Ever have a cascading folly of trouble shooting fun?

[kcin]

Solving for some pesky issues today... was supposed to be a 20min test drive to see how things sounded direct out( with the Marantz Model 7) vs. onboard pre pro with my new to me Otari. I was checking the direct out and patch bay arrangement for the internal pre on the Otari.

I had to deal with:

1. A funky cap on the Otari
2. A microscopic crack on one of the traces near one of the pin sockets on the deck

plus

3. Dead spot on the level pot of one channel of Marantz 7 ( I tested the Otari with the direct head input on this pre.) solely due to lack of use lately but it caused some grief as I sorted through it. A few rapid twists left and right and it was ok
4. No output on my left Beveridge OTL channel - one of the high voltage plugs came slightly loose as I was muddling around. No fun looking for this as its about 2kV going to the panels.


And all on the left channel .. what are the odds? What a load of grief. I unfortunately never step a way I just get angrier and more determined to find it 3hrs later!

[Rob]

very familiar indeed. the vast majority of Japanese gear of that era used crappy phenolic substrate for their PC boards which when flexed (doesn't take much) will cause those microscopic 'breaks' in the traces - been there too. you have much more determination than I do, i just pay people to that kind of stuff for me now I still find myself redoing factory terminations on cables because the ground scheme on ICs aren't right or use spades/plugs not sized right for my gear, etc.

[MylesBAstor]

I think I have shit canned it all by hour one!

[kcin]

very familiar indeed. the vast majority of Japanese gear of that era used crappy phenolic substrate for their PC boards which when flexed (doesn't take much) will cause those microscopic 'breaks' in the traces - been there too. you have much more determination than I do, i just pay people to that kind of stuff for me now I still find myself redoing factory terminations on cables because the ground scheme on ICs aren't right or use spades/plugs not sized right for my gear, etc.

I find I have "less" joy than I used to doing this stuff. I used sit for hours on end modifying, building and testing. Funny story. I found an example of Bedini 25/25 that was pristine cosmetically and untouched inside a few years ago. I wanted to relive my youth with the ESLs. I was travelling so I gave it to the local tech who is quite good because it would sporadically lose bias on one channel.

I got it back and it did it again. He had two tries at it .. the third time I don't think he even looked at it. I got it back and spent the weekend tracking it down and got it-- it was series of heat related parts and connection issues-- those Bedini's fry. When I trouble shoot and repair something it consumes me. When I can , lately , I will give stuff over to others but sometimes I believe its easier to attack on my own. Anything mechanical I'm pretty clutzy with - I can never get stuff back together like motors or other devices so I leave that to pros. I stick to the electronics.

[Rob]

good points and people complain when they send a 20+ year old super amp in for service and the bill is a grand or more - its not so much component replacement but the hours chasing down and troubleshooting bugaboos. I'm a shadetree tech and know enough to be dangerous.