|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Tips
& Tricks
|
New
Guide to Replacing ASR-X Rotary Encoders
(knobs) April
19, 2003 ~ Help
Wanted Productions
(David Talento) has posted a photographic
guide
to replacing the Rotary Encoders on an ASR-X
sampler using the Mouser
Electronics
Part Number 318-ENC160-24P. User response to
the Mouser replacement encoders has been nothing
but positive! Detailed
part description from HWP: Supplier:
Alpha/Xicon How
To Replace ASR-X Rotary Encoders (knobs) April
20, 2003 ~ The guide
to replacing the Rotary Encoders published at the
Help Wanted Productions website appears to have
been based in part on the original 'How To'
articles submitted by one time ASR-X list members
Aaaron, Michale A., Shifty, and UGO. I've
consolidated these three reports from seperate web
pages into one for ease of reference. Part
Three - June 2004
~ by Aaaron and Michale A.
June
4, 2002 ~ Trackstabber from the ASR-X list at
Yahoo! Groups reports on a source of replacement
Rotary Encoders he was VERY pleased with:
Mouser
Electronics
Part Number 318-ENC160-24P "All
right, so I got these encoders in this weekend.
They seem far better than the original ones. I
bought my ASR-X used, so I don't know how they felt
when they were new, but I do know that they were
jumping values all over the place. It took me a
while to get the first one in, but I got the second
one in about 30 minutes total. The hardest part was
removing the solder (just like I heard). To remove
the solder I used a solder remover that consisted
of a rubber bulb with a special heat resistant tip
(this was all I had on hand, I bought this at radio
shack several years ago). I ordered two types of
encoders, but the ones that fit were the 16 mm ones
(MOUSER# 318-ENC160-24P.) I got the encoder all the
way on the board when I realized when you put the
rubber knob back on the encoder, the PCB will no
longer fit on the metal front panel. These encoders
are slightly longer than the originals. I thought
of modifying the knob to make it fit, but I came up
with a better idea. I removed the knobs, installed
the board, and put the knobs on from the outside.
Now they stick out a little farther, but it was
much easier than drilling the knob. These encoders
are great. Let me know if anyone has any questions
about this." To
which Michael A. replied: "the
repair tech at the store I work at installed the
Mouser encoders a couple of months ago (I'm not
sure of the exact procedure, but I'm pretty sure he
did similarly to what you describe) and they've
worked great so far. They feel "stiffer" but I
don't find that to be a problem at all...especially
if they end up lasting longer than the original
parts. :)"
August
2001 ~ Shifty - another long time ASR-X user - was
inspired to contact E-mu (based in part on UGO's
experience) in regards to replacing/repairing
the worn Rotary Encoders (Knobs) on his original
ASR-X. Apparently
E-mu<>Ensoniq has outsourced the replacement
parts business to EPR Electronics in New York, New
York, USA. Read on... "Emu/Ensoniq
is giving the replacement parts business to a
company called EPR
Electronics.....so,
call them at (845) 343-1237. They are only $4.64
apiece! I just ordered 3 (you gotta think
ahead!)" September
2001 ~ Shifty posted a fellow up message to the
ASR-X list detailing his experience installing the
new knobs: "Yahoo!!!
I just replaced both the Parameter and Select knobz
on my black box and it works SUPER now. I can turn
them as fast as I want in either
direction...yes! It
took about an hour for the whole operation. I
removed the top panel, then removed the PCB from
the top panel. I left all the push buttons on but,
if I did it again I would remove them and protect
the screen with a piece of cloth taped over
it. Overall,
it used a LOT of desoldering braid from Radio
Shack, and my boring, old 20W soldering iron
sufficed. I first "braided" some of the solder from
the five connections on the top side of the board -
there are three small electrical ones and two large
mounting ones. Then I flipped the PCB over and
braided all of the solder off the bottom
connections... went through about 8 inches of
solder braid and burned my fingers quite a bit
;) Once
I got the bad encoderz off, getting the black
rubber knobs was tricky. After pulling on them with
pliers to no avail, I figured out the only real
method is to disassemble the encoder by pulling off
the four tabs. Then, you see the encoder wheel
inside. Kind of neat. You pry that wheel off with
e.g. a butter knife and voila the knob comes
off. Before
putting in the new pots, I revisited the holes with
the desoldering braid again to make sure the
through holes were completely clear. Then, popped
in the new encoderz and simply soldered. A lot
easier going in than coming out! Then,
before reassembling everything, I tested the black
box by putting a magazine (all paper-no staples)
over the ASR-X guts, resting the circuit board on
top of there, plugging in the ribbon cable and
turning on the box. I went promptly to track volume
and spun the knob all around. Beautiful!
