Stainless Steel Hollow Desoldering Needles
In the past, I used a solder sucker to remove components from a PCB... a cheap hand‑held tube with a spring inside
Recently, I discovered a fantastic method using stainless steel hollow desoldering needles and I now use this method exclusively which is perfect for use with the old‑style PCB's used on Roland, Yamaha, and Korg synths from the 1980's/1990's. I'm now able to desolder through‑hole components in about 1/2 the time plus... the removed components are extra clean from any excess solder. These cool things are only $2 for an 8‑piece set! Highly recommended!! These are easy to find on eBay. Just search for "Desoldering Needles"
The secret about using them is the "Spin & Press" technique. Place a hollow needle over the component lead, heat the trace, spin & press down in the PCB hole until the solder cools. The "Spin & Press" leaves an empty channel absent of solder. Super fast. After a couple of tries, you'll get the pattern down pat. This process leaves a nice empty hole in the PCB and a nearly solder‑free component
Here's an image of components I desoldered after a Noritake GU280 Display upgrade on a Roland Super JX‑10 synth. Nice and clean!
Click For Full-Size Image 
For only $2... take a chance
Note: I don't recommend using these needles for removing components from some of the newer style double‑sided PCB's because solder will stick to components on the opposite side. A solder sucker or solder wick are still the best methods for some of the newer style double‑sided PCB's
For smaller SMD/SMT components, these needles and a solder sucker obviously won't work. Someone recently recommended that I try using the Chemtronics 10‑5L Solder Wick for smaller components and I was very impressed. It does a fantastic job when removing SMD/SMT components and also works great for larger components as well. I tried using a desoldering wick years ago but I couldn't make it work. I didn't realize the secret was buying one with rosin flux in the braid core which greatly increases the wicking process
Weller™ WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station
The price of the Weller WLC100 is so low at ±$39 (USD) that I bought an extra one as a backup in the unlikely event this one craps out.
The WLC100 comes standard with a large wedge‑style soldering tip (4.75mm x 19.0mm). That tip works well for common tasks but I prefer a conical shaped tip for detailed work. The tip I use most often for synthesizer repairs and through‑hole Eurorack module builds is one made by Apex Tool Group. The size is (0.8mm x 19.0mm), the part number is ST‑7 and it's available for $4 (USD) here at Mouser
Xicon™ Knurled Nut Driver - P/N: 382-0006
The Xicon knurled nut driver is a must if you work on any Eurorack DIY projects. At only $8 (USD) it's a great tool to keep handy. For Erthenvar, Thonkiconn and some other 3.5mm jacks, you will need to very slightly file down the edges of the points to make it a good fit. You can find the Xicon P/N: 382‑0006 at mouser.com here
In the past, I had some unused epoxy glue cones which work extremely well for hand‑tight fitting. In fact, the plastic grips the knurled nut so well that you need to be careful that you don't over‑tighten them. Just pop the knurled nut in the large end and screw it on. Each one had an advantage. The epoxy cones were free and the Xicon is easier to use because of the center guide post
| Model 801 Resistor Lead Forming Tool - P/N: 5166-801 | |
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This was the best $5 I've ever spent. This resistor lead bending tool speeds up productivity like you would not believe. Resistor placement is more accurate. It also works well for electrolytic capacitors, LED's and other components which need to be placed in oddball positions on a PCB. The Model 801 is for 1/4W resistors, the most common size for Eurorack projects. You can find this useful gadget at mouser.com here and Small Bear Electronics here |
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Aven™ Adjustable Circuit Board Holder - P/N: 17010
Another gadget I can't do without. This one has rubber feet and is constructed using some very thick steel so it's weighted down. The heavy steel makes it nice and durable for extended use. At only $11 (USD), this is a great one to keep on your workbench. It allows 360° rotation and sideways adjustments for PCB's up to 7.8". It also has locking thumbwheels to keep the PCB from turning during work. Excellent for easy soldering/desoldering/inspection. The lowest price I've seen is at amazon.com here
| Mega328 Tester (also known as the LCR-T4 Tester) | |
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I like to test all new components before soldering them onto a PCB. When I found this cool gadget it was a dream come true. This very low‑cost and extremely useful device is able to test Diodes, Resistors, Transistors, LED's, Capacitors, Inductors and more. Simply plug a component into the ZIF socket and press a button to test the value(s) I really like using this tool because I'm able to very quickly match paired transistors. When testing transistors, it displays the hFE, Emitter Forward Bias Voltage and will also display which pins are the Collector, Emitter and Base. This is very useful because it shows the correct orientation so you can ensure it's plugged into your PCB the right way before soldering in place! The ZIF socket will let you insert transistors in any orientation and will determine the correct pinouts automatically. It's powered by a 9V battery and has an auto shut‑off feature to prolong battery life. You can find these on eBay and Amazon for less than $14 (USD) Make sure the one you buy has an acrylic case included so it's protected from ESD!!! Many of the lower priced models do not include an acrylic case. I bought mine on eBay from a USA based vendor and the cost was under $14 (USD) with free shipping Value min / max for component testing are: Resistors: 0.1 Ω to 50M Ω Inductors: 0.01 µH to 20 H Capacitors: 25 pF to 100K µF LED's: Displays Forward Bias Voltage, Capacitance & Anode/Cathode Pinout Transistors: Automatic Detection Of NPN, PNP & N‑Channel/P‑Channel MOSFET's |
