Hi gain-wire,
Thanks. I was a bit frightened there.
I need a match for a Heathkit Mono amp I have. I'll need to look up the model number on it. Needs a complete rebuild.
Those Bogen Challenger amps can be pretty nice! I had a CHA-75A that I sold when I needed some money. Kid was playing bass through it and he kept blasting the voice coil out of his speakers. He was slapping the strings.
See if you can rescue some more items from your friend. It's always nice when they are restored rather than chopped up for parts. That always makes me sad unless they are already badly damaged.
If he has a small tube guitar head, I want to build one up for my daughter. Something like P-P 6BQ5 / EL84 or P-P 6V6. A Fender Twin is my favorite, but it's way overkill. I would restore a half decent head rather than reuse the parts in a new design. A partial head with usable parts would be more than acceptable too. More my price range.
Where are you located? You can always PM me if you'd rather.
-Chris
Thanks. I was a bit frightened there.
I need a match for a Heathkit Mono amp I have. I'll need to look up the model number on it. Needs a complete rebuild.
Those Bogen Challenger amps can be pretty nice! I had a CHA-75A that I sold when I needed some money. Kid was playing bass through it and he kept blasting the voice coil out of his speakers. He was slapping the strings.
See if you can rescue some more items from your friend. It's always nice when they are restored rather than chopped up for parts. That always makes me sad unless they are already badly damaged.
If he has a small tube guitar head, I want to build one up for my daughter. Something like P-P 6BQ5 / EL84 or P-P 6V6. A Fender Twin is my favorite, but it's way overkill. I would restore a half decent head rather than reuse the parts in a new design. A partial head with usable parts would be more than acceptable too. More my price range.
Where are you located? You can always PM me if you'd rather.
-Chris
www.s2amps.com is a reseller. The list prices they have are a bit crazy. also they do have transformers your just going to have to dive into the catalog. As for wether these transformers are the cats *** or not is debateble. But they will custom build very nice stuff and the 2 repairs I sent in a few years back were better then new when done.
kmaier said:
Well at least it says "made in Canada" on the sticker.
I work for a large electronics company that prefers not to be mentioned in print by its employees "without clearance from the piblic relations department." I enquired a few years ago why a certain product contained a label that said "made in USA" when the entire electronics sub assembly was made in Maylasia. They replied that the labor cost involved in the final testing, tuning and assembling of the product in the US was higher that the cost of building the entire PC board in Asia, so the product could legally be labled "made in USA". Perhaps the same rules apply in Canada?
I must admit that on more than one occasion I have seen large quantities of vintage test equipment being sold to a salvage yard for its scrap metal value. Twice I have climbed onto the truck and removed transformers before they were taken away to be melted. At least I got about 30 power transformers, and only paid the cost of the scrap metal, which was a few pennies per pound back then. I must admit that the power transformers from the 200 seried oscillators and 500 series Tek scopes do make good amp transformers. They are far better than current Hammond 200 series product.
The company that I work for used to sell their surplus test equipment to employees, now it is sold by the pound to salvage operators. Too bad, because my entire lab was built out of their old stuff.
Hi tubelab,
I suspect the bean counters are responsible for this situation. Anything that is written off must be destroyed normally. Selling for scrap metal is just as good. This forces us to infereiour test equipment at much higher prices.
I used to give my old test gear away when I ran my shop. My techs got first crack, of those, the ebay types got only what was left. Younger guys, or techs that really needed an item had those pieces directed to them. That was true even if they were in a different field and were known to me.
-Chris
Probably. Nafta and all....
That's a crime. Imagine how many people could benifit from affordable test equipment. Most of mine came from Eeeeekbay, and were repaired. I would much rather have bought mine from companies who were done with the product.
I suspect the bean counters are responsible for this situation. Anything that is written off must be destroyed normally. Selling for scrap metal is just as good. This forces us to infereiour test equipment at much higher prices.
