Allen & Heath GL4000 meter pod issue
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From: Eeyore on 14 Sep 2008 21:23 Greg Cameron wrote: > Greg Cameron wrote: > > "Phil Allison" <philalli...(a)tpg.com.au> wrote: > > > "Rupert". > > > "Phil Allison" > > > "Greg Cameron" > > > > > > >I have a GL4000-848 with water damage in the meterpod. The rest of the > > > > > desk is operating fine. I've opened it up to go through and check > > > > > everything out, reseat cable, etc. But the innards of the meterpod are > > > > > a loss with lots of oxidation on the PCB. I was wondering if anyone > > > > > has had experience getting into the pod for repair/replacement. > > > > > > ** The GL4000 looks much like a GL3000 in a pic I found on the web. > > > > > > With a GL3000, you remove one of the metal end plates and then slide out > > > > the Perspex strip covering all the VUs mounted on their long PCB - which > is > > > > held in by a number of screws. > > > > > I did try to give that a go, but that strip didn't want to move. Could > > > be because it's a 48 channel desk. The strip is a bit over 6 feet long > > > so there's a lot more friction in the groove to deal with. > > > > > ** Try a little spray lube on the groove. > > > > > Did the > > > GL3000 have a one piece side plate that covered/supported the pod and > > > the main cavity, > > > > > ** Yep. > > > > > The GL4000 has a single > > > piece side plate for both. I suspect removing the side plate might > > > have allowed the console to flex a bit the way I had it positioned and > > > could have caused the groves to tweak and exert more force on the > > > strip covering the meters. The desk is 170 lbs. and difficult to > > > maneuver. I'll try with the desk laying on it's backplane to see if > > > that does the trick. > > > > > ** Just stand the desk on one end. > > > > > Maybe wiggle it a bit while you yank out the Perspex strip. > > > > > Makes sense upending it to prevent frame torsion. I'll give a squirt > > of WD40 too. Thanks for the advice. > > > Well, I was finally able to remove the Perspex strip. Up-ending the > console didn't quite to do the trick even with WD40. The key was to > lay the board down on a level flat surface and carefully remove both > side plates so that the Perspex strip could be coaxed out with a > rubber mallet on one end whilst pulling on the other. Care must be > taken in this state to not flex the frame too much. Here are some pics > of what I found inside: > > http://www.cameronproaudio.com/gl4000meterpod/ > > Not pretty. Amazingly the meters still lit up, though the needles were > completely frozen and the driver circuits were toast. All the caps had > tons of oxides oozing from them, some falling off. The PCB's were a > lovely rust color on the face instead of tan/yellow. I'd estimate that > the meter pod must have been full of water for several months. It acts > like fairly water tight trough when the mixer is stored in it's ATA > case so the back end it down. Thankfully the rest of the console was > relatively unscathed. Hopefully A&H still has inventory on the PCB > assembly. Thanks for the help Phil. Oooh nasty. If A&H no longer have the pcb, it would be possible to 're-create' one from an old example (something I could do for example) but the frozen needles will be the biggest problem. Hopefully A&H used Sifam meters in which case they'd be replaceable - but not cheaply. Graham
From: Phil Allison on 14 Sep 2008 21:53 "Greg Cameron" "Phil Allison" Well, I was finally able to remove the Perspex strip. Up-ending the console didn't quite to do the trick even with WD40. The key was to lay the board down on a level flat surface and carefully remove both side plates so that the Perspex strip could be coaxed out with a rubber mallet on one end whilst pulling on the other. ** Looks like the corrosion and other damage locked the Perspex strip in place. Here are some pics of what I found inside: http://www.cameronproaudio.com/gl4000meterpod/ ** Horrible. Not pretty. Amazingly the meters still lit up, though the needles were completely frozen and the driver circuits were toast. All the caps had tons of oxides oozing from them, some falling off. The PCB's were a lovely rust color on the face instead of tan/yellow. I'd estimate that the meter pod must have been full of water for several months. ** Rain water is fairly harmless to un-powered electronics - but must be cleaned off and gear dried out within a few hours or very bad things begin to happen. Always amazes me how folk store valuable electronic in shed and garages that are not water tight and where condensation in cold wet weather will slowly but surely destroy them. ...... Phil
From: Greg Cameron on 14 Sep 2008 22:44 On Sep 14, 6:53 pm, "Phil Allison" <philalli...(a)tpg.com.au> wrote: > "Greg Cameron" > "Phil Allison" > > Well, I was finally able to remove the Perspex strip. Up-ending the > console didn't quite to do the trick even with WD40. The key was to > lay the board down on a level flat surface and carefully remove both > side plates so that the Perspex strip could be coaxed out with a > rubber mallet on one end whilst pulling on the other. > > ** Looks like the corrosion and other damage locked the Perspex strip in > place. > > Here are some pics of what I found inside: > > http://www.cameronproaudio.com/gl4000meterpod/ > > ** Horrible. > > Not pretty. Amazingly the meters still lit up, though the needles were > completely frozen and the driver circuits were toast. All the caps had > tons of oxides oozing from them, some falling off. The PCB's were a > lovely rust color on the face instead of tan/yellow. I'd estimate that > the meter pod must have been full of water for several months. > > ** Rain water is fairly harmless to un-powered electronics - but must be > cleaned off and gear dried out within a few hours or very bad things begin > to happen. > > Always amazes me how folk store valuable electronic in shed and garages that > are not water tight and where condensation in cold wet weather will slowly > but surely destroy them. > > ..... Phil Actually, it was a paid storage facility of fairly recent vintage. Depending the cost of replacement parts, I'll consider filing a claim against them and/or with insurance if it's worthwhile. Sometimes the headache of dealing with the bureaucracy just isn't worth if the repair isn't too expensive. We shall see... Greg