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Fiberglass Scratch Pen
This economy $3 tool works great for cleaning up previously soldered PCB boards and preparing them for soldering new components in place. Any solder remnants are easily removed by using the abrasive fiberglass tip which makes the old copper traces appear like magic. The tip is quite long. As it wears down, you can twist the top cap and add more length. It lasts a long, long time. Another excellent tip supplied by Guy Wilkinson ;^)
Soldering Tip
I was always annoyed when trying to keep IC sockets in place while soldering. This is a simple and low cost tool you can make easily
Deep Well Sockets For Hand Tightening Hex Nuts
There is always the right tool for the right job. I could never find any nut drivers deep enough to work with the tall potentiometer shafts and mini toggle switches. Pliers would sometimes leave nicks and scratches on the panel if I was slightly off the mark. I finally found the solution and now use deep well sockets to hand tighten hex nuts for Alpha pots, Toggle Switches, Momentary Switches, LED Bezels and 3.5mm Hex Jacks. However, when working on my car or other projects outdoors, I found that some of my deep sockets were always missing and sitting on my audio bench inside the house. For convenience, I purchased a couple extra deep sockets for exclusive use at my audio workbench. I cover the top section with tubeshrink which gives me a better grip when turning. Deep well sockets can be found on eBay for less than $2 each. 8mm and 10mm are the best ones to keep around
Note: Most standard height sockets will not work because the extra height of the potentiometer shaft and buttons prevents the socket from fitting all the way down to the panel
Crimpers
I've saved an incredible amount of money over the years by making my own cables. Investing in an inexpensive crimp tool will quickly pay for itself after making only a few cables
Model: G-214 is an inexpensive crimp tool for IDC Ribbon Connectors. This model comes standard with a yellow plastic insert adapter (P/N: HT‑214) for use with most of the common sized IDC Ribbon Connectors up to 40 pins (55mm). I found this brand new crimp tool at Amazon for only $14 (USD) with 2‑day Prime Delivery. If you want to wait for the slow boat delivery, I've seen it available at eBay for only $11 (USD) with free shipping
Model: SN-28B Is a low‑cost crimper used for extremely small wire crimps on JST‑SM and Dupont connectors. These style crimp connectors are used on the JX‑10, MKS‑70, JV‑880, Alpha Juno, S‑Series, W‑Series and many other Roland synthesizers/samplers from the 1980's and 1990's era. It's able to crimp wire sizes from 28AWG through 18AWG; I found this brand new crimp tool from a USA based seller on eBay for less than $17 (USD) w/free shipping. Some of the older style Roland connectors and crimp inserts can be found at mouser.com. Newer style connectors and crimp inserts can be found at taydaelectronics.com at this link
DIY Oscilloscope - Only $17 !!!
(Includes Everything Except A Power Supply (Range: 9V to 12V and 200mA / Center Tap Positive)
I decided to take a gamble and bought a DIY DSO138 Oscilloscope. For only $17 I figured it wouldn't be a huge loss if it was junk. After using it for a while I'm quite pleased with the build and how useful it is for use with my synthesizers and Eurorack setup. It was an easy build and it even has a built‑in square wave signal generator to make calibration super simple. It's been working great and I've been using it to calibrate all of my DIY Eurorack modules. No more guessing by using my ears to set them up ;^) Soldering the miniature SMD components was a breeze... but I'm glad there weren't very many of them. Such an amazing price for what this thing can do!!! It's a great bench tool for audio applications. Obviously, it can't compare with a $300 oscilloscope so it doesn't have Dual Trace but it is able to measure up to 200kHz... plenty for audio applications. It also has an adjustable trigger level position, previous trigger waveform display and freeze waveform display (HOLD Screen Function). Unlike the one shown in the video, a very nice acrylic case was also included with the +/- 90 through hole and SMD parts. A coaxial 2‑lead probe with alligator clips is also included. This build took about two hours to complete
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Hairline Solder Fractures I buy a lot of broken gear on eBay and I'm able to fix about 90% of everything I find. It's usually a simple fix. If you have a synth with no power, intermittent problems after it warms up or external equipment like a PG‑800 or MIDI gear not working, it's probably due to the fact that back in the 1980's and 1990's, Roland and other synth makers used sub‑par solder and/or not enough solder to hold components in place 
After 30+ years, the solder begins to break down and hairline fractures appear. This occurs at a higher rate for components which generate a lot of heat like Bridge Rectifiers, Power Transistors, large Electrolytic Capacitors, power input jacks, MIDI connectors and audio sockets which get a lot of use. The best approach is to use a magnifying glass and carefully inspect the backside of the circuit board. If you spot any suspect areas, re‑flow a hefty amount of NEW solder |
Favorite DIY Vendors
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Tayda Electronics is the premier place to find discounts on IC's, knobs, transistors, diodes, stripboards, switches, and a zillion other DIY parts. Shipping is quick and accurate. Nobody comes close to Tayda's selection, service and prices. Nobody!
