Source for TA3020 in UK?

[retgaz]

Hi
Does anybody know where I can buy a TA3020 in the UK? It's for a Peavey Messenger Pro Sub. I've tried all the suppliers I can think of but no luck. Peavey have the part but are charging too much to make the repair practical.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Jazz P Bass]

10.31 US a piece.
Link: Wholesale TA3020 3020 TRIPATH DIP 48 Stereo 300W Class T Digital Audio Amplifier Driver using Digital Power

[retgaz]

Thanks for the link. I've bookmarked it as a possible.
I was hoping to find one in the UK so that I could have it running for the weekend, ready for my customers next gig.
The delivery charges to the UK hurt a bit as well, but it's still a better option than direct from Peavey.
Thanks

[Jazz P Bass]

PHOENIX COMPONENTS UK LTD
Address: 1 RICCALL GRANGE,RICCALL,YORK,United Kingdom,YO19 6QL

Express Electronics
Address: link business park,yORK,YORKSHIRE,United Kingdom,YO103JB

[J M Fahey]

so that I could have it running for the weekend, ready for my customers next gig.

Don't they always want that?

[km6xz]

Yeah, so often with these "you gotta get it done ASAP because I have a gig tonight" answer the question of "how long has it been down?" with "6 months, but I did not need it until today".

[retgaz]

Thanks for the contacts Jazz P I'll let you know how I get on.

Don't they always want that?

Oh yes. My favourite was a guy that brought in a mixing desk for me to repair. He carried it in and said "I can wait twenty minutes if you want to do it now".
They'll be wanting drive thru repairs next.

[km6xz]

If someone wanted to create a business that catered to fast service that would not be a bad idea, if there was a customer base that would appreciate it and move from existing shops. You can get eye glasses ground and framed in an hour now which was always a time consuming activity, or a meal in 15 seconds.
I suppose a shop would have to be highly specialized to not have to take units into storage waiting for parts. There really is not much difference between doing it now or after 4-6 days of backlog. A specialized "drive-through" service could be a lot smaller and have lower overhead not having an extra 2000 sq feet of storage. The problem is finding the niche product that is in need of service enough to warrant stocking all the parts likely to be needed. Getting something back in an hour instead of 1 week, and for less, should capture most of the repair business for that product. When ADATs were hot and needed a lot of service we regularly did them while people waited because we had all the parts and were doing a thousand a month anyway, why not make the customer standing there happy? It is amazing how happy it makes them when they expect to be without something for weeks from past experience with other shops. Having instant and low cost service is a sure way of capturing market share. If you are doing a lot of anything, cost of overhead and time to repair it should be a low, lower than for those who do not specialize or see a lot of the same items.
Here, DJ mixers and DJ CD decks would probably fit that specialization requirement. It helps that the DJ mixers by tradition are built ready to fall apart from new. Even the best are flimsy junk in construction.
Any time there is a perceived need(from the customer's point of view), there is an opportunity to build a service around it if it is approached creatively. There is no inherent reason why service traditionally has been based on backlogs, just how most people assume it to be the way its done. Logically, instead of higher charges for rush, higher charges should be for non-rush, since the repair involves dis-assembly and re-assembly twice, storage space. I always hated backlogs, there were only there because some element of the process was inefficient and poorly thought out. Everyone is happy if an item is picked up very quickly. Some shops seem to brag that they are so popular that they have a month backlog. That tells me something completely different about their operation and it is not too flattering.

[Enzo]

Guy brings it in Friday evening. Monday morning he calls and asks if it is ready. "No." "What??? You've had it three days!!!"

[J M Fahey]

Or, as the great Enzo once quoted: "this is the second week it's been here !!!! ... and you haven't even opened it !!!"

[Mick Bailey]

When I worked in the newspaper industry any failure had to be fixed right away, or a workaround put into place, We printed 125,000 newspapers that were sold the same day, all reliant on electronics. We were set up for this; spares for everything, factory trained engineers, full drawings and manufacturer support. But there was a huge cost overhead. It didn't matter then - a golden age - we were making millions a year.

So the guy in the street with his 'want it yesterday' mentality wants the same backup, but with no cost overhead. He wants a repair that costs barely more than a cup of coffee and brings in a piece of gear with a brand you've never even seen or heard of, that's obsolete, doesn't have a schematic or any other information, and uses parts that were hard to come by 25 years ago.

