Hello Guys recently I've acquired used Pathos Classic one MKIII amplifier and I'm very happy with it. However I'm little worried about the age of the amplifier as this model is produced back into 2007. I've opened the bottom case to inspect it visually but I'm not any expert on this staff. What worries me a brownish greasy material around some soldering but i don't know if i should use some kind of chemicals like deoxit to clean it. I would be very grateful if some one can take a look at the pictures i took and tell me if i need to visit electrician or to clean it up my self. Here is the link of the images ImageShack - Pathos Classic One MKIII
Thank you very much
Thank you very much
is it really greasy?
to me it looks as regular flux residue, nothing to worry about
if it's crystalline looking , when you touch it with toothpick or something like that, that's it
to me it looks as regular flux residue, nothing to worry about
if it's crystalline looking , when you touch it with toothpick or something like that, that's it
Thank you for your replay. It looks greasy but I'm not 100% sure. I tried on one solder to clean it with Cotton Ear pick and small amount of IPA. And it worked. But I'm not sure if that is the right thing to do.
There's some solder flux where those transistors mount to the board, I wouldn't worry about that.
The main filter caps are usually what fails first. I think the run of really bad no name brand electrolytic caps started around 2006 or 2007, so you would want to make sure that the main caps all have a recognizable name brand on them.
The main filter caps are usually what fails first. I think the run of really bad no name brand electrolytic caps started around 2006 or 2007, so you would want to make sure that the main caps all have a recognizable name brand on them.
I hope you have a schematics for this .
Every kind of goo is potential damaging, and should be removed.
This is fake news. Lots of goo gets put on to keep components from moving around. Rosin core flux can usually be left alone as well.
That's not 100% accurate. RA flux contains mildly corrosive zinc chloride and should be removed with IPA or other suitable solvent. Trustworthy manufacturers will use non-corrosive flux on PCBs. Unfortunately, it's anybody's guess as to what "bargain basement" Chinese firms are using.
If the "goo" is really solder flux residue, removal is a good thing. OTOH, hands off conformal coatings and the like. Definitely look before you leap.