tact switch - how easy .... or hard

[LO-]

wondering if I could solder one in myself, not very good at soldering, cause damn, just got my MPC 2KXL , the dude said all the buttons work, but i gotta press a bit harder on F4 & down on the cursor , which isnt that big of a deal right now, but I know the more i press it hard, it will eventually not work any more, see SP606 nightmares of bad buttons.

I found an entire board for 179 that will entirely restore my MPC to factory condition, so i might just do that, I heard its not that hard, but I'm not very good at soldering, I think its the 5mm switch or something. anyone know about these ? since I invested so much into this, I think it would be worth it to replace the board and have the luxury of a fully restored suped out 2000xl.

[Chopperman]

I don't know much about soldering but are you sure the pads aren't the problem? The pads on my old SP were extremely numb, to the point that making beats was like a workout for my fingers. Wax Inspektor let me know that switching out the pads would fix it. Here's the threads about it - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18826&p=133136&hilit=pad+transplant#p133136
and part 2 -
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19987&p=135635&hilit=pad+transplant#p135635

[asha c]

Soldeeing the switches should be easy enough. I replaced every switch and tactile button on my rm1x and if you take your time its no problem. I would reccomend using and learning how to use a desoldering pump- SO MUCH EASIER with one!!! Practise on a shitty old circuit a few times too. The hardest part i always find with stuff like this is fitting it all back together once job is done- thats the difficult part, taking photos of each step of disassembly will reaaaaalllly really help!!! Making diagrams about what goes where when you open it up will also save loads of time and heartache!! Hope that helps

[LO-]

Thanks

@Chopperman-

The pads seem fine, I set it to full velocity anyway so I dont have to hit them hard, only one is just a bit 'numb' , for the MPC the pads have no conductor on the pad mat themselves, there is a thin film strip under the pads with sensors on the 2000xl . Just a couple of buttons I need to press a bit harder on, my SP 606 click button tactiles did this untill one day all of the buttons just quit working.

@ asha c

Cool , I guess I should try myself first. already took the MPC apart and had a look inside, The plastic on the buttons is so crusty & old its going to break when I take the buttons out, so I should order a whole new set of replacement buttons and try to soldier in a couple new switches. Or at least find someone who can do it for me for cheap before I grab the whole new board. yea putting it back together was a challenge and ended up with 2 extra screws, maybe I'll find out where they go next time.

It's time for a new set of buttons anyway, and I will practice desoldering old crap then soldering it back in, while I wait for the switches and buttons.

[hseiken]

Sometimes the plasticy/rubbery contact on the pads will wear away. I forget what it's called, but it's something like, 'rubber membrane coat' or something like that, and you paint that back onto the spots (if they're worn...you can tell when you take the pads out of the lowest section underneath each pad isn't black. It should be solid black, that's the contact stuff that completes the electrical path when you push the pad down.

If that stuff looks worn, you can get that replacement coating stuff (which can also be used on other gear) probably less than it costs to completely replace the pad element.

Open up the unit and take a look and if it the black areas look worn, I'd try to repair those contacts on the pads before anything else. But I'm also weird so listen to my advice at your own peril.

[QuiVive]

also check the little stem things where the buttons sit on the mpc's circuit board, they are notorious for breaking and sometimes you just have to replace the button itself instead of the tact switch, which is a lot cheaper.