Neve 1064 fault

[droog]

Hi guys ,

We have a Neve 1064 module that has developed a little problem.


It was working fine and then suddenly started making a "fizzing" niose.
I opened up the module and reseated the cards and plugged it back in.
The "fizzing" was gone but now the level coming out of the module had dropped about 15dB.
Upon further investigation , the level only drops while the EQ is switched in , even with all bands flat and the mid , low and HPF bands switched to "off".

If anyone has any ideas about the culprit component or board please let me know.

Thanks

D

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

Droog..

When reseating the cards be sure to clean the gold edge strips as i have has this happen to me as well. Clean them with a Rubber (eraser not condom!! ) NO ISOPROPYL.......and make sure that the the remnants of the rubber are wiped clean and the boards are firmly reseated in the module sockets.. However if the EQ is the problem then perhaps check the EQ boards as some of the capacitors may have finally cooked and shat themselves. When you bought them were they recapped and calibrated? Also tranistors that are part of tge amp stage in the EQ may be dead. Im not sure about the eq in neves but being inductor based they could be passive like pultecs, so if they are pasisive it sounds like the amp stage is shot and is repsonsible for the low output level. The amp stages in Pultecs are around 17dB of make up gain from the passive EQ... so i figure by the sounds of things it would be int he ballpark? This could be a reason for the serious level drop as when the EQ is bypassed the level should remain constant as you mentioned.

Im no tech by nay stretch of the imagination, as much as i endeavour to learn a bit soon. But this is just a lil bit of info from my experiences with Neves..

Failing that i could Express post you my 'Magic Neve Wand' that i used all the time to fix problems.. i would tell the producer/engineer to take 5 and banish them and whip out my magic neve wand and .... Hey presto she worked again.. PErhaps i should market them?

Let us know how you go?

Failing that seek out a good tech!!!! and i know Sydney has a good deal of them, moreso than Melbourne.

Cheers
Wiggy

[Mike Tholen]

sounds like your caps have finally bit it.grudge

[Geoff_T]

Originally posted by droog
Hi guys ,

We have a Neve 1064 module that has developed a little problem.


It was working fine and then suddenly started making a "fizzing" niose.
I opened up the module and reseated the cards and plugged it back in.
The "fizzing" was gone but now the level coming out of the module had dropped about 15dB.
Upon further investigation , the level only drops while the EQ is switched in , even with all bands flat and the mid , low and HPF bands switched to "off".

If anyone has any ideas about the culprit component or board please let me know.

Thanks

D

Hi

You need to be a little more specific with your fault description like... no bass or sounds distorted. A straight drop in level of 15dB with no other artifacts is a strange fault indeed.

I'd go with cleaning the gold connectors with a rubber eraser (removing all residual rubber) so that the gold glistens.

Next most likely are the capacitors (electrolytic and tantalum) on the two identical sections of the B184/284 and I would change these, like with like. Don't use aluminum electrolytics in place of tantalum.

If it still has an issue, check the BC184C (or BC107 or 9) transistors with a multimeter on diode check. Change any with bad junctions or, to spare a lot of messing around, just replace all the transistors in those two sections (6 transistors total) with new BC184C's.

[droog]

Rubber to the rescue! Thanks guys , i'd forgotten about that one.

Just out of interest , why the caution about cleaning solvents?

D

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

Some cleaning solvents prefer to eat gold laced contact trails instead of maintain and lubricate them, and once they are gone from the board its nearly impossible to replace!! and the module is junk then except for parts. I know a dude that hada MCI and it had a constant fault and the module was ripped in and out so muc that the gold ont he contacts eroded with wear, cos gold is a soft metal! The module was later junked and a new (2nd hand one) ordered from an overseas gear shark.

Best ask your favourite repair tech dude or lady to reccommend a good spray for you.. i know MCL and deoxit are popular but im not so sure about how they go with contacts etc..

Cheers
Wiggy