Jolly Repairman with Amazing Skills!

[Hipster Doofus]

Ok I have been asleep a little while what the heck do I do with all my MQA DACS now…WAS THAT all really a scam

 

[deprogrammed]

It's a pity his soldering and desoldering skills are so poor. In every video, he tends to absolutely wreck PCBs that are easy to remove components from. He tears lands off, rips traces and poorly applies solder when he resolders. Then spends a lifetime 'repairing' the damage he deliberately did. I've spend decades on 1970s/80s and 90s audio and Japanese PCBs are a piece of cake to not damage. I cringe when I see his poor joints and terrible practices.

Lifted copper traces is a sign of a lazy technician, who thinks more heat makes faster work. Drop the temperature, slow down and do quality work. Clean up between takes. Clean up afterwards.

Ultrasonic cleaning is NOT the solution for cleaning switches, selectors and pots. Not only does it strip the silicone shaft lubricant, it doesn't clean oxide off at all. And it can destroy the resistive track altogether in a pot. The shafts/contacts will corrode and deteriorate. It can only be done properly by a complete dismantling and cleaning with metal polish, detergents, ultrasonic, reassembly and lubrication etc. De-oxit is a crap product. It destroys nylon, cracks plastics and is just a short term band-aid solution to get stuff out the door.

For those of us who have been properly restoring and rebuilding classic HiFi for many decades, these clowns in their garden shed with a Youtube channel are just something to shake our heads at.

Time for some fresh air?

 

[SSS]

It's because he desolders and then doesn't individually move each pin laterally to separate them from the land before prising the switch/pot off the board.

Yes, this the text book way to unsolder components. But on some PC boards the hole was so narrow that no lateral movement was feasible. So the only way was to heat the joint with the solder iron tip and when solder is fluid then extract the component.

 

[solderdude]

In such cases (pads lifting or tearing) I add a wire around it (to create a new island) just to be sure.
In the video I thought the contact made with the pin of a device that has movement in it was not as I would hand it back to a customer.

I agree that potmeters (and switches) should be taken apart if possible (most older ones can) cleaned and put back together if you don't want a customer nagging about the repairs a year or so later.

 

[SSS]

I have only watched a few of his videos. In this video it does seem like some of the landings were stripped. When this happened in my days as a repairman, I cursed the crap PCB material that did that, not someone's technique. I would get gear that if you breathed on it, the traces would come off requiring repair. And yes, this included Japanese gear.

Lands strip off happened sometimes during my repairs. It is bad glue between the trace and the board. When the component to replace is multipin then just resolder the pin and all is OK. Otherwise bend the wire prior to soldering.

 

[solderdude]

For switches and potmeters bending the pins is not recommended because A: they can break off, B: They will be hard to get out again (when needed for some reason).
For other components (caps resistors, transistors etc.) this trick will work fine.
When the whole island is gone you can even scratch some soldermask from the track and solder the bent pin directly to it.

 

[SSS]

For switches and potmeters bending the pins is not recommended because A: they can break off, B: They will be hard to get out again (when needed for some reason).
For other components (caps resistors, transistors etc.) this trick will work fine.

You are right. I did not mention pots and switches, just other components only. And SMD components are a different story.

 

[Karlinamillion]

Does anybody know what the foaming spray he uses to remove dust is called?

Also, I hope he is extracting the fumes from those old (lead) joints!

 

[solderdude]

Fumes from solder is not the lead but rather the wetting agent.
To evaporate lead the temperature needs to be 1750oC

 

[Apesbrain]

Really enjoyed the video, but there's no way a mediocre 45 year-old Technics integrated amp is worth that investment of time and money.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Lifted copper traces is a sign of a lazy technician, who thinks more heat makes faster work.

Not sure i can agree to that.
I restore old Macintosh computers of the Motorola 680x0 era. Almost all of the boards have tiny aluminium caps that leak, then eat away at the main board. Removing them usually lifts a pad or two, as the glue between PCB and copper trace or sometimes the copper trace itself are decayed.
That isn't fatal, most of the time you can lay a fine wire over the damaged trace and glue it in place with UV hardening lacquer. You paint the wire in place and use a UV emitting flash light to harden it. Another solution is to use botch wires, whatever makes sense.

@restorer-john Please stop reading here.

I recently restored a Macintosh SE/30:

• replaced all electrolytic caps with ceramic ones on the board
• leaked caps had eaten some traces, i fixed them using various hack jobs
• drifted caps in the power supply prevented reliable operation and where replaced
• a plastic gear in the floppy drive shrank over the years on it's axis, got brittle and broke, ordered a 3d printed replacement
• the anti flame retardant bromine in the enclosures plastic yellowed, i used UV light (sun light) and hydrogen peroxide solution in a Ikea container to get it back to it's original color
• Removed the harddisk for a SCSI2SD, a SCSI "adapter" for SD cards

And i restored a Quadra 700 lately too:

• the 4.5v lithium battery from the early 90ies leaked, luckily most of the ooze dripped into the plastic enclosure and only ate the EM shielding
• The Quadra 700 and 650 boards have the same form factor. The 650 is vastly more powerful, but the 700 is more beautiful and collectors look for them all the time. So i transplanted the 650 power supply and main board into the 700 enclosure.
• Clockchipped the 650 board from 33MHz to 40MHz by replacing it's crystal
• Replaced all caps in the power supply, just in case
• Removed the harddisk for a SCSI2SD, a SCSI "adapter" for SD cards

My restorations in hifi are limited to replacing caps, fuses and lots of rubber belts.
Anyway, everyone like pictures, here are some.