From: Phil Allison on 14 Sep 2008 22:55 "Greg Cameron" "Phil Allison " > Always amazes me how folk store valuable electronic in shed and garages > that > are not water tight and where condensation in cold wet weather will slowly > but surely destroy them. Actually, it was a paid storage facility of fairly recent vintage. ** Places that may be OK for storing furniture, vehicles or boxes of stuff are NOT usually suitable for storing un-protected electronic items. Strangely enough, a foam lined road case is not near good enough protection. The case is NOT water tight and the foam will hold any water that gets in and cause the ruination of whatever is inside if not got to very quickly. I have seen one example where the foam lining completely disintegrated after several years and turned to sticky particles that attached themselves all over the outsides AND insides of a Boogie Mk4 tube guitar amplifier. Took hours to clean up and it still looked terrible as it ruined the grille cloth. ..... Phil
From: Greg Cameron on 14 Sep 2008 22:59
On Sep 14, 6:23 pm, Eeyore <rabbitsfriendsandrelati...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > Greg Cameron wrote: > > Greg Cameron wrote: > > > "Phil Allison" <philalli...(a)tpg.com.au> wrote: > > > > "Rupert". > > > > "Phil Allison" > > > > "Greg Cameron" > > > > > > >I have a GL4000-848 with water damage in the meterpod. The rest of the > > > > > > desk is operating fine. I've opened it up to go through and check > > > > > > everything out, reseat cable, etc. But the innards of the meterpod are > > > > > > a loss with lots of oxidation on the PCB. I was wondering if anyone > > > > > > has had experience getting into the pod for repair/replacement. > > > > > > ** The GL4000 looks much like a GL3000 in a pic I found on the web. > > > > > > With a GL3000, you remove one of the metal end plates and then slide out > > > > > the Perspex strip covering all the VUs mounted on their long PCB - which > > is > > > > > held in by a number of screws. > > > > > I did try to give that a go, but that strip didn't want to move. Could > > > > be because it's a 48 channel desk. The strip is a bit over 6 feet long > > > > so there's a lot more friction in the groove to deal with. > > > > > ** Try a little spray lube on the groove. > > > > > Did the > > > > GL3000 have a one piece side plate that covered/supported the pod and > > > > the main cavity, > > > > > ** Yep. > > > > > The GL4000 has a single > > > > piece side plate for both. I suspect removing the side plate might > > > > have allowed the console to flex a bit the way I had it positioned and > > > > could have caused the groves to tweak and exert more force on the > > > > strip covering the meters. The desk is 170 lbs. and difficult to > > > > maneuver. I'll try with the desk laying on it's backplane to see if > > > > that does the trick. > > > > > ** Just stand the desk on one end. > > > > > Maybe wiggle it a bit while you yank out the Perspex strip. > > > > Makes sense upending it to prevent frame torsion. I'll give a squirt > > > of WD40 too. Thanks for the advice. > > > Well, I was finally able to remove the Perspex strip. Up-ending the > > console didn't quite to do the trick even with WD40. The key was to > > lay the board down on a level flat surface and carefully remove both > > side plates so that the Perspex strip could be coaxed out with a > > rubber mallet on one end whilst pulling on the other. Care must be > > taken in this state to not flex the frame too much. Here are some pics > > of what I found inside: > > >http://www.cameronproaudio.com/gl4000meterpod/ > > > Not pretty. Amazingly the meters still lit up, though the needles were > > completely frozen and the driver circuits were toast. All the caps had > > tons of oxides oozing from them, some falling off. The PCB's were a > > lovely rust color on the face instead of tan/yellow. I'd estimate that > > the meter pod must have been full of water for several months. It acts > > like fairly water tight trough when the mixer is stored in it's ATA > > case so the back end it down. Thankfully the rest of the console was > > relatively unscathed. Hopefully A&H still has inventory on the PCB > > assembly. Thanks for the help Phil. > > Oooh nasty. If A&H no longer have the pcb, it would be possible to 're-create' one > from an old example (something I could do for example) but the frozen needles will > be the biggest problem. Hopefully A&H used Sifam meters in which case they'd be > replaceable - but not cheaply. > > Graham I suspect they still have inventory as it's only been out of production for a couple of years. That said, the new GL4800 is virtually identical with the same chassis and layout. They made some circuit changes for summing I believe. But the backplane, meterpod connection and channel strips and master sections are identical. It looks like the newer pod meters have peak LED's on the L/R/M meters. Heck, if it will work I'd probably like to have the newer version of the pod PCB. I'll check with them tomorrow. Greg |