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Intermittent problem with outputs on Hartke HA550


gareth1982
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[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1448903137' post='2919049']
You're reading it too literally. :)
It's not the direction of airflow, its the item used to create the airflow.

A household vaccuum cleaner has a motor spinning around and will create static
A can of compressed air doesn't.
[/quote]

I still don't get it. The vacuum motor is at the end of a great big long plastic tube and probably even further isolated in the case of the modern cyclone vacuums. The important bit is what is happening at the nozzle where the air is being sucked or blown as this is the bit that is in contact with the equipment. A bit more science is required I think.

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Update!

I write this from holiday (in Morocco, it's gorgeous!). I took the amp to rehearsal last Friday; it worked perfectly for 15 mins then the output to the speakers just stopped working again. So it's not dirty Jack barrel contacts, it's not the lead, it's not s dry joint, it's nothing that I can see that's loose....Aaagh! Any further ideas chaps. I'm sure that when I get home and try it, it will work for 15 mins again, then do the same thing.

It's doing my head in!

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It's while it's not working that the investigation has to be performed, so it needs opening up and tracing the signal to where it stops. There are several 'short cuts', such as tapping parts with an insulated tool, or freezing some components; the technical 'bench' method would be with an oscilloscope, checking various points of passage to see exactly where it's being stopped. I've done years of tech stuff, on all sorts of gear; the most difficult to trace are the intermittent faults that cannot be provoked. Either you have the gear on hand when it fails, or you find a way of making the fault appear at will, or you're in for a long, patience-sapping soak-in on the bench. As you've already tried all the easy routes, maybe confide it to a tech willing to hunt down the fault..? The scary part is not really knowing whether it's fixed or not, unless there's a definite and repeatable issue found. Sorry, but it's not looking good, is it..? :unsure:

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Good advice.

I've got the schematics for it, so I will open it up again and trace the signal path (when it's playing up) and see what I (and my father in law who is a bit of an electronics buff) can one up with. I'm not in a particular rush or have a particular need for the amp, but it's just an annoyance that it's beating me!

I will report any findings.

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[quote name='gareth1982' timestamp='1449660604' post='2925627']
Good advice.

I've got the schematics for it, so I will open it up again and trace the signal path (when it's playing up) and see what I (and my father in law who is a bit of an electronics buff) can one up with. I'm not in a particular rush or have a particular need for the amp, but it's just an annoyance that it's beating me!

I will report any findings.
[/quote]

Just a tip, maybe teaching you to suck eggs...

Tracing is at its most rapid if you go for the mid-point each time. Signal in..? Check. Nothing out..? Check. Test in the middle. Signal present..? Check to the right, mid-point. Signal absent..? Check to the left, mid-point. Rinse and repeat ...
Just sayin'; hope this helps.

(The egg-sucking is just an expression, and actually makes interventions a bit messy, so I don't recommend it. :mellow: )

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I think the time for a systematic working through of the signal chain isn't far away however a couple of thoughts.

Don't dismiss the output/speaker jacks yet. It's hard to get them properly cleaned and you may have moved something just by plugging and unplugging. Once the contacts start to tarnish my experience is they are never the same again and tarnish more quickly from then on. Secondly old jacks don't just get dirty they also get metal fatigue and the spring contacts make a weaker connection. Replace the jacks if they are suspect.

Then if you want to create the fault at will get some freezer spray. I've tracked down way more than 50% of intermittent faults that way.

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