I used to give my old test gear away when I ran my shop. My techs got first crack, of those, the ebay types got only what was left. Younger guys, or techs that really needed an item had those pieces directed to them. That was true even if they were in a different field and were known to me.
-Chris
anatech said:
Often it's not that complex. Finding takers for used gear requires company time. I've often mentioned sending - as one example - a dozen Studer reel-to-reel machines to the dump because no one wanted them. They were long written off and didn't register on our bean counter's radar. A local station had a hard time selling two mint, near unused VPI turntables on custom stands with Krell phono stages and, if I recall, SME arms for $1000 a pop. I was offered one but already have a VPI and excellent phono. Fortunately these found buyers, otherwise....
Somewhere on Youtube you'll find a documentary about a crew who clean out repossessed homes in the Inland Empire outside LA. These third party contractors are paid a set amount of money and given a short set time by mortgage holders to prepare abandoned homes for re-sale. The latter don't care what becomes of the contents. The contract employees have already taken as much as they can handle. They've tried making arrangements with charities to take the stuff but found them too unreliable. So big screen TV's, computers, stereo systems, furniture, multiple times a day, day after day, go under the hammer and into the truck on its way to the dump. It's nuts, but solid business.
Hi rdf,
Studers????!!!
Darn!, I could have got rid of them pretty quickly! Any other Studer gear hiding in there?
Yeah, just high hopes. I was authorized warranty for Revox and did some Studer. Mind you, and 820 would be over kill at home. I even have a brand new Tascam BR-20 I haven't used.
Some of the outboard gear would make nice projects, either to update or use the bits for something else.
You really know how to hurt a guy!
Anyway, I do know that spare parts and dead units are often destroyed at audio distributors so they can be written off. The destruction of spare parts is despicable. Gord Harper at Alpine was a true believer in this. I think he is still with the company. The worst people always seem to rise to the top.
-Chris
Studers????!!!
Darn!, I could have got rid of them pretty quickly! Any other Studer gear hiding in there?
Yeah, just high hopes. I was authorized warranty for Revox and did some Studer. Mind you, and 820 would be over kill at home. I even have a brand new Tascam BR-20 I haven't used.
Some of the outboard gear would make nice projects, either to update or use the bits for something else.
You really know how to hurt a guy!
Anyway, I do know that spare parts and dead units are often destroyed at audio distributors so they can be written off. The destruction of spare parts is despicable. Gord Harper at Alpine was a true believer in this. I think he is still with the company. The worst people always seem to rise to the top.
-Chris
anatech said:
Plus MCI, various generations of Ampex (the 600s went to a local museum though), Metrotechs, it's all a blur. I gave away the second last Studer last week to a producer with reel archives at home, we're down to the last 807. I still have brand new, in box Tascam reel-to-reel floor stands in storage. I filled one with blank panels and use it at home as a rolling platform for an 813 SE build. And DAT machines, what do you do with them? Selling this old gear implies a legal contract in which the risk far outweighs the value.
Seriously, to many radio or TV station in the process of major change or move a volunteer to take this stuff is a godsend.
rdf said:
Don't stick it in the landfill. This kind of stuff would disappear instantly on freecycle, and they even come to haul it away for you.
http://www.freecycle.org/
Hi rdf,
DA-30 or DA-88 types? Probably a use for these still. Deluxe used many for a while, and many artists. At least these stay in alignment!
Any Tascam CD-401s around? Other CDs? The CD-301s are okay, but the linear head in the 401s are really nice. Same for Studer CD players.
Recording consoles would be harder to get rid of I imagine. They are generally too large to store.
-Chris
I can see that.
Cool. Those are the 19" rack types that you can change the angle on, right? You're sitting on gold! The Ampex and MCI machines are really too old to interest most people, but would make excellent set dressings for Hollywood north.
I don't see how. This has been done often enough in the music business.
A-Dat? Junkers unless a small studio or artist wants them.
