By
Antonym
Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:04 am
man soldering is so easy. go get yourself a 8 dollar soldering gun from a hardware store or just order one off ebay (which i did). while you're at it get some solder at the hardware store or online. i was lucky to have some lying around already. make sure you get a kind that will melt at the temperature of your gun.
open up the mpc and unscrew the first board you see, into which the data wheel encoder and button triggers are located.
gently take this out. down at the bottom left there's a cord that's a bit tricky - what you're trying to do is release the cord from the black holder. it doesn't unplug like the other ones do. you'll see.
lift up the board and look at it. get your bearings and look at the backside of the board. every little gadget is held in by silver metal. with your gun, you will melt this metal and put another piece in its place.
it's not scary, it's not new or wild or dangerous. and don't worry, it's not backpacker. it's simple electronics repair. definitely worth learning how to do, especially if you have broken equipment lying around.
i learned how to do this on quarter inch cables, that was my first go at it. jumped from that to an MPC pad, and then to the data wheel encoder.