Gear - Maintenance and Service

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Postby oddioguy » Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:32 am

I promised myself I was going to do it last winter, but I just didn't have the time.
But....
Now that I am winding down all the outside repair work, I am finally going to rebuild the Sunn Sorado head.

Stay tuned.....
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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:30 pm

Pair of Ward beck Systems console strips I racked 6 years ago.



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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:31 pm

Some of the Internal wiring.


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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:33 pm

Some more of the internal wiring.


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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:34 pm

Shot of IO in back of unit.


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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:43 pm

Can you find which resistors failed?





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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:45 pm

How about now?


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Postby oddioguy » Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:02 am

This repair is not so interesting in itself, but it is an amp I built for a client about 10 years ago.
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Postby oddioguy » Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:03 am

Pretty simple layout.
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Postby oddioguy » Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:05 am

Hand drawn and etched PC board. "Spartec" was the name I manufactured under. Short for Spartan Technologies, as they were pretty crude looking.
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Postby oddioguy » Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:10 am

.....And now, the actual problem. I diagnosed this before seeing the amp.

*pats self on back*

Client described how the amp suddenly went "BRAAAAPPPPPPP!!!!".
I suggested that it had lost either its postive or negative supply rail due to a bad filter cap.
Correct-a-mundo. Lead is broken off of rear cap in this pic.

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Postby oddioguy » Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:22 am

I decided to replaced both caps with a pair of lower profile ones in hopes of reducing the possibility of another inertially induced failure. Then I wacked the hot glue to them to futher stabilize them.
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Postby oddioguy » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:00 pm

While I'm waiting for parts to arrive so I can continue the Sunn restoration,
have I addressed the use of WD40 as an all purpose electronics cleaner and conditioner??


......IT'S NOT!.....


Any questions?
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Postby Malcolm Boyce » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:16 pm

oddioguy wrote:While I'm waiting for parts to arrive so I can continue the Sunn restoration,
have I addressed the use of WD40 as an all purpose electronics cleaner and conditioner??


......IT'S NOT!.....


Any questions?
Where does this fable come from? The product itself? What, if anything is it good for? Why does it suck for what you describe?
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Postby oddioguy » Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:10 pm

Malcolm Boyce wrote:
oddioguy wrote:While I'm waiting for parts to arrive so I can continue the Sunn restoration,
have I addressed the use of WD40 as an all purpose electronics cleaner and conditioner??


......IT'S NOT!.....


Any questions?
Where does this fable come from? The product itself? What, if anything is it good for? Why does it suck for what you describe?

Dang...I knew there would be. Image

1) Yes, it comes from the official "2000 Uses" list. They suggest that it "Eliminates static on volume and tuning control knobs."
That does NOT mean "Cleans and lubricates noisy pots and controls."
But it is a carefully crafted phrase which suggests that it is a control cleaner.
2) Apparently, 2000 uses.
Most of which boils down to a) it cleans, and b) it lubricates.
3) In order to disolve and flush dirt and oils from pots, switches, etc., an alcohol or hydrocarbon based solvent is required. This ensures that after it has completed its cleaning and flushing action, the remaining solvent will evaporate, leaving nothing behind. Adding a light lubricant to this type of cleaner leaves only the lubricant behind.
WD-40, on the other hand, is more than 60% Stoddard solvent, which is a petroluem based solvent, similar to kerosene. When it eventually evaporates, it leaves a rather sticky, oily film behind which itself traps dirt, but WD-40 also uses a "heavy by electronics standards" petroleum based oil, for lubrication. This essentially ends up trapping even more dirt.
Last edited by oddioguy on Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby Malcolm Boyce » Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:59 pm

So where does Nu-trol fit into the equation?

On occasion of needing to remove a "scratchy" control, I have used this with varying degree of long term success. It definately worked as a fix, but developed repeat issues as a result of using it. I have even cleaned TRS patch plugs with it, but found that after a while, they seem to need it to perform properly.
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Postby oddioguy » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:46 am

Malcolm Boyce wrote:So where does Nu-trol fit into the equation?

On occasion of needing to remove a "scratchy" control, I have used this with varying degree of long term success. It definately worked as a fix, but developed repeat issues as a result of using it. I have even cleaned TRS patch plugs with it, but found that after a while, they seem to need it to perform properly.

Although Nutrol uses a mineral oil based lube, it is an oil none the less which will trap dirt to varying degrees.
Underlying the whole issue is the fact that by the time you need to remedy problems with a product like this, you are admitting that there is a problem, and that you are merely delaying the inevitable replacement of worn pots / connectors or whatever....granted, sometimes for years, but the fact remains that you need to replace the worn parts.