DA-30 or DA-88 types? Probably a use for these still. Deluxe used many for a while, and many artists. At least these stay in alignment!
Any Tascam CD-401s around? Other CDs? The CD-301s are okay, but the linear head in the 401s are really nice. Same for Studer CD players.
Recording consoles would be harder to get rid of I imagine. They are generally too large to store.
-Chris
anatech said:
Them's the ones, locking castors and all. One left. Great utility cart.
Radio's federally regulated and we're traded on the DOW, hence the potential of Sarbane Oxley issues. It's not worth the cost of getting an opinion from legal. At least I'm not suggesting to anyone we spend $500/hr finding out if it's OK to make a few hundred bucks on E-Bay.
R-Dat, some Tascam but mostly Panasonic. Some of the latter stayed in tune for years, other went out in months. I always put it down to the declining quality of tape as the industry wound down, as happened when the big guys dropped reel-to-reel production. Also have a Sony NT-1 sitting in my desk if you really want to play what's that format?
No CDs players other than the ubiquitous Denon cart types, 500, 501, etc.. Is that the Deluxe at Ontario and Adelaide? I worked across the street for most of the Nineties.
A Studer went to the local broadcast school, a producer took an MCI home for use as a computer table. A few went to the local broadcast museum, most to the dump. I still have two McCurdys and a couple older machines yet to be stripped for mic transformers and P&G faders. It's a sickness I tell ya. All that said, we make the national broadcaster look like skinflints when it comes to divesting equipment. The stories I've heard!
Hi rdf,
The Denon CD cart machines might be interesting to play with. Tell me you don't still have any tape cart machines around. I have fixed a couple in the past. One thing I'll have to admit though, they worked well and were the backbone of many radio stations.
-Chris
Iwouldn't mind mounting my BR-20 on that. However, I should sell that machine. I've never mounted tape on it even.
Yes, understand completely. I thought Sarbane Oxley only concerns US companies. Donating to students and other zero money exchanges are the only way.
The Tascam R-Dats should stay for about 2,000 hours or more. The transport swap out deal from TCA (Tascam USA) was unfortunate. Those transports were not set up correctly at all. When I was running Micron Electronics, we had to dig through many as our clients came back after taking advantage of that "deal". We lost a lot of work, then the ones that we got were more difficult to repair. They often did not do the brake modification either. It was not uncommon to have heads last 2,500 hours when we serviced them. Those TCA deals died after 650 hours or so.
Yes, I think so. I have never been there, but it was the post production facilities on Adelaide as far as I can remember. Pretty professional bunch to deal with. I always kept at least two new heads on hand, and three in busier times.
That is sad, not the museum. The dump. Mind you, I have no use for old MCI machines, or Scully. The newer machines were just so much better in every way. Tape handling on a Studer is extremely gentle and smooth. Not unless those tension arms are sticky. You guys didn't use Agfa, did you? Nasty stuff.
The Denon CD cart machines might be interesting to play with. Tell me you don't still have any tape cart machines around. I have fixed a couple in the past. One thing I'll have to admit though, they worked well and were the backbone of many radio stations.
-Chris
studio-radio gear
Hi rdf and anatech,
about your discussion about all that recording/radio equipment, although I don't fully understand everything that's being said, I 'd like to ask some questions.
First, I know you guys have either been in the studio/radio gear repair business for a long time, but why do you talk about the analog stuff as though it's garbage? Or I might be getting that impression because of some of the things that have been said.
I also realize you might be aware that I'm not on the same level as you guys because I can' t understand everything you were talking about, notably Sarbane Oxley.
Second, rdf, you seemed to have been in the business of removing/throwing away/liquidating studio and radio equipment, and lots of it has gone to the dumpster. Why, when it would be so easy to sell to young techies like me (not that young though) did you not advertise it in the paper or something?
I realize my questions might seem dumb to you guys, but, we learn by asking, eh?
