Roland SH-101 questions

[Mike Craig]

A good friend of mine has just got his old SH101 out of the loft, he mentioned that a couple of pots aren't working correctly, so I will point him in the direction of this thread.

He also said that a couple of the white keys have been snapped off - does anyone know if replacement keys are available?

Many thanks,

Mike.

[Kwaidan]

@ Scottishmick, try ebay uk, i got a couple of replacement keys for mine from a seller on there. He sells 101 spares including keys.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/adam9816/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

[Mike Craig]

He sells 101 spares including keys.

Indeed he does!! Thanks Kwaidan!

[Sam Inglis]

Update: I have been told by those in the know that it's probably a blown op-amp chip. Not sure if that's a repair that's within my powers...

[Martin Walker]

Hi Sam,

If you have a way of narrowing down which opamp then it’s not that difficult to replace one - often the trickiest part is getting the old one out.

Trying to remove an opamp as a single unit will probably do more bad than good with excessive temperatures on the circuit board.

Depending on its package design (and on a synth of that vintage I doubt that its will have too many ‘legs’) the easiest way is usually to snip all its ‘legs’ individually near the chip itself so that the chip bit falls off, and then you can use a desoldering device to remove each ‘leg’ separately and suck away the solder to leave a set of clean holes ready to drop in the replacement opamp.

Martin

[Sam Inglis]

Thanks Martin,

Good thinking. If I can find a way to identify the faulty chip and find a suitable substitute, I'll have a go. My tame all-knowing SH-101 expert suggests the culprit might be one of the LM2209 op-amps, in which case there are only four legs each side to deal with. Any idea what might be a good modern alternative to that chip?

cheers
Sam

[forumuser695516]

I was just looking here: www.vintageplanet.nl (a company i've used for old synth bits before). It doesn't list a LM2209 for the SH101, but does have a 9022 opamp. The same number, reversed?!
If that is what you need, then fortunately it is not pricey..

Paul

[Sam Inglis]

d'oh. Yes of course I mean IR 9022

[forumuser695516]

d'oh. Yes of course I mean IR 9022

Ahh good In which case you won't need any modern substitute, as they are only 2 or 3 quid each from that company I mentioned. I expect the postage will amount to more than the part itself though. That said, I think there is more than 1 in there? I don't know if you wanted to change all of them to be safe, or track down which is at fault first?
It wouldn't hurt to check continuity of those jumper/ribbon cables while you are in there too, as they break pretty easily.

Paul

PS, scottishmick . The above company also seems to have stock of those white key caps too. Not so cheap though!

[Sam Inglis]

Vintage Planet's minimum order is 15 Euros plus postage, which I guess is OK, but if I can nip down to Maplin and pick up something suitable for 50p it would be easier.

I guess it's academic anyway, until I can figure out for certain which chip is at fault.

[DragonLogos]

WD40 is for water displacement and not really recommended for contact cleaning. Caig's De Oxit or other similar cleaners are recommended.

is this a personnel expereance, have you tested WD20 for contact cleaning properties for some period of time?

[zenguitar]

WD40 is not, and never has been, a contact cleaner. But because it happened to work well at expelling water from vehicle HT electrics people who didn't know better promoted it as a contact cleaner. You will notice the there is no mention of contact cleaner on the can

Andy

[Mike Craig]

WD40 is useful for "drying out" electrical systems where moisture is present. This can help to remove any short-circuits caused by the moisture bridging the gap between bare electrical contacts. This makes it ideal for maintenance to vehicle electrical systems, where moisture is a problem. WD40 also helps to remove any covering of rust from bare metal parts (effectively washing it away).

Deoxidising/Deoxidizing solutions, such as Deoxit, chemically dissolve the surface corrosion, leaving a clean metal surface (good conductor) without oxide debris, which is what you need within your pots/sliders on your Synthesizer.

[DragonLogos]

WD40 is not, and never has been, a contact cleaner. But because it happened to work well at expelling water from vehicle HT electrics people who didn't know better promoted it as a contact cleaner. You will notice the there is no mention of contact cleaner on the can

Andy

Is this a personnel expereance, have you tested WD40 for contact cleaning properties for some period of time?

Now the reason that this question has been put forward is that in 1979 the reps for WD40 asked me to try out their product in my workshop, giving me a very broad base on what it would work on... four big cans of the stuff were purchased so it could be used and evaluated as the need would arise.

There are a few things that can be said about contact cleaners, like tuner cleaners and such, but as far as general contact cleaners go WD40 is fine and you are all welcome to cast the first stone if it is otherwise

[zenguitar]

To be fair, I haven't run personal long term tests. To some extent I am repeating the information given to me others far better qualified than I am, my amp tech and a handful of ex Royal Navy & merchant navy electricians among them. But that doesn't detract from my main point, the manufacturers make no claim for WD40 to be a contact cleaner beyond automotive use.

I am more than happy to be proved wrong, because WD40 is easy to find and cheaper than more specialist cleaners.

Andy