Suddenly Loud Hum in Hafler DH-101

poko · 15th August 2007, 10:34 AM

I have a Hafler DH-101 preamp that was working fine but suddenly developed a loud hum in both channels while it was in use.

The hum is constant in amplitude and not dependent upon any of the controls or switches -- it remains even with the volume control all the way down. I've checked all external cables and inputs, and have now determined that it is internal to the DH-101.

Are there any Hafler DH-101 experts out there who can point me towards a likely cause? I built this preamp myself from a kit over 30 years ago and applied the DH-106 mods back then by just following instructions, but I don't understand enough about the circuitry to troubleshoot this problem without some guidance.

TIA for any help someone can lend me.

Zen Mod · 15th August 2007, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by poko
I have a Hafler DH-101 preamp that was working fine but suddenly developed a loud hum in both channels while it was in use.

The hum is constant in amplitude and not dependent upon any of the controls or switches -- it remains even with the volume control all the way down. I've checked all external cables and inputs, and have now determined that it is internal to the DH-101.

Are there any Hafler DH-101 experts out there who can point me towards a likely cause? I built this preamp myself from a kit over 30 years ago and applied the DH-106 mods back then by just following instructions, but I don't understand enough about the circuitry to troubleshoot this problem without some guidance.

TIA for any help someone can lend me.

replace all electrolytics in power supply , check , and start from here changing all other (even if few bip biggies can be problematic to find new ones);
probably that's only culprit

poko · 15th August 2007, 11:34 AM

I was looking at the circuit diagram and being that the hum is on both channels equally, I'm wondering if it could be in the power supply. Could a bad positive or negative voltage regulator cause this?

Zen Mod · 15th August 2007, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by poko
I was looking at the circuit diagram and being that the hum is on both channels equally, I'm wondering if it could be in the power supply. Could a bad positive or negative voltage regulator cause this?

first thing first

change caps , then try further,if needed .

I saw 78xx and 79xx survived shorted cap

Nordic · 15th August 2007, 12:42 PM

Confirm all ground tabs and contacts are good useing a multimeter... have had hum issue this month with corrosion forming...

poko · 16th August 2007, 09:04 AM

Thanks Zen Mod and Nordic for your quick replies. I checked the ground contacts and seem to be fine. I have ordered replacement electrolytic caps and voltage regulators for the power supply, and should have them in a few days. I'll let you know if that does the trick. Thanks again!

Nordic · 16th August 2007, 09:21 AM

It is probably those lytics...

Can problematic electrolytics cause an intermittant random scrathing/crackleing sound...

My amp makes this scratchy sound on one channel, which has completely been rebuild (trying to find a cure) appart from the PSU... Thought I had it all fixed... but after standing on for a few hours with no signal, the crackle came back... It is not terribly annoying, can't hear it above... Also it seems to take very long to reach this point... amp was on yesterday for probably 15 hours before it started again...

The quiet channel heatsink was just above ambient, while the noisy channel's sink felt cooler...

jblmar · 16th August 2007, 01:21 PM

Don't overlook diodes in the power supply. Another source of hum.

Ron

poko · 22nd August 2007, 08:48 PM

Well, I replaced all the electrolytic caps in the power supply, but that didn't fix the hum. So, I replaced both the pos and neg voltage regulators -- nope, still loud hum on both channels. The hum is constant and doesn't change regardless of any controls/switches.

I guess I'll try replacing the diodes as jblmar suggested. There's really nothing else left to replace on this power supply board, so I hope that's it!

poko · 25th August 2007, 05:25 PM

Bad news... I replaced the 4 rectifier diodes but the hum remains. Since I've replaced all the caps, regulators and diodes on the power supply, the problem is elsewhere.

Anyone have any ideas where I should be looking now? Again, the hum is equal on both channels, remains constant regardless of the volume setting or input selector settings.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

15th August 2007, 10:34 AM	#1
poko diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2007	Suddenly Loud Hum in Hafler DH-101 I have a Hafler DH-101 preamp that was working fine but suddenly developed a loud hum in both channels while it was in use. The hum is constant in amplitude and not dependent upon any of the controls or switches -- it remains even with the volume control all the way down. I've checked all external cables and inputs, and have now determined that it is internal to the DH-101. Are there any Hafler DH-101 experts out there who can point me towards a likely cause? I built this preamp myself from a kit over 30 years ago and applied the DH-106 mods back then by just following instructions, but I don't understand enough about the circuitry to troubleshoot this problem without some guidance. TIA for any help someone can lend me.

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15th August 2007, 11:34 AM	#3
poko diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2007	I was looking at the circuit diagram and being that the hum is on both channels equally, I'm wondering if it could be in the power supply. Could a bad positive or negative voltage regulator cause this?

15th August 2007, 12:42 PM	#5
Nordic diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2005	Confirm all ground tabs and contacts are good useing a multimeter... have had hum issue this month with corrosion forming...

16th August 2007, 09:04 AM	#6
poko diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2007	Thanks Zen Mod and Nordic for your quick replies. I checked the ground contacts and seem to be fine. I have ordered replacement electrolytic caps and voltage regulators for the power supply, and should have them in a few days. I'll let you know if that does the trick. Thanks again!

16th August 2007, 09:21 AM	#7
Nordic diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2005	It is probably those lytics... Can problematic electrolytics cause an intermittant random scrathing/crackleing sound... My amp makes this scratchy sound on one channel, which has completely been rebuild (trying to find a cure) appart from the PSU... Thought I had it all fixed... but after standing on for a few hours with no signal, the crackle came back... It is not terribly annoying, can't hear it above... Also it seems to take very long to reach this point... amp was on yesterday for probably 15 hours before it started again... The quiet channel heatsink was just above ambient, while the noisy channel's sink felt cooler...

16th August 2007, 01:21 PM	#8
jblmar diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Brooklyn, New York	Don't overlook diodes in the power supply. Another source of hum. Ron

22nd August 2007, 08:48 PM	#9
poko diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2007	Well, I replaced all the electrolytic caps in the power supply, but that didn't fix the hum. So, I replaced both the pos and neg voltage regulators -- nope, still loud hum on both channels. The hum is constant and doesn't change regardless of any controls/switches. I guess I'll try replacing the diodes as jblmar suggested. There's really nothing else left to replace on this power supply board, so I hope that's it!

25th August 2007, 05:25 PM	#10
poko diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2007	Bad news... I replaced the 4 rectifier diodes but the hum remains. Since I've replaced all the caps, regulators and diodes on the power supply, the problem is elsewhere. Anyone have any ideas where I should be looking now? Again, the hum is equal on both channels, remains constant regardless of the volume setting or input selector settings. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!