• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Arrakis 1200 series mic balance

nhradiochild

Inactive
Inactive User
Is there anything you know of that causes a mic imbalance (right channel about 1/2 the volume as the left), and do you know if it can be fixed without ordering parts?
 
I've had three of the 1200 consoles and from what I remember there is only one SSM2013/2018 (depending on the vintage) and output amp. I would assume you may have a bad switch or component failure elsewhere.

Why not call up Dale at Arrakis and run it by him? He's always been helpful whenever I've called.
 
Thanks ever so much, Bill. You've been a great help.

As it turns out the maintenance staff found the manual, which contains the schematics and diagram. I've been able to pinpoint where the trouble would lie which is past the output of the preamp, and past that chip you mentioned when it splits off into left and right channels. Problem is, I can't properly test the resistors and capacitors without disassembling the board and testing the back side, which just isn't going to happen. :mad::-\

Thanks again for your help though. At least I was able to prove where the problem ought to lie.
 
Just as a future word of warning, if you haven't already done so, make sure you have a real good ground on that board. The SSM2013 / SSM2018 VCA chips are easily damaged by static discharge. The last board I had which I brought from a broadcast group that went out of business would have a channel die about once a month until I replaced all the VCAs and made sure I had a very good ground. I suspect they had a faulty installation and the ICs were probably fatigued by past static discharges. Once I replaced all those VCAs the board was rock solid.
 
One mode of failure for those VCA's is ON and wide open gain. If the monitor's down you won't get feedback and All conversations within a mile will be heard on the air. No speaker muting and no on-air light.
 
Thanks for the heads-up on that one, boiseengineer. I have one board that I still maintain and I hope I never run into that issue. Of course, I made sure I bought a few sleeves of the VCAs to have on hand just in case.
 
boiseengineer said:
One mode of failure for those VCA's is ON and wide open gain. If the monitor's down you won't get feedback and All conversations within a mile will be heard on the air. No speaker muting and no on-air light.

Wow! :eek: No wonder folks have a "no-swearing-in-the-studio" policy!
 
Had just short of 2" copper strap grounding the 12000', mic stands, ect. but that didn't stop the failures 100%. Usually only one channel will fail but that's enough for the mic channel.
One married morning show couple got in the habit of unplugging the guest mic after this Arrakis "feature" bit them. Listeners called to comment on their "private" conversation.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom