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Post subject: A weekend of fun amplifier repairs
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 8:59 am
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I've been having fun poking round inside my Marshall 9100 stereo power amp! It's had a fault since I got it, channel A constantly blew HT fuses so I eventually gave up and just used channel B. But I felt it was sitting there mocking me, daring me to remove the cover and rip my last few remnants of hair out trying to fix it.

Ok, I was just lazy. Turned out the bias was set WAY too low so the output tubes were conducting far too much current, both sides were set to something stupid like -25 Volts. Quick poke with the multimeter, quick twist of these babies ...

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... and it sprang back into joyous grunting Marshall-powered life.

Considering I paid £250 for it and didn't pay a repairman, I think I got a bargain. Moral of the story is if you're reasonably confident with electronics then buy broken stuff and fix it yourself.

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Post subject: Re: A weekend of fun amplifier repairs
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 1:06 pm
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[quote="GilgaFrank" Moral of the story is if you're reasonably confident with electronics then buy broken stuff and fix it yourself.[/quote]

I did that with a vibro champ xd that "didn't work". Best $50 I ever spent. Reseated all connectors and she came alive. It's been working fine ever since. Gotta love Craigslist.

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Post subject: Re: A weekend of fun amplifier repairs
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 1:51 pm
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What really astounds me is when people just assume "it's broken" and sell gear at a massive loss. Other than buying the amp, the only money I've laid out is for a pack of HT fuses. I haven't checked the list price of these things but I'll bet it's at least three times what I paid for it.

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Post subject: Re: A weekend of fun amplifier repairs
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 2:04 pm
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Cool beans! Fixing stuff is very satisfying! :D

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Post subject: Re: A weekend of fun amplifier repairs
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 2:28 pm
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indeed it is, also love the deals where people are left with gear they have no clue about, and inherit. This was my score of the century. I don't even have the heart to tell what I paid for it. :mrgreen:
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AFTER:
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Post subject: Re: A weekend of fun amplifier repairs
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 2:33 pm
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I'm also reminded of the legend of the local amp repair guy, a man known for his forthright statements of opinion on the quality of modern amplifiers ... the story goes that he bumped into the founder of a very well-known British amplifier manufacturing business and said to him "hey Jim, just keep building amps the way you are doing because I've bought three houses on the money I make repairing them".

Fix things yourself if you can, save £££$$$

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Post subject: Re: A weekend of fun amplifier repairs
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 2:35 pm
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Arnold Layne wrote:
indeed it is, also love the deals where people are left with gear they have no clue about, and inherit. This was my score of the century. I don't even have the heart to tell what I paid for it.


That's precisely what I'm talking about. Well-built amps have lasted 50 or 60 years with a bit of servicing and maintenance and there's no reason they can't last another 50 or 60 years.

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