Note: Although I can't say anything good or bad about the capacitors they sell, I highly recommend buying your capacitors elsewhere. Although Tayda has started carrying quality brand name capacitors such as Panasonic and WIMA, their selection of capacitance values is quite limited compared to Mouser  Tayda Electronics |
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Mouser has the hard to find IC's and capacitors you need. I recommend buying ALL of your capacitors from Mouser and select only quality brand name manufacturers such as Nichicon, WIMA and Panasonic. The discount cheapo brands from eBay will probably give you more problems down the road in less than 10 years time. Most of the synth repairs I fix are a result of off‑brand capacitor failures. Mouser offers discount economy shipping in the USA for less than $4 (USD) on most orders. My only gripe about Mouser is when ordering batteries, economy shipping is not an option because they can't be sent on an airplane. The shipping ends up being costly. It's always best to buy a quantity of 100 pieces. The quantity discounts are enormous. Case and point... if you buy QUAN:1 of RC0805FR‑0710KL (a 10K Resistor) it's 10¢/each. If you buy QUAN:100 it's only 60¢ for all 100... compared to buying one at a time, that's a savings of $9.40!!! Mouser Electronics
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Keyboard Kountry has a large selection of hard to find synth repair parts. Some new, some used. Roland, Korg, Yamaha, Ensoniq and more. I've used them as a source for finding keys, bender bars, springs, encoders and other items to save my synths from extinction and brought them back to life Keyboard Kountry
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Modular Addict is an excellent DIY Eurorack parts distributor. The selection of DIY Kits, PCB's and Panels is vast. They also have a Components Page with obscure and custom synth parts. Free and very quick shipping for orders over $100 (USD) and also discounted International Shipping. Their selection of new and value priced braided patch cables and custom knobs are worth drooling over. Very nice!!! ModularAddict
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Pusherman is a great place for Eurorack PCB/Panel sets at incredibly low prices. They have a huge inventory of hard to find DIY projects and provide excellent after‑sales support via their Facebook page Pusherman |
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Cabintech Global is a USA vendor which manufactures and sells modern remakes of hard‑to‑find classic Roland synth IC's such as the MN3005, MN3007 and MN3009 plus the elusive CoolAudio V2164 Quad VCA IC Cabintech Global
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Super Synthesizer Projects is a U.K. based website which has a wide range of helpful tips and tricks for maintaining several types of Roland, Yamaha, Korg, Akai and other synthesizer brands. I've picked up an amazing amount of useful material here Super Synthesizer Projects |
| These are some of the known good vendors I use on a regular basis to buy uncommon IC's not found at Tayda, Mouser and elsewhere: JK_Parts Store - Brand new, low priced, quality blank EPROMs for all your 80's and 90' synth firmware projects UT Source - An enormous selection of hard to find IC's used on 1980's, 1990's and modern day synths Semi Surplus - Another good source for hard to find IC's used on 1980's and 1990's synth gear |
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Counterfeit IC's
In the past, I used to buy a lot of IC's from eBay vendors based in Asia. Over time, I've found that the amount of counterfeit and defective IC's I've received have not been worth the money I've saved. After all the hassles and time spent troubleshooting a defective build because it used a bogus IC, I end up wishing I had paid the extra dollar for an IC from Mouser. I no longer buy any IC's from eBay. There are a few exceptions such as new blank EPROMs and the CoolAudio V2164 Quad VCA (both from known good vendors). Although I'm sure a lot of IC's from Tayda Electronics are sourced from Asia, they do an excellent job of preventing counterfeits and defective batches by screening the products they sell. I've never received a defective IC from Tayda Electronics or any other vendor listed above
Below is an interesting document from the Components Technology Institute which details how counterfeiters make IC's and how you can spot fakes. Some of the counterfeiting process involves reusing IC's pulled from old PCB's, recoating the surface and relabeling them using lasers or silkscreen printing. Using new IC's which failed quality control and relabeling them is also a common practice. It's hard to imagine spending the time and effort to counterfeit a 75¢ chip! I guess it's worth it if you can sell enough of them
http://www.cti-us.com/pdf/CCAP-101InspectExamplesA6.pdf
Scanning electron microscope detail showing laser etching used for relabeling an IC
| If you find some of this DIY info useful, please consider donating a small amount. All donations are used for future DIY synth development. Thanks! | 
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The Information On This Page Is Current As Of
