Op1 Broken Encoder

Mein Problem

My friend dropped my op1 and the red encoder hit the edge of the table. After the fall the red encoder only worked when holding pressure to the right and then spinning the encoder. Otherwise it would not register when turning it normally. I thought it just might be a mechanical issue but was not sure...

Meine Reparatur

After calling the company and researching new encoders, i found ifixit.com and the UI board replacement guide. It seemed easy enough to look inside so I decided to just open it up and take a look. I got the blue pry bar opening tool and took it apart... I wasn't sure what i'd find, hoping I could just get by with repair rather than replacing the UI board. Once Inside i saw that the top two surface mount solder joints on right most encoder were broken off and lifted from the board... This is why when i would put left pressure on the encoder they would make contact and pass a signal to the synth. I scratched the trace to reveal a bit of bare copper on the circuit and made a solder bridge to the surface mount pads and the OP1 worked good as new. (Well there was a slight skew on the angle of the encoder which messed up the clearance of the knob... but i just put a little wad of paper to lift the knob up a few millimeters and it has good clearance. You cant visually notice anything is askew and everything is back to normal working conditions)

Mein Rat

Don't be afraid to open things up and take a look, solutions may be simpler than you may first think or realize. These repair guides are gold. Thanks iFixit.com!!!