Maintenance

IC pullers:

The simple puller is suitable for up to 28 pin ICs, but that goes with difficulty, usually needing help from a screwdriver. Some bent pins, even for small ICs are usually found after pulling. The GX-6 model is suitable for all 24-42 pin ICs and is a magnificent piece of equipment: no bent pins and even 40 pin ICs come out with ease...

Head cleaning and demagnetising cassettes:

I've used the demagnetising cassette on a tape recorder that my BBC micro would not load tapes from; it gave a distorted sound when playing over the speaker, but works perfectly again after demagnetising. Head cleaning can also be done manually with a bit of cloth.

Contact cleaning spray

Essential to remove corrosion from connectors and IC pins! Note that there are less aggressive contact cleaners such as Tuner 600. These should be tried first. Kontakt 60 is usually meant for switches and it leaves a film on the surface to protect from further corrosion. This makes it very suitable also, for for example the keyboard connector in the BBC micro which often undergoes some movement.

Last modified: Thu Nov 1 23:47:55 CET 2012