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Newbie Board Repair

Paul R Owen

Paul R Owen

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Joined
Nov 15, 2011
Messages
1,778
Location
Southport
I have a string of lamps out on my Roadshow & have been advised that it is a fault on the Driver Board. Specifically it appears to be a TP107 at Q92 (this is a small block thingy sticking out of the board).
Question – how easy is it to remove this & replace with a new one. This will be my first ever board repair!
 
As long as you have the right tools, simple. I recapped my Data East PSU which was my first real soldering experience.

Get a solder sucker and some de-soldering braid, along with some IPA to clean off the flux, you can't really go wrong just be careful not to lift the trace when desoldering it. Maybe even cut it off the board then remove each leg individually to lessen the chance of that happening.
 
Do plenty of reading/watching vids of how to solder/desolder etc. And if possible at least have a practice on some scrap stuff.

It's not that hard ...but like anything at first its really easy to make a dogs dinner of it if you are not properly prepared and have the right tools.

This covers everything very well - don't start calling it sodder though ;)


 
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Yes, you can heat the leg directly and feel the individual legs move out which is far safer for the tracks.
 
Thanks for the advice Folks. The first thing I need to do is buy a multi-meter and learn how to use it. Then I want to prove to myself that this board has the fault described. This could be a steep learning-curve - watch this space :eek: :confused::mad:
 
keep us informed dude, i'm at the same level as you. i think i know sometimes how to diagnose a few things, but have never replaced a transistor
 
Carl Spiby said:
I got all my soldering bits from CPC, cost around £20 for the soldering starter kit and about £3 for my dmm :p
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Carl , you big spender , you.
Throwing your money about like that, we are going to have to start calling you reckless Carl.
 
look on pinwiki guides for repair advice.
loads of opinions on how to replace a tranny(cue Dan...)
I tend to cut off fooked item,leaving in hte legs,then desolder them,and use a sucker or wick to clean out the thru hole

poi
 
TYHO said:
plus string of lamps could just be GI lighting and the usual burnt connector problems
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Thanks Chris, Andy Foster fixed all the GI issues but this one string of lamps remains out. He reckons it is this particular "thing" on the board. However, I want to prove this to myself by testing with a multimeter first before proceeding further :eek: :confused::mad:
 
Paul R Owen said:
I have a string of lamps out on my Roadshow & have been advised that it is a fault on the Driver Board. Specifically it appears to be a TP107 at Q92 (this is a small block thingy sticking out of the board).
Question – how easy is it to remove this & replace with a new one. This will be my first ever board repair!
Click to expand...

In my experience one duff transistor is unlikely to cause a string to be out - it's more likely to be a break in the wiring, connector issues or the LM339 driver chip (easily damaged when someone shorts a bulb). The 339 controls the transistors...
 
Moonraker said:
In my experience one duff transistor is unlikely to cause a string to be out - it's more likely to be a break in the wiring, connector issues or the LM339 driver chip (easily damaged when someone shorts a bulb). The 339 controls the transistors...
Click to expand...
Peter - how can I test if it is this LM339 chip?
 
Paul R Owen said:
Peter - how can I test if it is this LM339 chip?
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Long time since I tested one - I vaguely recollect using meter and checking the input and output on which ever pin it was driving the transistor(s) concerned. You can do it for a working line to see what happens then do it again for your suspect line and if the results are different then you know it's likely to be the chip.

When giving advice like this I have to assume people know of earthing precautions and how to use meters, etc.
 
I have used a logic probe before to test LM339's but I have since been informed they are not logic chips.

I hook that up to a 5v supply on the board and then check the pins at the connector to see if they pulse on the TTL setting. As Pete says, check a working line to see if what a good pulse looks like and a bad one becomes easy to spot.
You can pick them up at maplins, amazon etc for about £15 so not a super cheap tool for something that is only used a few times.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/logic-probe-fy73q

I haven't seen the logic probe for a while so I would now just be inclined to cut the old LM339 out and socket it, then pop a new one in.
 
Moonraker said:
Long time since I tested one - I vaguely recollect using meter and checking the input and output on which ever pin it was driving the transistor(s) concerned. You can do it for a working line to see what happens then do it again for your suspect line and if the results are different then you know it's likely to be the chip.

When giving advice like this I have to assume people know of earthing precautions and how to use meters, etc.
Click to expand...

As I don't know about earthing precautions or meter use I am not going to proceed as I don't want to cause damage somewhere else. Is it possible, to remove this board and deliver to someone who knows what they are doing for them to test - or does it need to be in the machine to test?
 
I may be wrong, but I don't think there are any lm339s involved in the GI strings. Each if the 5 strings has a triac - in 13 years I have never seen a faulty one. It's nearly always a broken track, often on the component side of the board under the connector so you can't see it. I offer a mail repair service of these boards.
 
And I've only just realised its controlled lamp string not GI. So ignore my GI comments.
 
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