Found a broken Roland SH-101 on Gumtree. Couldn’t believe my luck!
I was hoping for a simple fix, maybe a dodgy power switch or something. When I started to investigate it soon became apparent that someone had been there before me. The T1 transformer, which does DC-DC conversion from the 9VDC plug pack to the various analogue stages was missing! Also, the surrounding components had been lifted out of there solder pads. This wasn’t going to be a quick fix!

Searching around the net and it was becoming obvious that this problem was fairly common but with no one having fixed it! Also, the T1 transformer is not available for purchase anywhere. Continue reading →