Headrush FR112 blowing fuse

[rwillett]

I took a punt on a not-well-known auction site and got a Headrush FR112. Not eBay to be clear.

 

I got it cheap for £84 but it turns out that it doesn't work. It came with a blown 6.3A fuse and putting in another 6.3A fuse gave me a matched pair of blown fuses. Not quite as a nice as a matched pair of EL84 valves but still glassware

 

I'm in discussions with the auction site but assuming that I don't get my money back, caveat emptor etc etc, any recommendations for somebody in NW England who can look at these things and repair them. The Headrush site shows somebody in Leeds and also somebody in Castleford. Both are a fair old schlep. 

 

If I don't get my money back, I suspect I'll be making them into a home made cabinet.

 

Any sensible suggestions welcomed.

Rob

[itu]

Check if the PCBA has any metal debris or burned areas (both sides). Is the speaker dis/connected? Any faulty connections? Test the speaker element functionality with a battery. 

[rwillett]

8 minutes ago, itu said:

Check if the PCBA has any metal debris or burned areas (both sides). Is the speaker dis/connected? Any faulty connections? Test the speaker element functionality with a battery. 

 

I've not opened it yet. I'm still awaiting the response from the auction house.

 

I did ring up an authorised Headrush repair company in Leeds and it's £90 just to look at it plus whatever is needed to fix it  plus me dropping it off (or sending to and fro via courier). If a new amp section is needed then I can easily see that being £100 and that plus £90 plus £20 x 2 for delivery moves this to circa £220 for repair which makes it not cost effective. So if I get no joy from the auction house, then I'll open it up and have a look. My money is on the transformer burning out but what do I know

 

Lets see what the auction house says. It makes no mention of the fact it doesn't bloody well work and tripped my fuseboard. Thankfully it caused no other damage.

 

I'm not hopeful and am expecting to write it off.

 

Thanks for the suggestions..

 

Rob

[rwillett]

Oddly enough John Pye auctions have just come back and as expected have washed their hands of the situation. Distance selling regs do not apply, so I'll be in touch with their local trading standards for selling dangerous goods. Doubt anything will come of it but if nothing more I can make a fuss.

 

If anybody has any other suggestions that might make their life legally difficult please pipe up.

 

Lesson learnt never to use them again

Rob

 

 

[tauzero]

I don't think you have a legal leg to stand on - see https://johnpye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/John_Pye_Auctions_TC.pdf section 7.

 

Although unlike Gardiner Houlgate, they don't give you an option to request a condition report. Gardiner Houlgate say for any mains-powered electrical item "*Please note: Gardiner Houlgate do not guarantee the full working order of any electrical items. Do not assume that this lot or any other electrical item is fully working. Please ask for a condition report before placing any kind of bid", which I have done for various items - a typical report for an amp is "This item is in good working condition. No pot noise or crackles."

[rwillett]

Learnt my lesson. I'll keep an eye on their domain name and if they forget to renew even for a few hours, that might be unfortunate. 

 

I'll break the unit open and if nothing else I'll have a 12" speaker and tweeter to play with. It might be an easy fix, but suspect its junk. Of course if somebody has a broken case and a working set of internal bits, that could be useful

 

Rob