Several of the capacitors on the M100 go into a large ground plane on the top side of the board. This can make it difficult to ger enough heat to flow through the board to adequately heat the joint enough to suck the solder out. In these cases it is easier to 'walk' the component out. Heat one leg with the soldering iron and tip push the top of the cap carefully the opposite direction. This lifts one leg a bit. Then do the same with the other leg. Walk it back and forth like this until the cap is out then use your solder sucker to clean out the hole.
You can do the same thing for the battery. The battery will soak up a lot of heat so do not be afraid to keep your iron on it for several seconds to allow it to heat up the joint properly. Jeff Birt -----Original Message----- From: M100 <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Hiraghm Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2021 3:55 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [M100] M100 restoration and RexCPM So I have two M100s. Both were working when last I checked (one of them I have out to play with, the other I keep in the closet as a backup). I decided to get 2 recap kits and 2 batteries for them, as well as a RexCPM (I have an original Rex in the one I play with). Since I was going to install a RexCPM in one, I figured now would be a good time to do the recap. Never done a recap before. I've replaced a couple batteries with mixed results. One in my Toshiba T5200 laptop, and one in my Amiga 3K. On the Amiga, I couldn't get the pins of the old battery entirely out, and so the replacement button battery doesn't sit low enough. I got myself a vacuum soldering iron, because I've had very little luck with solder braid, and the mechanical vacuum pumps just weren't getting the job done, imo. Haven't tried it out yet, though. I've got the youtube video for recapping my M100, and I plan on watching it a few times before making the attempt on one of my machines, but I thought I'd ask here if anyone could/wanted to share their experience / gotchas at recapping their Model T, first. Also, the RexCPM is not like the Rex I have. It has two circuit boards and some wires and I have no idea how I'm supposed to install it. I assume Steve's put up instructions on his site, but I haven't had a chance to look yet.