Cleaning out a closet full of densely packed retro computing stuff, it all exploded into my listening room:

Some retrobrighted mice, the second one is a Sun optical mouse from 88 i think. I was very pleased with the results:

Optical sensors and light focusing glass beads in that Sun mouse:

The retrobrighting process as i do it. 20l 15% hydrogen peroxyde go into a tub, the yellowed part goes into the tub, and you put it out into the sun for a few days.

Here is an example of typical yellowing, mind you, this is not a smokers work, it's bromide used as a flame retardant in the plastic that oxidizes:

This SE/30 had severe yellowing, but looks very nice now:

Ordered embroidered dust caps from Italy, this hobby is a pricey one:

Here i was 3d printing a Mac-Style RaspberryPi case which became a SCSI to ethernet bridge, getting the color right is important.

Had to order a bespoke color filament, not cheap:

The black RPi case was a prototype to see if the SCSI hat fits. Printing in the right color there:

Some other stuff awaiting restoration. Soon[TM]:

 

[TheBatsEar]

Really enjoyed the video, but there's no way a mediocre 45 year-old Technics integrated amp is worth that investment of time and money.

I for one don't have to make money with it. If i fail i just give the broken device to recycling.
For me it's a hobby, maybe like a puzzle. Totally worth my time.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Does anybody know what the foaming spray he uses to remove dust is called?

I suppose it's just regular foam cleaner.

Note how it changed the suede leather into smooth leather with sparkles ;-).

 

[restorer-john]

Not sure i can agree to that.
I restore old Macintosh computers of the Motorola 680x0 era. Almost all of the boards have tiny aluminium caps that leak, then eat away at the main board. Removing them usually lifts a pad or two, as the glue between PCB and copper trace or sometimes the copper trace itself are decayed.
That isn't fatal, most of the time you can lay a fine wire over the damaged trace and glue it in place with UV hardening lacquer. You paint the wire in place and use a UV emitting flash light to harden it. Another solution is to use botch wires, whatever makes sense.

I recently restored a Macintosh SE/30:

• replaced all electrolytic caps with ceramic ones on the board
• leaked caps had eaten some traces, i fixed them using various hack jobs
• drifted caps in the power supply prevented reliable operation and where replaced
• a plastic gear in the floppy drive shrank over the years on it's axis, got brittle and broke, ordered a 3d printed replacement
• the anti flame retardant bromine in the enclosures plastic yellowed, i used UV light (sun light) and hydrogen peroxide solution in a Ikea container to get it back to it's original color
• Removed the harddisk for a SCSI2SD, a SCSI "adapter" for SD cards

And i restored a Quadra 700 lately too:

• the 4.5v lithium battery from the early 90ies leaked, luckily most of the ooze dripped into the plastic enclosure and only ate the EM shielding
• The Quadra 700 and 650 boards have the same form factor. The 650 is vastly more powerful, but the 700 is more beautiful and collectors look for them all the time. So i transplanted the 650 power supply and main board into the 700 enclosure.
• Clockchipped the 650 board from 33MHz to 40MHz by replacing it's crystal
• Replaced all caps in the power supply, just in case
• Removed the harddisk for a SCSI2SD, a SCSI "adapter" for SD cards

My restorations in hifi are limited to replacing caps, fuses and lots of rubber belts.
Anyway, everyone like pictures, here are some.

Cleaning out a closet full of densely packed retro computing stuff, it all exploded into my listening room:
View attachment 313781

Some retrobrighted mice, the second one is a Sun optical mouse from 88 i think. I was very pleased with the results:
View attachment 313780

Optical sensors and light focusing glass beads in that Sun mouse:
View attachment 313782

The retrobrighting process as i do it. 20l 15% hydrogen peroxyde go into a tub, the yellowed part goes into the tub, and you put it out into the sun for a few days.
View attachment 313783

Here is an example of typical yellowing, mind you, this is not a smokers work, it's bromide used as a flame retardant in the plastic that oxidizes:
View attachment 313784

This SE/30 had severe yellowing, but looks very nice now:
View attachment 313786
View attachment 313791

Ordered embroidered dust caps from Italy, this hobby is a pricey one:
View attachment 313790

Here i was 3d printing a Mac-Style RaspberryPi case which became a SCSI to ethernet bridge, getting the color right is important.
View attachment 313788

Had to order a bespoke color filament, not cheap:
View attachment 313792

The black RPi case was a prototype to see if the SCSI hat fits. Printing in the right color there:
View attachment 313793

Some other stuff awaiting restoration. Soon[TM]:
View attachment 313794

What has ‘retro brighting’ got to do with poor desoldering, removal, cleaning and resoldering skills, huh? Totally unrelated is the answer.

 

[JSmith]

What has ‘retro brighting’ got to do with poor desoldering, removal, cleaning and resoldering skills, huh? Totally unrelated is the answer.

I did enjoy the retro PC pr0n though, even if it was a Mac.


JSmith

 

[NTK]

What has ‘retro brighting’ got to do with poor desoldering, removal, cleaning and resoldering skills, huh? Totally unrelated is the answer.

Vintage equipment restoration, functional and also cosmetic.

 

[TheBatsEar]

What has ‘retro brighting’ got to do with poor desoldering, removal, cleaning and resoldering skills, huh? Totally unrelated is the answer.

I added a mark that tells you not to read further than you need to:

You can thank me later.

No need to apologize either, it's implied.

In summary, this thread is about a Hobbit man doing nifty repairs, using all kinds of tricks and machinery, not particularly about soldering alone.

 

[Hipocrates]

I tried to watch that guy, but honestly while I guess he can be entertaining for some folks, but IMHO.... IF someone want to learn about fixing and reconditioning vintage stuff, and want to grab some good tips, I think they can learn much more and quite frankly see way more interesting gear on xraytonyb or Ray Gianelli's channel.