I realize a lot of people think its fine to leave them in, but I have my doubts.Īnd it is possible to have too much capacitance, although usually not too critical as long as you aren't over a factor of say two or four of the stock value. In the unlikely event you can't get at the solder side of the circuit board, or haven't proper de-soldering tools, and feel obliged to solder a new cap to the old cap's leads, try to leave enough clearance so the bad cap can be clipped out when done. Mine is, bad caps should be removed and replaced if at all possible. Thanks for the insight, but others might have slightly different opinion.
ALTEC LANSING ATP3 DIN CONNECTOR PC
Killing yourself for the sake of a cheap set of PC speakers won't win you any brownies, either here or hereafter. The purpose here should be to learn something first and maybe fix something second. Finding such isn't the same as fixing the problem, but it does indicate you are looking in the right place.īUT, if the powered-down inspection yields nothing and you are NOT okay with 120V AC, wrap it up and either give it to a qualified tech, or chuck it. Then switch the MM to AC, and see if you can detect excessive ripple on either of the DC rails. One should have just the negative value of the other, within a volt or less. Probably something between +-15 and +-30 volts. If you are OK with 120V AC, CLIP one lead of your multimeter to ground, power up, put one hand in your back pocket, and use the other hand to hold the other multimeter probe to test the DC rails. If everything looks OK, then locate the positive and negative DC supply rails. Look for signs of excess heat and discolored parts. Be sure to check any small wires, resistors, and capacitors around the voltage regulators. If something is obviously amiss, fix or replace as appropriate. Look for loose wires, loose screws that might hold a wire down particularly to ground, and damaged capacitors. However, you might get lucky and find something with the obligatory preliminary not-plugged-in visual inspection. Is your multimeter digital, and does it have mode to measure AC ripple on top of the DC supply? Are you sure you know your way around 120V AC? A single-socket plug-in GFI might be a wise investment. If you tear into the sub-woofer, you probably won't learn much without it being plugged in. Whats it like plugged directly into the wall?Īs for your other question, I'm uncertain what to say. I suspect that control signal is digital and not likely a source of hum, but you might check out the condition of the satellite cable(s) just to be sure. But you won't know if you don't try.Įdit: There is one more connection here: the right-side satellite probably has an on/off volume/balance control that somehow has to communicate with the amplifier. Some might not be possible, or be worth your time. Some of these are easier to diagnose and fix than others. Could be as simple as a loose ground wire, or a shot filter cap, or a cold solder joint that finally gave way.
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If you do dig into it, keep in mind it may be more of an educational field trip than a successful repair. If the former, (1) how good are you with a screwdriver, soldering iron, and multimeter and (2) how badly did you need new speakers anyway? - View image here:.
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First off, if the PSU has a three-prong plug, is it plugged into a properly polarized and grounded mains outlet? If so, is the power supply integrated into the sub-woofer, or is it an external brick? If the latter, you might be able to find another similar unit to test it against.