filthy!!! (circuit boards.)

[voxinental85]

ok, so, mind you its not technically a "combo organ"... but it sure sounds like one.

the circuit boards inside my old hammond J-412 (sounds like a farfisa in hammond's clothing) are FILTHY! it was left outside for who knows how long, and i stole it from the alley where i observed it sitting for several years, ignored. all the boards (oscillator cards, vibrato circuit, amp circuit, etc) are covered in grime and dust and dirty up the wazoo.

is there a safe way to get in there and clean them without discharging the voltage-storing components and killing myself or the organ?

thanx guys!

[karl]

Hi,
If possible first remove the boards.
obviously you need to turn it off and unplug it from the mains or AC power!.
Be careful around the power supply capacitors. They will look like little cans. These can hold a large charge of electricity, and could give you a nasty shock. You can place an insulated wire across them to discharge them before proceeding. Do not touch anything metal when doing this. Some people use a screw driver tip, but you may actually arc weld this to the terminals. I recommend using a short piece of Insulated wire. Trim the insulation off the ends, make sure you are not touching any bare wire, and touch each end to the terminals of the capacitor.

You can actually use water. But alcohol would probably work better. If there seems to be an oil residue you could use some kind of degreaser like you would use in the kitchen. Use a toothbrush to gently scrub the boards being careful not to break anything off, or move any adjusting screws
( like oscillator tuning coils, potentiometers etc...). When finished wash off with water. Finally dry throughly with a hair dryer.
I would let it set for a day ( in the sun if possible ) and dry with a hair dryer again, before turning it back on. You may need to do this once or twice. Again, be sure everything is dry before turning on.
Good luck
Karl