Here's a piece of gear bought to me late on a Friday afternoon that needed a guaranteed repair by Sunday morning, to get booked in the same day for a flight from the UK to the US for a tour. OT o/c, burnt wiring, shorted tube, bad filter caps, previous kludged repairs, arcing socket.



"But I've got to have it, it's my sound".

A quick turnaround means you've got to get your hands on parts very quickly, or carry a large inventory of dead-money stock. The nature of repairs means seeing a lot of old gear and that often means the manufacturer either no longer exists or they've cleared out their spares for that particular item. Or the manufacturer won't support independent repair shops (Line 6 for one).

I don't like having equipment in pieces. I had a Godin synth guitar that needed a replacement output board; the importers didn't have any, the factory didn't, LR Baggs wouldn't reply. How can that not be in a backlog? How long does it take to get a response from a company that finished with a circuit 10 years ago? How long did it take me to draw up artwork for a new board? This isn't drive-thru stuff and I don't think for one moment that anyone who brings equipment in for repair really understands the challenges in getting parts and information, besides actually finding the fault in the first place.

For me a backlog is unavoidable. I can only shoe one horse at a time and if someone brings in a camel then they'll have to wait a little longer.

[Jazz P Bass]

So how did the story end up?
I hope you told the guy to pound sand!

[J M Fahey]

Here's a piece of gear bought to me late on a Friday afternoon that needed a guaranteed repair by Sunday morning, to get booked in the same day for a flight from the UK to the US for a tour. OT o/c, burnt wiring, shorted tube, bad filter caps, previous kludged repairs, arcing socket.

Sorry baby, you should have brought it one YEAR ago .
Or more, considering its visible condition.
Or more, that grime on the tubes glass may take 10 or 20 YEARS to collect.

"But I've got to have it, it's my sound".

Fine, I won't sleep for 36 hours and you'll have your amp on time, guaranteed.
It's U$5000 up front, NOW .
No, I'm not kidding.
It's 36 hours @ U$139 each, a very reasonable price for a very unreasonable job.

[Enzo]

I've had those too. Here, I need it tomorrow morning, we are leaving for Nashville. (Or Vegas, or New York or wherever big place) I hand it back and tell them,
when you get to Nashville, take it to a shop there.

[km6xz]

Mick, I understand that many repairs are not repairs but restorations. My comment was about the feasibility of someone, in a large music center, could specialize in fast repairs of a narrower range of products and models. The only problem is finding that niche where it is possible. The last time I remember a product that had enough concentration of ownership and need for service was digital tape, particularly ADAT, DA-88 and DAT when a well equipped shop could guarantee a repair date because all the parts that might be needed were in stock.

I think most general repair work is better classed as restoration since so many models with so many parts that are not available now. I have been out of active work in the field for 10 years and even at that time my database of models of gear we worked on regularly enough to have support documents and some parts is over 7,500. In the last 10 years, probably 5,000-10,000 new models have been introduced and a shift away from customer support by manufacturers have compounded the problem for generalists. A shop would be much more efficient and profitable if they could specialize in a few high volume models or even brands but everything related to being a generalist introduces inefficiency with a high level of parts searching to actual diagnostic bench time and repairs. To specialize, volume in a narrow range is needed plus a need to shed the often held belief that a tech has to work on everything that comes in the door. Refusing unprofitable repairs is probably the best improvement in efficiency a shop manager could adopt.
When I started my new little hobby shop a couple years ago here, I took in just about anything but soon discovered how impossible parts were for many models, and as more people found out about the service, and volume increased, I have been able to become more selective in what is taken in. I recently added a policy of not taking in units that have been "repaired" by any of the local hacks who ruin equipment more help, and modified circuits when they could not figure out a problem or parts were not available. Before, most of my bench time was spend on trying to save burned up pc boards, burned by techs trying to remove or check mounted parts. I have posted images of examples in the past.
I have been trying to concentrate on finding niches to get away from general work, and one that shows promise is wireless audio systems that are used extensively by theaters, hotels, pa companies and tour operators. There are 330 drama theaters within walking distance of my home. I have the test gear for wireless, mostly in the form of a self contained Motorola R2008 service monitor that no other shop has.
Traditionally, manufacturers of wireless systems refused to provide schematics or have warranty stations however.