Recent content by ecc83

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/sound-devices-astral Eye watering amount of dosh but perhaps the best there is? Dave.

Yes, welcome Satchel. Your working area looks very bare and 'reflective' I see you have your mic in a Reflection Filter, never used one but write ups say they help. I would still like to see some absorbent material in front of and behind the mic setup and of course, the filter will do nothing...

If the fuse is blackened and especially if the glass has crazed I suggest you do not simply replace* it. Some serious **** has take that out and you could end up with more damaged components, even blown print. On the other hand if the fuse has just gently gone open circuit you have chances. A...

No, don't beat yourself up about getting lost on a PCB! Happens to the best of us. Once Upon a Time, GOOD quality kit had the component references and pin Nos' printed on both sides of the board. That is an extra cost we no longer see. For sure it is impractical for those dinky SMT boards but my...

Discrete voltage regulator circuits vary a bit but most of them use a series power device and there must be a voltage reference somewhere. That will be a Zener diode or maybe two Zeners in series. If that voltage is present and correct (it will be marked on the diodes and should be on the...

Hah! Ha! My grandson has just bought his good lady a sausage dog pup for her birthday...900 quid!! Dave.

Well yes some models are built to 'mid price' levels and servicing almost anything is a trial these days (there orta be a law!) but as I say, Blackstar have a vast range up to the all valve Artisans, totally classic turret board construction and chunky transformers. Not cheap but nowhere near...

" "Aside: You chose to work on a Blackstar so no whimpering, either. That's one amp manufacturer that I would neither buy nor want to work on." Well, when one is employed it is not really "choice"! What have you got against Blackstar? You may not like the S Ones' but they make a vast range...

Simply "reflowing" suspect joints can often not work. The original problem can be a dirty pin which never 'tinned' properly and you need to de solder it and clean it. I do understand that that would be a mammoth task for all those joints but you may have narrowed the offender down? Remove the...

If you mean the 2SC1865 transistor that comes up as a T03 power transistor and thus could well be used to switch power on and off to various parts of the circuit. I think we need to wait for that manual? Do you have a scanner? Dave.

". Lots of transistors,....." I don't know the gear at all but I might be able to help if you can post links to schematics? By "transistors" I assume you mean discrete voltage regulators? These can be tricky beast to fix and whilst many designs were SAID to be short circuit proof many were not...

If the meters just "bounce" at start up and then settle that is just the supply rails settling down. Same as the PLOP you get when firing up most solid state amps. Dave

Have a look at this,,https://www.valvewizard.co.uk/ Also, PM on its way. Dave.

There is an episode of the cook Rick Stein in Hamburg(?) where he is met by a lady who plays and sings 'I saw her standing there' on a uke. Brilliant she was and I wanted to record the piece for my son in France...total Beatles nutcase, but they have NEVER shown it since! Dave.

Bear with.... You don't need a third party app, see the screen shot from Audacity, a really useful audio recorder and editor and totally free. I would also not use a tone for a reference signal it can give misleading results due to standing waves and 'phase' issues. Constant tones also drive...