Tech Tip #2

This Tech Tip comes to us from Aaron Odabashian, Assistant CE at KNCI / KHTK in Sacramento, California, and regards the older Wheatstone A-6000 analog console.

I haven’t worked with the Wheatstone boards on a technical level for very long, but in my past 3 years I’ve found 3 things that can ease a repair or give insight to a failed module.

First, keep replacement channel on/off buttons pre-wired for quick replacement. That’s “EAO Retrofit Kit U-Red part 051006” and “EAO Retrofit Kit U-Yellow part 051007”. But be careful with the plastic nut which screws the assemly into place.

Second, be very, very gentle when handling channel modules which are out of the board. If you hear any “crackling” sounds when handling the circuit boards you may have broken factory solders on the IC chip holders. My experience has been with U4, U5, U6, U7, and U8.

Lastly, if you hear the “crackle” and your repaired module still isn’t working. Try pushing on the IC chip holders in an attempt to break them free from the circuit board. If it pops off, literally with a POP, carefully tin the connections on the circuit board and re-solder the holder back on the board one pin at a time. This may not look totally factory, depending on your soldering skills ;-) but is very effective. I’ve had great success with this process.

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