I now await u1176's post preaching the gospel of Caig.
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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:28 am

NuTrol is a useless waste of money, but I keep a can around for when people want to borrow a can of "Pot Cleaner".

Caig Laboratories are the shite. I use 'ProGold' on card edge connectors, 'DeOxit' on switches and connectors, and I use the Godsent 'CaiLube' on pots and switches. Rarely have I run into a pot which could not be massaged back into temporary service using 'CaiLube'.

Like Odd said, if a pot is 'scratchy' in the first place it will eventually need to be replaced.
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Postby oddioguy » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:39 pm

U1176 wrote:NuTrol is a useless waste of money, but I keep a can around for when people want to borrow a can of "Pot Cleaner".

Caig Laboratories are the shite. I use 'ProGold' on card edge connectors, 'DeOxit' on switches and connectors, and I use the Godsent 'CaiLube' on pots and switches. Rarely have I run into a pot which could not be massaged back into temporary service using 'CaiLube'.

Like Odd said, if a pot is 'scratchy' in the first place it will eventually need to be replaced.

Speaking of pots...
Lemme know when you want to get going on the new pots for the Hendrix. Things will start slowing down for me in another month or two, so I may actually have some spare time to finish the refurb...
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Postby Alain Benoit » Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:31 am

Hmmmmmm. Under what terms and arrangements? PM me.
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Postby oddioguy » Fri May 04, 2007 9:39 am

oddioguy wrote:Update on Caig products -
Well, here we are 2-1/2 monthe further down the road, and we finally got a response from some paper-pusher regarding Caig DeOxit and MCL.
Essentially, they have now taken over 3 months to illuminate us with the fact that these 2 products contain some ingredients that they can identify, some ingredients that are considered trade secrets, and that we are responsible for aquiring the complete list of ingredients from the manufacturer (who already disclosed this list, which was forwarded to the aforementioned government dep't) and determining its' suitability for resale.

In summary - The department responsible for determining a products environmental safety has disavowed any resposibility for determining these products environmental safety and put that responsibility back on us, but will sue our asses off if we make the wrong choice.
Over 4 months in all it took for them to generate 3 e-mails and a "fuck you, good luck"


I'm playing a new game with the civil "servants" (an apparent misnomer if there ever was one).
When I visit Environment Canada's web page, it allows me to search for ozone depleting substances, but the search results are cryptic to say the least. In a nutshell, the results give you a "yes" or "no" as to whether the particular substance meets the "criteria for categorization".
WTF??
Not only that, but the "yes" is blue, and the "no" is red. A "no" in red is bad, right? Well....maybe. Or maybe it's good and a blue "yes" is bad.
I can't tell, and the "explanation" is of little help. It's circle-speak at its best. It describes that the results will give you a "yes/no" as to whether the substance "meets the criteria for categorization".

...so I called.....

Here's a the game part. I have a particular persons' phone number. This is the same person who took four months to send me 3 emails.
.....I got this persons' voice mail.....
I am logging the date and time of each call I make, and am starting an office pool as to when I will get a return phone call.
My entry in the pool involves "hell" and "sub-zero temperatures".
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Postby oddioguy » Sat May 05, 2007 12:22 am

So far...
May 3rd at 11:00 a.m. - voice mail
May 4th at 9:47 a.m. - voice mail

Isn't this fun, kiddies?
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Postby oddioguy » Sat May 05, 2007 7:53 am

Beginning on Monday May 7th, I plan to call once a day for the entire week at various times throughout the day. I mean, this person could be out of the office at specific times, right?
During the week of the May 14th, I plan on calling twice a day.
The following week...3 times a day.

...and so on, and so on, ad nauseum....
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Postby stosostu » Sat May 26, 2007 8:15 am

You do realise that this anti social behaviour towards our, or your, public service will get your name ona black list as a potential terrorist and revolutionary.

Expecting a public servant to answer the phone or return call, who ever heard of anything so preposterous............ ;-)
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Postby oddioguy » Sat May 26, 2007 2:13 pm

stosostu wrote:You do realise that this anti social behaviour towards our, or your, public service will get your name ona black list as a potential terrorist and revolutionary.

Expecting a public servant to answer the phone or return call, who ever heard of anything so preposterous............ ;-)

*splashes cold water on face*
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FWIW...I never did get a reply. I guess this is a universal problem.
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