Socketing

[rarara]

hey - what are you using for 733 and the likes? cheapest seems to be chopping some 6 pin DIPs in half. are these ok for long term or would you always solder once you were happy? question also applies to caps too.

[antto]

i've been using these, they come in long rows and i chop them up as needed..

[rarara]

hi antto - many thanks as usual.

do they have a specific name? are they also a) easy to push transistors into and b) hold them secure once they are in?

also, and apologies for being completely off topic, i put the n0n0x back on a few days ago to refresh my memory. made me think - has any A/B comparison of the same pattern between n0n0x (or any other OS) and a 303 been performed that you are aware of, to see if the sequencing itself differs? obviously this would only be valid if someone had got their x0x to sound identical to their 303

[antto]

http://www.jprelec.co.uk/store.asp/c=45 ... ket-Strips
"turned-pin SIL sockets"
in my country they call em "reika" with round-holes..
those sockets - i'm very happy with them
you can bend the legs of the transistor/cap/whatever a bit appart (or together) so it requires a bit more force to plug it in the socket, thus it requires more force to take it out, so it can't "come off" by itself
here's a better picture:


i also use the same type of sockets (with round-holes) for ICs

[antto]

also, and apologies for being completely off topic, i put the n0n0x back on a few days ago to refresh my memory. made me think - has any A/B comparison of the same pattern between n0n0x (or any other OS) and a 303 been performed that you are aware of, to see if the sequencing itself differs? obviously this would only be valid if someone had got their x0x to sound identical to their 303

as far as the sequencer goes, all that really matters is whether it sends the same pitch/gate/accent/slide signals to the synth section

the TB-303 sequencer has a separation between time data and note data
so you can't really program the same patterns on a TB-303 and another clone, without converting the patterns

now, given the x0xb0x, if you convert a TB-303 pattern - the x0xb0x can perfectly reproduce the pitch/gate/accent/slide signals
that's true for stock firmware, sokkos, n0nx0x

the thing is.. with stock firmware and sokkos - you can make patterns which are not possible to make on the 303 sequencer, like, you can have an accent on a rest

n0nx0x has the same separation between time data and note data, like the 303 sequencer, so you don't have to convert anything
if you haven't noticed, c0nb0x has a pattern editor with the same TB-303 pattern notation, and converts the pattern automatically into the x0x format
so you don't have to put n0nx0x just to try out some TB-303 pattern

[rarara]

managed to get some of those sockets on my way home last night - they seem very secure for holding components.

what is the best method for a) removing existing and b) then fitting the sockets?

is it easier to snip the existing components as close as possible, or try and heat each solder point in turn while easing it out? snipping seems easiest, but whatever way i feel like i am butchering my poor pcb . solder wick doesn't seem to remove enough either

i tend to be left with three blobs of solder in each hole (can't remove it all) so i just give em a heat and push the socket in - never really seems the need to add more solder.

soldering itself is straightforward, but i really hate replacing components

[antto]

i haven't tried using a solder-sucking-pump, but so far the wick is very good
just don't bother torturing the components and the pcb with other methods, use either wick or pump
i ruined a bunch of components before i had the wick, and it also made me mad

search for some youtube videos about desoldering using wick/pump and practice a few times

desoldering isn't fun, i desoldered all of the flat-cables that connect the IO-board with the mainboard, because they were very short and very tough, now i have longer and more flexible cables with sockets (so i can detach them)

[antto]

here's a bit better picture of my x0x and those sockets:

[rarara]

Just used one of these for the first time yesterday and pretty impressed by the neat job it does in desoldering. Bargain at 6UKP from ebay

Desolder Pump

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