Source for TA3020 in UK?

[oc disorder]

Hmm jumped in without looking at the date..
But anyway these guys are good..check out their stock
I had a mixing console to repair that had been plugged into a 3 phase outlet that had an
adapter that was wired by some flea brain and consequently got 415vAC fed into it !
The fuses/transformer regulators were no protection and just about every IC in the console (24)
was cactus. Transformer was all right and everything else ended up ok.
The IC's I got in bulk from them ,prompt delivery to Aust and no complaints.
Just thought I would say...

Profusion plc, Audio Semiconductors and Components

Profusion plc
Europe's electronics distributor for audio semiconductors and components

TRIPATH

Tripath parts are no longer in production.

Profusion purchased all the remaining stock from Tripath when they ceased trading and so the parts are only available while stocks last.

If you are considering a new design please contact us to ensure we have the stock to support the expected lifetime usage of the project.

EDIT: wonder what the Peavey workaround for this is ?

[Enzo]

learning to say "no" is an important lesson, I agree. And customers are not used to hearing it. Now and then Something comes in, and I call the customer to tell them I decline the repair. No charge, I just decline to work on it. They are usually genuinely baffled. "What do you mean you won't work on it?" I don't feel I can do a good professional job that will be reliable in the long run and do it at a reasonable cost to the customer. Or (Marshall Mode 4 comes to mind) even if I can fix it, I don't want to put my name on the repair.


Then there are the customers who think I am a whore, "But I'll make it worth your whiiiiiiile." NO thanks, your $20 doesn't change anything. I used to do service calls. Mostly large things like jukeboxes and pinballs. But in this industry I also would make a visit to see a large format mixer or PA install. But after a while, I could no longer haul my 50 pound toolbox up and down basement stairs, plus gathering myself up and leaving the shop for an hour actually took out at least half a day, which I couldn't charge for. So I quit. I'd still get referrals. "Sorry, I don't do service calls any longer." "I'll give you $50," they'd lilt. With all due respect, sir, when I DID service calls they started at $100, and I don't do them.

[Steve A.]

I had a mixing console to repair that had been plugged into a 3 phase outlet that had an
adapter that was wired by some flea brain and consequently got 415vAC fed into it !

3 phase in the US can be tricky. There are two different varieties, one of which has a "wild" phase which can have a voltage to ground of anywhere between 70VAC and 250VAC at least in my own experience. I burned up a vacuum pump connecting a "suicide" jumper cable to the disconnect box for a single phase 230VAC air conditioner (as I have done 100's of times.) You are not supposed to use the wild phase for single phase 120VAC or 230VAC supplies but some dumbshit electrician had done that- probably on a service call to provide the customer with additional circuits.(You assume that a building inspector has signed off on the original construction.)

After that incident I always checked for voltage to ground in 230VAC disconnect boxes before plugging in a 120VAC device.

Steve Ahola

P.S. 3 phase 440 VAC always scared the shit out of me. I had worked with a guy who got electrocuted from 3 phase 230VAC...

[Mick Bailey]

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

Yes indeed!

[Mick Bailey]

General work really drags me down and I often end up working for a rate that makes burger-flipping aspirational. It's usually because of taking on unfamiliar equipment, like a 70s studio harmoniser with the part number sanded off every IC that I knew was going to bite me in time and effort.

For the customer it's an economic balance to have something repaired, but they arrive with a fixed idea of what a repair should cost and often this bears no relationship to the actual time spent, the skill involved, or the necessity to guarantee the work. The time in finding spares is the killer for me and that's an overhead people don't see and they don't care to pay for.

Even when the spares arrive, sometimes they don't fit or need modifying. An example, a Drawmer 1966 compressor - needs new PCB mounted stereo pots. No problem - Drawmer still makes studio gear and they're really helpful. So the pots arrive. Except they're different pin spacing, the boss is different and the shaft is a different diameter and length. So another call and it turns out they're the correct pots because the old style is no longer made and they've got to be adapted. This means drilling out the front panel because the boss is longer and bending the legs and soldering on extensions. Then getting hold of new knobs to match the rest because the old ones no longer fit.

Every phone call, email, and time spent researching and waiting for return calls costs and has to be factored in to the price. There seems to be a mental block with the cost of audio repairs that doesn't apply to cars. More often than not I find people resigned to paying any amount, without question, to keep their car on the road, but they don't equate getting equipment repaired the same way - even if they're pro musicians who earn a living off their gear. Very often with car repairs they don't even ask how much it's going to end up costing.

Why would spending £200 labour to get a radiator fixed be ok, but spending £47 to repair the preamp on an £1800 acoustic be "sorry it's a bit more than I expected"?

Focussing on one type, brand or industry is certainly the way to go. I don't see a realistic future in general repairs - there's getting to be way too much stuff on the market that begins life in the Far-East with a $4 factory gate price and no intention of it ever being repaired.

[Ted]

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.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]24094[/ATTACH]

Aarrgh. Vox V125. I wouldn't worry. Whatever you do something else will break in transit. And they'll blame you for screwing up their amp.

I've got a small list of amps I won't work on. I'm seriously thinking of adding the V125 to it. (Those wooden wedges that you hammer in to hold the chassis in place are so classy aren't they?) Like Enzo says, learning to say no is an important skill. I feel your pain. We live in a world where people (in London at least) are happy to pay £4.50 a pint but think that £5 to see a band is out of order. This feeds through to musicians in the most direct way. i.e. they have no money.

[Mick Bailey]

Aarrgh. Vox V125.

Well spotted!