Golden Age Pre-73 10db light on

[George Marinelli]

hi,
bought two golden age pre-73s and they just arrived. hooked them both up and they're both working, but one's 10db LCD is staying on, with or without anything connected. recorded some cursory talking with each pre and they sound identical. should i be concerned? also, the gain knob seems a bit rough on this same unit compared to the other. need them for a couple of projects this week, but may send back for a replacement. any thoughts?
thanx,
gm

[Jimsi]

i'd send the bad one back for exchange after your recording sessions ...

[George Marinelli]

thanx for the quick response. you're probably right. i'll see if i can get the ball rolling now and get it in the mail after this week.
g

[Adlen]

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Sounds stupid but it's worked for me in the past with the same problem on different gear

[George Marinelli]

thanx liam. actually that didn't sound stupid at all because i've also had good luck with other stuff by turning it on and off, but in this case, no luck. fender guitar amps respond particularly well by lifting them off the floor a couple of inches and letting them drop back down seriously.

[Jimsi]

Good point, I had that happen with a new reverb unit where on and off fixed it from hanging...it has worked for over a year now ..no problems...

Originally Posted by Adlen

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Sounds stupid but it's worked for me in the past with the same problem on different gear

[George Marinelli]

yeah, when it does work, it seems like that spike from turning the power on can sometimes push thru a cold solder joint or other things, kinda like turning the garden hose all the way up to clear it out. maybe i should try hooking the garden hose to my preamp! now we're talking

[Jimsi]

thats funny, it made my day....

Originally Posted by George Marinelli

yeah, when it does work, it seems like that spike from turning the power on can sometimes push thru a cold solder joint or other things, kinda like turning the garden hose all the way up to clear it out. maybe i should try hooking the garden hose to my preamp! now we're talking

[Adlen]

I used to make a living from 'off and on again'... I used to work in computers

I've seen this problem on a DBX 266XL as well, it's CONSTANTLY reducing gain apparently! No luck with on/of on that either...

[Vodski]

Originally Posted by George Marinelli

yeah, when it does work, it seems like that spike from turning the power on can sometimes push thru a cold solder joint or other things, kinda like turning the garden hose all the way up to clear it out. maybe i should try hooking the garden hose to my preamp! now we're talking

You must make sure the hose has the correct connectors and is the right impedance first.

[Adlen]

Originally Posted by Vodski

You must make sure the hose has the correct connectors and is the right impedance first.

OBVIOUSLY! We wouldn't want to break anything would we?

[George Marinelli]

ya know, i wasn't born yesterday. i'll start with cold water and gradually make it warmer. that should be safe. these electronic pieces don't want to be exposed to EXTREMELY hot water, otherwise they may not perform optimally. i think the biases are set for around 82 degrees fahrenheit.
(hope no newbies are taking this stuff seriously.)

anyway, thanx for all the good and entertaining input. love this forum.

[Adlen]

Originally Posted by George Marinelli

ya know, i wasn't born yesterday. i'll start with cold water and gradually make it warmer.

You can tell he's a noob

(Double irony from the fact that I was the one who suggested turning it off and on again )

Hope your exchange goes smoothly - Good luck!

[Aeolian]

Originally Posted by George Marinelli

ya know, i wasn't born yesterday. i'll start with cold water and gradually make it warmer. that should be safe. these electronic pieces don't want to be exposed to EXTREMELY hot water, otherwise they may not perform optimally. i think the biases are set for around 82 degrees fahrenheit.
(hope no newbies are taking this stuff seriously.)

I know you all are joking around here, but FWIW, a lot of electronics assemblies are exposed to 150-200F water. It's how we get the flux off in mass production.

Of course, this is extremely pure deionized water. I wouldn't try it with the stuff that comes out of the faucet.

Actually, you'd be amazed at how often something starts working again, or better after a good cleaning. That recalcitrant meter may well be a leakage path though flux residue left during assembly. But I'd still send it back and make someone else straighten it out.'

My day job is manufacturing engineering in electronics assembly. I've been the process engineering manager at one tier 1 contract manufacturer and now work in the advanced development lab of another. Along the way I put together the SMT capability at a certain quiet pro audio company a bit north of here. While I was at it, I also upgraded their water washing system.

Back to the fun...

[AcademyCurve]

I get the -10db light if my Mic/Line Knob is turned to the wrong section w/ DI IN and Mic Cables hooked up but goes out when I'm turned to the correct section.
Love them! Hope yours gets fixed

[George Marinelli]

aeolian, that's impressive stuff. sounds like you're WAY more hands-on than i could ever dream of. but thanx for the informative point of view. academy view, my light stays on no matter what, but sonically it seems okay. if i can get thru this week and two projects i'll be happy, then send it back for an exchange. waiting for a response from the online store i bought it from.
thanx again all,
g