distortion in preamp kit

bonsai171 · 25th March 2004, 04:38 AM

Hello, i recently built a small preamp kit, and after bulding it, and firing it up, it seemed to have a tremendous amount of distortion. The distortion is plainly audible, and after checking the connections, i noticed that the ground isn't wired correctly.. Could this be the source of the problem?? Or is there something more? What would be the best way to track down this problem?? Tia

Dave

HDTVman · 25th March 2004, 04:47 AM

By all means fix the grounds. That definitely can be causing you trouble.

later BZ

bonsai171 · 26th March 2004, 03:04 AM

well today i sat down and set up the grounds properly (i think??) But unfortunately there is still massive distortion

What's the next step in trying to fix this problem?? tia

Dave

HDTVman · 26th March 2004, 04:31 AM

Do you have any test equipment? A signal generator, volt meter and oscilloscope are very handy to have at this point.

Later BZ

bonsai171 · 26th March 2004, 06:09 PM

I don't think i have any of that stuff, but there's a possibility of a voltmeter.. What are the options at this point?? tia

Dave

HDTVman · 26th March 2004, 10:28 PM

Well Dave, I or anyone else for that matter need to know more about the circuit. Just what preamp is this, a circuit diagram would help a lot. A disciption of what the distortion sounds like would help too.

You need some way to make a few measurements to find out what is going on with the circuit. With out that anything I or anyone else says would just be a wild guess.

Later BZ

bonsai171 · 29th March 2004, 01:01 AM

Hello, here is the schematic for the preamp. Also, I just found the voltmeter, so hopefully this will be helpful

Thanks

bonsai171 · 29th March 2004, 01:07 AM

Here is the what the distortion sounds like- when you first power up the preamp, everything is quiet, and then if you start the music, it plays fairly cleanly for a few seconds. After that, the sound becomes very garbled and disgusting sounding. Hope this helps! Tia

Dave

Magura · 29th March 2004, 01:16 AM

I once had a similar problem. It was caused by a dead capacitor.

Magura

bonsai171 · 29th March 2004, 01:38 AM

Hi, if there is a dead capacitor, how would it be tracked? There aren't too many of these, so even if it required some kind of testing for each of them (there are 12) it wouldn't be bad

Thanks!

Dave

25th March 2004, 04:38 AM	#1
bonsai171 diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: PA	distortion in preamp kit Hello, i recently built a small preamp kit, and after bulding it, and firing it up, it seemed to have a tremendous amount of distortion. The distortion is plainly audible, and after checking the connections, i noticed that the ground isn't wired correctly.. Could this be the source of the problem?? Or is there something more? What would be the best way to track down this problem?? Tia Dave

25th March 2004, 04:47 AM	#2
HDTVman diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Chicago area	By all means fix the grounds. That definitely can be causing you trouble. later BZ __________________ What ever makes the tunes flow

26th March 2004, 03:04 AM	#3
bonsai171 diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: PA	some preamp work well today i sat down and set up the grounds properly (i think??) But unfortunately there is still massive distortion What's the next step in trying to fix this problem?? tia Dave

26th March 2004, 04:31 AM	#4
HDTVman diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Chicago area	Do you have any test equipment? A signal generator, volt meter and oscilloscope are very handy to have at this point. Later BZ __________________ What ever makes the tunes flow

26th March 2004, 06:09 PM	#5
bonsai171 diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: PA	equipment I don't think i have any of that stuff, but there's a possibility of a voltmeter.. What are the options at this point?? tia Dave


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26th March 2004, 10:28 PM	#6
HDTVman diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Chicago area	Well Dave, I or anyone else for that matter need to know more about the circuit. Just what preamp is this, a circuit diagram would help a lot. A disciption of what the distortion sounds like would help too. You need some way to make a few measurements to find out what is going on with the circuit. With out that anything I or anyone else says would just be a wild guess. Later BZ __________________ What ever makes the tunes flow

29th March 2004, 01:07 AM	#8
bonsai171 diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: PA	distortion description Here is the what the distortion sounds like- when you first power up the preamp, everything is quiet, and then if you start the music, it plays fairly cleanly for a few seconds. After that, the sound becomes very garbled and disgusting sounding. Hope this helps! Tia Dave

29th March 2004, 01:16 AM	#9
Magura diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Denmark, Viborg	I once had a similar problem. It was caused by a dead capacitor. Magura __________________ Everything is possible....to do the impossible just takes a little while longer. www.class-a-labs.com

29th March 2004, 01:38 AM	#10
bonsai171 diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: PA	dead capacitors? Hi, if there is a dead capacitor, how would it be tracked? There aren't too many of these, so even if it required some kind of testing for each of them (there are 12) it wouldn't be bad Thanks! Dave

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