Reconnecting a cap: please tell me how

blueslover2 · February 8th, 2008, 10:48 PM

I clipped the wrong cap by accident (C7 in picture). Can you please tell me how to reconnect it (please be detailed)? Thank you.

RomanS · February 9th, 2008, 04:21 PM

Just get some desoldering wick (or a desoldering pump), and get off all the solders from the spot on the PCB board at the point where you clipped the board; if you're lucky, the tiny piece of wire that you clipped, and that is still soldered to the board, will fall out and leave a hole in the PCB board; just stick the remaining leg of the cap into the hole and re-solder.
If that little piece does not fall out, try heating the solder joint, and while it is hot and the solder fluid, push the leg of the cap into the hole.
But be careful and don't oveheat the joint - the trace on the PCB board might lift!

teerjerker · February 9th, 2008, 05:35 PM

To avoid heating the trace twice and therefore increasing the risk of lifting it, you could use a narrow drill bit and open up the hole that way. Stick the wire in and apply heat. A little less tidy I suppose, but it should work.

blueslover2 · February 10th, 2008, 02:05 AM

Thanks guys. I just went at it today. Got supplies from radio shack. My repair of C7 was successful and I now have control of treble back! Got rid of the 47 pF cap (bright cap on DRRI) and this amp is now a dream. I love it so much. Throw a full drive in front and I'm in heaven. It handles OD pedals much much better. And keep in mind, I was hurting with no treble for the past month, thinking i had actually cut the bright cap and was just living with the tone. Everything is great now and I now have a clue when it comes to soldering. yay!

I did attempt to put the bright cap on a switch but was unsuccessful. The cap didnt have much of one of its legs left and i may have overheated it trying to reattach a leg back onto the little stump. Or, I wasnt connecting the switch right. If ya'll know how i could put a switch that would engage/disengage the bright cap, let me know. I was trying by: leaving one leg of cap on the board, running a wire from the free leg to a toggle switch and running a wire from the switch to the other opening on the board. Sounds right, no? It lead to some noise when i engaged the tremelo effect and i really didnt think the brightness was coming on/off when i was flipping the switch...hmmmm.

Im 100% happy though. I dont play humbuckers, so i dont really need the bright cap.

Thanks again.

February 8th, 2008, 10:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
blueslover2 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 88 16 Photos	Reconnecting a cap: please tell me how I clipped the wrong cap by accident (C7 in picture). Can you please tell me how to reconnect it (please be detailed)? Thank you.

February 9th, 2008, 04:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
RomanS Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Vienna, Austria Age: 37 Posts: 2,988 14 Photos	Just get some desoldering wick (or a desoldering pump), and get off all the solders from the spot on the PCB board at the point where you clipped the board; if you're lucky, the tiny piece of wire that you clipped, and that is still soldered to the board, will fall out and leave a hole in the PCB board; just stick the remaining leg of the cap into the hole and re-solder. If that little piece does not fall out, try heating the solder joint, and while it is hot and the solder fluid, push the leg of the cap into the hole. But be careful and don't oveheat the joint - the trace on the PCB board might lift! __________________ http://www.pbase.com/romans http://www.myspace.com/romans212

February 9th, 2008, 05:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
teerjerker Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: jersey Posts: 225	To avoid heating the trace twice and therefore increasing the risk of lifting it, you could use a narrow drill bit and open up the hole that way. Stick the wire in and apply heat. A little less tidy I suppose, but it should work. __________________ Back to the forest, to the wheat fields, to the river, to the ocean. I go where the wind is. That's my church. -Neil Young Takes a bangin' and keeps on twangin' -bglaze

February 10th, 2008, 02:05 AM	#4 (permalink)
blueslover2 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 88 16 Photos	Thanks guys. I just went at it today. Got supplies from radio shack. My repair of C7 was successful and I now have control of treble back! Got rid of the 47 pF cap (bright cap on DRRI) and this amp is now a dream. I love it so much. Throw a full drive in front and I'm in heaven. It handles OD pedals much much better. And keep in mind, I was hurting with no treble for the past month, thinking i had actually cut the bright cap and was just living with the tone. Everything is great now and I now have a clue when it comes to soldering. yay! I did attempt to put the bright cap on a switch but was unsuccessful. The cap didnt have much of one of its legs left and i may have overheated it trying to reattach a leg back onto the little stump. Or, I wasnt connecting the switch right. If ya'll know how i could put a switch that would engage/disengage the bright cap, let me know. I was trying by: leaving one leg of cap on the board, running a wire from the free leg to a toggle switch and running a wire from the switch to the other opening on the board. Sounds right, no? It lead to some noise when i engaged the tremelo effect and i really didnt think the brightness was coming on/off when i was flipping the switch...hmmmm. Im 100% happy though. I dont play humbuckers, so i dont really need the bright cap. Thanks again.