Better than it ever was! (I got mine used). Also
the other knob is perfect. Now
I gotta attach all the screws, visit the green guy,
and get back to the rock!
February
2001 ~ Long time ASR-X user UGO posted the
following in regards to replacing/repairing the
worn Rotary Encoders (Knobs) on his original ASR-X.
The same scenarios should apply equally to both
models of ASR-X. Read on... Hey
Folks, I
finally got my X's rotary encoders fixed. No more
jumping parameters! Ensoniq parts are now being
handled through E-mu's parts department. At the
suggestion of Ensoniq's Eric Montgomery, I
contacted Michael Mastoris ( michaelm@e... ) in
E-mu's parts department. I
first contacted him back in November '00. At that
time they didn't have any encoders in stock but he
said he'd contact me when they did. By mid-January
I contacted him again to see if they had the parts
yet. Michael said that he'd check into it for me
and if they did, he'd send me two encoders free of
charge. I
didn't hear from him for weeks and I was beginning
to think that either the parts were no longer made
or he just forgot again...but lo and behold, a
package arrived last night from E-mu with two
encoders in it (I've already sent Michael a thank
you email.) I
don't know if sending free encoders is standard
practice or if I just caught Michael while he was
in a good mood. For anyone else out there who wants
to get encoders from E-mu...I do not suggest saying
"some guy said that he got his parts for free so I
want mine for free too." I'd suggest politely
stating your problems with the X's encoders and
asking how much replacements are, etc. Perhaps if
he is in a good mood then, you'll get your encoders
for free like I did. But other than that, I'd plan
on having to pay at least something. Now
the installation.... I
have some electronics/soldering experience but its
all on guitars and its not often that I ever have
to touch a circuit board. Upon first look, I
thought it could be a pretty easy job and figured
I'd just do it myself. Thankfully I decided to
enlist the assistance of an electronics tech friend
that has started working with me and I am happy I
did. Each
encoder is soldered to the board at 5 points. I
watched my friend remove the encoders and I could
tell that, although it was not too difficult for
him, it would have been a total pain in the ass for
me. Since its soldered at so many points, you cant
just de-solder a connection and move on to the next
one. you have to actually remove all the solder
from each connection before you can move on to the
next. Of course, while you are doing this, you also
have to be very carefully not to overheat the board
or else you can damage it. Basically, I don't
suggest doing this yourself unless you have real
experience with this sort of circuit board work;
Otherwise take your X to a tech. Once
you've removed the old ones, installing the new
encoders is a breeze. The lugs fit right into the
old slots and its an easy soldering job from
there. As
far as we could tell, the encoders for parameter
and value are exactly the same (same part numbers
on the encoders.) The new encoders were made by a
different manufacturer than the originals. The
first ones had no markings on them at all but the
new ones had the symbol of their maker.
Unfortunately I do not remember what company made
them but if anyone wants to know, I can ask my
friend. He was familiar with the manufacturer and
said that they make good stuff. The
final pain in the butt in the process is bolting
the board back on to the face plate. Getting all
those little buttons to line up again is a
challenge. My suggestion is to be patient and
careful. The switches seem very fragile when they
do not have the face plate supporting
them. I
just got my X home but so far the new encoders are
working just fine. They feel just like the old ones
did when they were new. Now I say this particularly
because, though they are no worse, they also don't
feel any more solid than the originals. For
example, they are still nowhere near as solid as
the wavetable selector on my Microwave XT. So I am
going to take it easy with the new encoders. I'm
going to make a point of being relatively patient
and gentle with them rather than giving them fast
spins when I'm scrolling through options. This time
I'd like to do what I can to make them
last. But
in the end I am very happy. I finally have a
properly functioning ASR-X again. Now I can
actually do stuff like *find* patches on my world
card! woohoo! :-) <-Ugo-> ................................................................ Mp3:
http://www.mp3.com/ugo |
||||||||||||
 |