic at the house. It always seems to happen when I think I am going to get some peace and quiet to work on things, it never fails.

[madtheory]

Obviously get the electronics working before spending time on the cosmetics...

[EdGs]

My thoughts exactly.

So, which type of deoxit would be best for me? I saw that Radio Shack might have it, I will give them a ring.