I really like playing music, recording it has been historically difficult. This is mostly because I am too cheap to shell out for adequate hardware. After trying to fix a tape deck for a good 2 hours (post on that if it ever happens...) , I figured my time was better spent fixing my roommates 4-track recorder - and so I dove in!
The problem was a simple one, the unit would frequently turn itself off, unless you held the plug just-so. From having spent too much time fixing shitty electronics, I knew that this was simply a matter of re-heating the solder joint on the DC barrel plug.
The barrel plug is in the bottom-right of the image - a quick inspection found the culprit as suspected:
The problem was a simple one, the unit would frequently turn itself off, unless you held the plug just-so. From having spent too much time fixing shitty electronics, I knew that this was simply a matter of re-heating the solder joint on the DC barrel plug.
Some obligatory circuit porn
Pro tip: you never want crack in your joint
As you can see, part of the PCB has actually lifted off with the solder lug! Time to bust out the ol' iron:
$2 soldering iron - eat it Weller
For all the newbies out there, notice the wet paper towel - always keep your tool clean. Seriously, you'll double the life of your iron! Simply heat up the joint, jam in some solder, and presto!
Lifted trace? Meet excessive solder-blob
The repaired joint is the top-left of the group of four. If you look close, you can see that the piece of lifted PCB is just kinda floating there - I fixed this by piling on the solder, but a better fix might be to remove the busted piece and re-connect the solder lug to a point further down the circuit with some wire.
Showed him who's boss.
And that's how its done! hopefully someone out there finds this useful, I've seen this problem many times and It's a super easy fix!
Troy
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