I'm not sure was it Santa or Satan who brought me this for Xmass??
It was sitting in humid and cold shed for years, but apart of few unimportant knobs and covers, it is complete. I left it in worm and dry to condition for some weeks before attempting to power up.
Half a century ago this was the top that money (a lot of it) could buy, but question is is this worth rebuilding today when REW and soundcards do all the job?
It was sitting in humid and cold shed for years, but apart of few unimportant knobs and covers, it is complete. I left it in worm and dry to condition for some weeks before attempting to power up.
Half a century ago this was the top that money (a lot of it) could buy, but question is is this worth rebuilding today when REW and soundcards do all the job?
I never used any of these units, so part of possible refurbishment will be also learning how to utilize it properly, even it looks quite straight forward, before bugs start to walk around 🙂
Two questions spring to mind:
i) Do you have a service manual?
ii) How much spare time do you have?
If the answers are 'yes' and 'lots', then go for it (I find pointless refurbishment of obsolete electronics a lot of fun, although I don't have time to restore more than about one item a year).
It isn't going to tell you anything that a decent soundcard + REW will, but you won't have to wait for it to boot, nor will you have to worry about scaling everything so that the results bear relation to the real world. I have numerous AAs such as UPV, AP, Prism etc, but I still use the Lindos LA100 daily as it's so convenient. The W+G would be a little like the LA100 -if in working condition. It's nice to have an instrument that shows distortion and FR within 10 seconds of turning it on: "is this working?"...ten seconds later, "yes, it is. I can do detailed measurements later, but it looks ok for the minute". Hardware is nice to have. The W+G will impress visitors. It will have better geek value than a soundcard + laptop.
i) Do you have a service manual?
ii) How much spare time do you have?
If the answers are 'yes' and 'lots', then go for it (I find pointless refurbishment of obsolete electronics a lot of fun, although I don't have time to restore more than about one item a year).
It isn't going to tell you anything that a decent soundcard + REW will, but you won't have to wait for it to boot, nor will you have to worry about scaling everything so that the results bear relation to the real world. I have numerous AAs such as UPV, AP, Prism etc, but I still use the Lindos LA100 daily as it's so convenient. The W+G would be a little like the LA100 -if in working condition. It's nice to have an instrument that shows distortion and FR within 10 seconds of turning it on: "is this working?"...ten seconds later, "yes, it is. I can do detailed measurements later, but it looks ok for the minute". Hardware is nice to have. The W+G will impress visitors. It will have better geek value than a soundcard + laptop.
Manual and service manual (no affiliation):
https://www.opweb.de/en/manufacturer/wandel-goltermann/spm-11
https://www.opweb.de/en/manufacturer/wandel-goltermann/spm-11
Hi, thanks for very good answer..... I have similar feeling about it.
I do not have time for it really, it will take weeks to get it in good condition.....
First I will see if it works as is after climate conditioning and bit of cleaning , if it works I will keep it, if not I'm very tempted to cannibalize those 1% and 0.5% capacitors that go up to 150nF, these are unobtainable today and fantastic for filters of any sort....
You will regret cannibalising this for parts. W+G stuff is really nicely made and it's a piece from a bygone era. If you don't have time to restore it, I would suggest selling it on Ebay or here. Hopefully someone will fix it up. Check that it doesn't have Frako electrolytic caps. A lot of German gear from this era used them (unlike some Japanese caps that last decades, the Frako are a rotten part) and they are nearly always shot. They can pass DC and cause damage. It could be as simple as changing a few caps.
Electrolytics should be replaced after 45 years anyway I think. But Ill look for Frako before power up attempt. Thanks for the hint.
Im still using some Sprague screw terminal "computer grade" lytics from same year (i think its same) , these are spot on ... But there are lytics and lytics, better to replace to avoid smoke.