Cartridge nightmare's

pete.a · 26th November 2003, 04:59 PM

Im having a right nightmate at the moment trying to locate a fault. Iv'e built a op-amp phono stage, well a kit anyway thats worked fine for a couple of year's or so i thought!
On a couple of occasions iv'e had one channel of the cartridge go down..ie no sound at all..when iv'e switched on..and Len gregory's MM mkii are expensive to say the least.

pete.a · 26th November 2003, 05:08 PM

Sorry i forgot this bit...

My pre amp is passive diy home brew, which has a selector switch made up of three wafer's. One for channel and the other operates a row of blue led's, just so i know what's in use ie cd,tuner, phono..etc...
Could it be that DC from the led wafer nearest to the phono input is some how tracking across, and feeding back through the phono stage into the cartridge, bearing in mind that only one channel blows.

Netlist · 26th November 2003, 06:13 PM

Pete
Your nightmare could be a DC problem. Only accurate measuring can tell. Do you have DC blocking caps at the input?

/Hugo

pete.a · 27th November 2003, 07:56 PM

Hi Hugo,

Blocking caps on the input to the pre or phono stage ??? Niether would be the answer to that.

Netlist · 27th November 2003, 08:06 PM

Posting a small schematic could perhaps clarify things.

/Hugo

Netlist · 2nd December 2003, 06:53 PM

In case someone could comment on the original question, here's the schematic of the preamp.

/Hugo

dhaen · 2nd December 2003, 08:12 PM

Hmm.... failure of either 15 volt regulator that supplies the OPA137 could cause a DC presence on the input connector.
Much more likely IMO is some intermittent short circuit.
Another thought is intermittent SCR latchup occuring on the OPA137 during power-up. C23 and C24 (10uF) are for ripple rejection, but also cause slow power-up. If they are not the same value, ie one has dried up, it could cause a problem. Also, check to see that the power wiring is identical between channels.
Hugo's idea of input caps sounds good to me, but don't make them too big

Netlist · 2nd December 2003, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dhaen

SCR latchup

Pardon my ignorance... What is SCR?

If it is DC that kills your cartridge, the investment of a decent cap
(Even a bunch of caps to compare) will still be cheaper than new cartridges.
Anyway, I would try and measure the DC values at start-up and shutdown with a good DMM.

/Hugo

dhaen · 2nd December 2003, 08:37 PM

SCR= Silicon Controlled Rectifier.
It's a 4 layer device that, once switched on, cannot switch off until the power is removed.
The elements of some integrated circuits can behave in this fashion when reverse biased. this can happen when a supply rail goes missing, or is slow to appear.

Netlist · 2nd December 2003, 09:00 PM

Never to old to learn.
Thanks

/Hugo

26th November 2003, 04:59 PM	#1
pete.a diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Nottingham	Cartridge failiure Im having a right nightmate at the moment trying to locate a fault. Iv'e built a op-amp phono stage, well a kit anyway thats worked fine for a couple of year's or so i thought! On a couple of occasions iv'e had one channel of the cartridge go down..ie no sound at all..when iv'e switched on..and Len gregory's MM mkii are expensive to say the least.

26th November 2003, 05:08 PM	#2
pete.a diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Nottingham	Cartridge nightmare's Sorry i forgot this bit... My pre amp is passive diy home brew, which has a selector switch made up of three wafer's. One for channel and the other operates a row of blue led's, just so i know what's in use ie cd,tuner, phono..etc... Could it be that DC from the led wafer nearest to the phono input is some how tracking across, and feeding back through the phono stage into the cartridge, bearing in mind that only one channel blows.

27th November 2003, 07:56 PM	#4
pete.a diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Nottingham	Input caps Hi Hugo, Blocking caps on the input to the pre or phono stage ??? Niether would be the answer to that.

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26th November 2003, 06:13 PM	#3
Netlist diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003	Pete Your nightmare could be a DC problem. Only accurate measuring can tell. Do you have DC blocking caps at the input? /Hugo

27th November 2003, 08:06 PM	#5
Netlist diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003	Posting a small schematic could perhaps clarify things. /Hugo

2nd December 2003, 08:12 PM	#7
dhaen diyAudio Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: U.K.	Hmm.... failure of either 15 volt regulator that supplies the OPA137 could cause a DC presence on the input connector. Much more likely IMO is some intermittent short circuit. Another thought is intermittent SCR latchup occuring on the OPA137 during power-up. C23 and C24 (10uF) are for ripple rejection, but also cause slow power-up. If they are not the same value, ie one has dried up, it could cause a problem. Also, check to see that the power wiring is identical between channels. Hugo's idea of input caps sounds good to me, but don't make them too big

2nd December 2003, 08:37 PM	#9
dhaen diyAudio Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: U.K.	SCR= Silicon Controlled Rectifier. It's a 4 layer device that, once switched on, cannot switch off until the power is removed. The elements of some integrated circuits can behave in this fashion when reverse biased. this can happen when a supply rail goes missing, or is slow to appear.

2nd December 2003, 09:00 PM	#10
Netlist diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003	Never to old to learn. Thanks /Hugo

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