VRDS 20 problem -isolation

Miniwatt · 15th December 2008, 03:32 AM

Hi all,

I've got a Teac VRDS 20 that I use as a transport. A few years ago I disconnected the analog boards as I didn't use them, more juice for the digital part and no interference etc.

Now I reconnected it all, and suddenly I have a weird problem.
There are two relais on the balanced board, and they click like crazy. A few clicks during power-up, when starting a cd, when paused, when skipping to the next track. And no sound whatsoever, just a few thumps. I checked whatever I could (I'm not a digital techie..) but there's nothing broken etc.
I also can't remember hearing those clicks when I first got the player, they're pretty loud.

Now the funny thing is that this does not occur when I use a mains isolation transformer...
Maybe it's too late, and I should sleep on it, but I'm completely lost here: what's the difference???

Does anyone have an idea?

Thanks for thinking with me!

jitter · 15th December 2008, 04:54 AM

Sounds like bad grounding (oxidation) to me, that can do really weird things. Thoroughly clean every connector on the board (and its counterpart on the cable) and try again.

Miniwatt · 15th December 2008, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jitter
Sounds like bad grounding (oxidation) to me, that can do really weird things. Thoroughly clean every connector on the board (and its counterpart on the cable) and try again.

I will do that

But once more: there's no problem when I use an isolation xformer (een scheidingstrafo). That has something to do with grounding too of course

I just don't know enough about these things

The connectors haven't been used in years, so your point of oxidation makes perfect sense..

georgehifi · 15th December 2008, 07:01 AM

When you disconnected the analog board did you remove all 3 connectors shown?

Cheers George

Miniwatt · 15th December 2008, 08:03 AM

Thanks!

Mine's a bit different:

I disconnected the two connectors coming 'from the other side', circled in yellow.

BTW I didn't cover the chips with copper nor did I apply that white goo

jitter · 15th December 2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Miniwatt
But once more: there's no problem when I use an isolation xformer (een scheidingstrafo). That has something to do with grounding too of course

I just don't know enough about these things

I don't know the reason for that either because the power transformer inside the Teac already isolates the player from the mains. It's an inherent trait of a transformer with separate primary and secondary windings (I'm assuming the VRDS-20 has such a transformer).

BTW, in your picture I see a black wire with a cable lug just hanging there. Shouldn't that be attached to the frame somewhere?

georgehifi · 15th December 2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jitter

BTW, in your picture I see a black wire with a cable lug just hanging there. Shouldn't that be attached to the frame somewhere?

That's the earth for the harness shield, possible that could be the culprit.

Cheers George

Miniwatt · 15th December 2008, 07:15 PM

Sorry guys, I took everything apart to find the fault, and didn't screw everything back just to take a picture

The boards are loose too. Of course those earth lugs are connected when the player's put back together.

I'll try some connector cleaning tonight

Miniwatt · 16th December 2008, 04:48 AM

The connector cleaning didn't do much, so I just let it play for a while to see if a 'warm up' would help. And it stopped the clicking! But still no sound

As I had run out of options for the analog pcb I went back to the servo board. Although it's a major PITA to get it out

Previously I had altered the S/PDIF out, so I checked if I didn't miss anything when returning it to it's original state. Everything was fine, maybe some small particles on the pcb. I brushed it off and hey presto: it worked again!!

I've spent countless hours on the darn thing, so imagine my happy dance

End of this story, thanks for the help everyone!

15th December 2008, 03:32 AM	#1
Miniwatt diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Den Haag	VRDS 20 problem -isolation Hi all, I've got a Teac VRDS 20 that I use as a transport. A few years ago I disconnected the analog boards as I didn't use them, more juice for the digital part and no interference etc. Now I reconnected it all, and suddenly I have a weird problem. There are two relais on the balanced board, and they click like crazy. A few clicks during power-up, when starting a cd, when paused, when skipping to the next track. And no sound whatsoever, just a few thumps. I checked whatever I could (I'm not a digital techie..) but there's nothing broken etc. I also can't remember hearing those clicks when I first got the player, they're pretty loud. Now the funny thing is that this does not occur when I use a mains isolation transformer... Maybe it's too late, and I should sleep on it, but I'm completely lost here: what's the difference??? Does anyone have an idea? Thanks for thinking with me!

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15th December 2008, 04:54 AM	#2
jitter diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands	Sounds like bad grounding (oxidation) to me, that can do really weird things. Thoroughly clean every connector on the board (and its counterpart on the cable) and try again.

15th December 2008, 08:03 AM	#5
Miniwatt diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Den Haag	Thanks! Mine's a bit different: I disconnected the two connectors coming 'from the other side', circled in yellow. BTW I didn't cover the chips with copper nor did I apply that white goo

15th December 2008, 07:15 PM	#8
Miniwatt diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Den Haag	Sorry guys, I took everything apart to find the fault, and didn't screw everything back just to take a picture The boards are loose too. Of course those earth lugs are connected when the player's put back together. I'll try some connector cleaning tonight

16th December 2008, 04:48 AM	#9
Miniwatt diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Den Haag	The connector cleaning didn't do much, so I just let it play for a while to see if a 'warm up' would help. And it stopped the clicking! But still no sound As I had run out of options for the analog pcb I went back to the servo board. Although it's a major PITA to get it out Previously I had altered the S/PDIF out, so I checked if I didn't miss anything when returning it to it's original state. Everything was fine, maybe some small particles on the pcb. I brushed it off and hey presto: it worked again!! I've spent countless hours on the darn thing, so imagine my happy dance End of this story, thanks for the help everyone!