1980s TC ELECTRONIC XII Phaser and SCF etc repair - potentiometer knob removal

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jazzade
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Post by jazzade »

These TC Electronics pedals from the 1980s are tricky to work on and I'm posting this information for the benefit of all brave souls that take on repair of these iconic FX!

The potentiometer knobs are *NOT* a push fit, so the often-seen advice for using string or ribbon to pull them off will certainly not work.

If you gently remove the blue top by lifting/prising your fingernail or similar blunt instrument, this will reveal a screw which releases the knob. Lift the knob off gently as there's a stack of washers beneath and this arrangement must be carefully noted.

Also, in the case of the TC XII Programmable Phaser (and almost certainly other pedals in this series) the jack sockets foul the pots, inhibiting removal of the circuit board, so much careful jiggling is required.

See attached photographs.

I'll post further information from my XII repair if further issues become apparent.
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2022-12-22 13.36.37.jpg
2022-12-22 13.11.43.jpg

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jazzade
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Post by jazzade »

I've now finished the repair of my 1980s TC XII Phaser and thought I'd share some other information regarding parts used. This information is also valid for their other boxes of that era, such as the SCF.

1) The screws used to secure the backplate (and access the battery compartment) are 12mm long 1/8in BSW machine screws.

2) The 1/4 TS socket retaining nuts I used are Fender replacement part number 0053479049 (branded 'Mr Gearhead') marked NUT HEX 7/16 20X 1/8 NI (dozen) which I believe are either 7/16 BSF (18tpi) or 7/16 UNF (20tpi)

3) The 3.5mm TS power plug needs to be wired with the tip +ve

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