Thank you for your time!
Hi rdf and anatech,
about your discussion about all that recording/radio equipment, although I don't fully understand everything that's being said, I 'd like to ask some questions.
First, I know you guys have either been in the studio/radio gear repair business for a long time, but why do you talk about the analog stuff as though it's garbage? Or I might be getting that impression because of some of the things that have been said.
I also realize you might be aware that I'm not on the same level as you guys because I can' t understand everything you were talking about, notably Sarbane Oxley.
Second, rdf, you seemed to have been in the business of removing/throwing away/liquidating studio and radio equipment, and lots of it has gone to the dumpster. Why, when it would be so easy to sell to young techies like me (not that young though) did you not advertise it in the paper or something?
I realize my questions might seem dumb to you guys, but, we learn by asking, eh?
Thank you for your time!
Re: a day late & a dollar short
Tim,
Sorry that happened.... but for some odd reason Hammond doesn't seem able to spec their transformers very well. I can't help but to mention that they have quality control issues as well. I've gotten some units where the cores are not square... impossible to correct and they look poor on a chassis. I have had good luck with their smaller filament transformers and chokes however... they just work fine. Many may have noticed that they recently had a price increase, so they have completely fallen off my list... still very budget quality at a not-so budget price.
Case in point, for my little 45 SET, the 271X is now $44 and the 166M2 is $12 for a total of $56 (from Angela). Needless to say you can't really count on the voltages being accurate. I contacted Jack Elliano at Electra-Print. I asked for a single power transformer to handle the 3 filaments, the plate supply and with a 120VAC primary. The price is $87 for standard laminations and $113 for larger cooler-running ones. So, another $31 for known quality, proper specs and one less chunk or iron to mount and worry about magnetic fields.
Overall, I think Hammond could do a better job without impacting any of their operating costs simply by having a little pride in their workmanship and updating their designs to reflect what power companies are delivering to homes. Nobody has 115VAC coming into the house anymore, 120VAC is norm and usually a bit higher. For now, I'll do custom for less expensive projects... much less work and aggravation in the long run.
I'm not going to junk the 45 SET... too much invested in time and $$, so I'll be trying to do some custom-shielding using mu-metal, found some online sources, but it will increase the overall cost, live and learn.
Regards, KM
tim614 said:i wish i have read this tread b4 i purchase a hammond , i was looking for 600ct so i grab one from PXpress 600CT@250ma what do i get 800CT way too high had to return it now i have some ugly holes on my chassis
Tim,
Sorry that happened.... but for some odd reason Hammond doesn't seem able to spec their transformers very well. I can't help but to mention that they have quality control issues as well. I've gotten some units where the cores are not square... impossible to correct and they look poor on a chassis. I have had good luck with their smaller filament transformers and chokes however... they just work fine. Many may have noticed that they recently had a price increase, so they have completely fallen off my list... still very budget quality at a not-so budget price.
Case in point, for my little 45 SET, the 271X is now $44 and the 166M2 is $12 for a total of $56 (from Angela). Needless to say you can't really count on the voltages being accurate. I contacted Jack Elliano at Electra-Print. I asked for a single power transformer to handle the 3 filaments, the plate supply and with a 120VAC primary. The price is $87 for standard laminations and $113 for larger cooler-running ones. So, another $31 for known quality, proper specs and one less chunk or iron to mount and worry about magnetic fields.
Overall, I think Hammond could do a better job without impacting any of their operating costs simply by having a little pride in their workmanship and updating their designs to reflect what power companies are delivering to homes. Nobody has 115VAC coming into the house anymore, 120VAC is norm and usually a bit higher. For now, I'll do custom for less expensive projects... much less work and aggravation in the long run.
I'm not going to junk the 45 SET... too much invested in time and $$, so I'll be trying to do some custom-shielding using mu-metal, found some online sources, but it will increase the overall cost, live and learn.
Regards, KM
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