Joemeek VC3 xlr input not working...anyone else own/owned one?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Seeker of Rock
  • Start date Start date
Seeker of Rock

Seeker of Rock

Let us be unburdened by that which has been ?
I opened it up and found a ground wire disconnected so maybe that's the issue, maybe not. If anyone has one, could you open it up and tell me where the ground wire is soldered to? I think it is on the same pin as the xlr ground, but not sure.

Also, has anyone else had the xlr input go out? The 1/4" input and the rest of the unit works fine, but the xlr quit working on me. :( Since the xlr is disabled when the 1/4" is being used, I'm wondering if there is a sensor or something that thinks the 1/4" input jack is loaded when it's not, therefore disabling the xlr input jack. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate it.
 
I'll see if I can get around to opening up mine tonight. I'll get back to ya.
 
moresound said:
I'll see if I can get around to opening up mine tonight. I'll get back to ya.
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Awesome man!!

arcaxis said:
Curious if you have the problem with a dynamic mic as well as a condenser? I had a ThreeQ for a short while and the phantom power failed after 3 days. A dynamic mic worked OK without phantom power. There was mention on this forum of an issue with phantom power in some units.
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I've only tried a dynamic. I suppose since I troubleshooted everything else, I should try a condenser and the phantom and see if that works.
 
Well the ground coming in from the XLR is in one of the three holes marked 1, 2, 3 on the circuit board - pretty self explanatory. And also has the ground going to a small nut attached to the chassis close to where the XLR socket is located.
So in all there are two green wires accomplishing those two duties.
Then the hot and common ... Red and black that are going to the circuit board as well.
 
moresound said:
Well the ground coming in from the XLR is in one of the three holes marked 1, 2, 3 on the circuit board - pretty self explanatory. And also has the ground going to a small nut attached to the chassis close to where the XLR socket is located.
So in all there are two green wires accomplishing those two duties.
Then the hot and common ... Red and black that are going to the circuit board as well.
Click to expand...

So the ground attached to the chassis via the nut is connected at the other end to pin 1 (or the ground pin...green wire) on the xlr, right? I thought so, but wanted to be sure. Thanks, man. Very cool of you to take the time to help!
 
Yes you have it correct.
I hadn't looked inside that unit as yet - gave me the opportunity to do so. ;)
 
Thanks, guys. That loose chassis ground wire, whether the cause or not, definitely came loose from its solder to the pin. I'm using it as a bass d.i. for now, so fortunately I've got a bit of time to figure out the xlr problem.
 
As a follow up, I eventually e-mailed Ted Fletcher at his T F Pro site. He is really cool and accommodating regarding equipment he designed. I sent it to him for repair in England and the problem was two preamp capacitors had gone bad and apparently that snowballed causing excessive voltage to the SSM2017 preamp chip causing it to fail as well.

It's on its way back to me now. He has a set repair fee for equipment of his design (so not the newer joemeek line...I think Allen Bradford is the name of the chap that did the designs for the newer PMI series) of 25 pounds (this includes parts), about $36 U.S. The loose green wire has since been re-soldered, too.
 
Well that was a great repair price, Seeker.
Good to know that there are still pro people who stand behind their gear.
 
arcaxis said:
Any particular reason it was sent to England versus PMI/Joe Meek in California? I bought a refurbed 3Q a while back from PMI in California and in conversations with the guy I talked to it sounded as if that was the repair facility for the states.
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They gave me an indeterminate time at a price of $75/hr. + parts and shipping. The set price Ted et al. offered, and the fact that he designed these original circuits and was responding daily to my posts on his forum, made me go with that option.
 
arcaxis said:
I wasn't too happy with the shipping charge on the refurbed 3Q I bought from PMI in CA. Originally quoted $12 over the phone and then $22 shows up on the billing invoice. I complained and they wouldn't honor what was quoted on the phone. Explanation was Fedex rates seem to change daily :facepalm:.
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Lol. I sent my VC3 to England for less than that. Justin Hyatt of PMI sent me a free manual for my VC1Qcs 5 years ago, though, and that was pretty cool of him to do. I guess they had some leftover from the Fletcher era or something.
 
Yeah, he's stopping his TF Pro gear lines and just fixing the stuff he designed when it needs it. Except for Orbitsound...that seems to be his new passion and it's a pretty cool concept.
 
Shameless pic of my meek gear section grouped for a photo op. There is one more VC3 not shown. That's the recently-repaired one in transit from Torquay.
 

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