Best "Duct Tape" Quick-Fix Competition!

[Dave B.]

Well, we've had the Most Complicated Signal Path Awards and the Most Switches to Turn On Your System Competition. Now, for your guffaws and disgust, I invite entries for the Best "Duct Tape" (a.k.a. Half-Assed) Quick Fix you may have used to get your system back in operation. Here are two speaker-related entries of mine to get things started:

- On the back of one of my AR18 speakers, one of the spring clips broke off, keeping me from connecting one leg of my speaker cable. No problem. I found a self-tapping screw that fit into the terminal's hole and then clamped the twisted strands of speaker wire to it using an alligator clip. It's still there, working just fine.

- The speaker cable spade lugs kept working loose from the terminals on the back of my AR9s. Moving them out from the wall to reconnect them was a big PITA. So, I tied one end of a rubber band about two inches from the end of the speaker cable, reconnected the spade lugs, and then wrapped the other end of the stretched rubber band around the speaker terminals, creating a stress relief. That's still working, too.

Okay, guys and gals, top that!

Note: Your "fix" doesn't have to involve duct tape (see the coat-hanger tone arm, below).

Dave

 

[Quadman2]

Well...Steve Smith from "Red Green" just might be the guy to give you a run for your money.

If you haven't heard of him, and his ability to change the world with a roll of duct tape, you might get an idea where I'm coming from. This may even expand your world of fixing up electronic gear if you absorb some tips from him.

Q

 

[Dave B.]

Well...Steve Smith from "Red Green" just might be the guy to give you a run for your money.

Does Steve "fix" audio problems?

Dave

 

[Rockon1]

Not duct tape but I once made a tone arm out of a coat hanger. Had a counterbalance weight and tracked ok. Bob

 

[Quadman2]

Does Steve "fix" audio problems?

Dave

Man! There ain't a situation/event/piece of gear that CAN"T be fixed by this mister- fix- it all with his magic tape touch!

Check him out.

Q

 

[Dave B.]

I once made a tone arm out of a coat hanger

Bob, you're my new hero! That feat is gonna be hard to top!

Dave

 

[avionic]

Does Steve "fix" audio problems?

Dave

He fixes everything with duct tape..

 

[arts]

He may be Red Green,but he'd be a shoe-in for Prime Minister;him or Don Cherry

 

[imral3]

No crazy fixes from me. But, interested to see what pops up!!

 

[mfrench]

Wow,... I guess I'll post my entry from just last night.

This isn't exactly duct tape; it's professional grade duct tape, AKA, Gaffers Tape.
It is a cloth tape, with high tack, but won't leave residue, and won't peel up finishes.

Sorry for the complete utter crap picture. I didn't realize there was going to be a contest.




Gaff tape as a mic stand (long vertical portion) to hold my miniature omnidirectional mic in place on the right side of the stage (there is another on the other side of the center aisle). This is as part of my boundary layer stereo microphone array.
I also used tape all over the place to tack the cables to the wall face to keep people from walking on them; literally hair fine cables. I also tacked the mic preamp to the floor, and, had my binaural head recorder on top of the pile as well; complete cable chaos, just barely out of audience sight.

 

[doctor fuse]

I replaced a missing "steuerpimpel" with a tiny piece of Lego©, on a Dual 1009.

 

[Tom White]

I replaced a missing "steuerpimpel" with a tiny piece of Lego©, on a Dual 1009.

That sounds like something you would have a dermatologist take care of.

 

[Dave B.]

Gaffers Tape.
It is a cloth tape, with high tack, but won't leave residue, and won't peel up finishes.

Thanks for mentioning this. I'll have to get some of this stuff. My mind is already cranking out ways to use it here in my music room.

I didn't realize there was going to be a contest.

No sweat. Just a friendly showing of ingenuity.

Dave

 

[Dave B.]

I replaced a missing "steuerpimpel" with a tiny piece of Lego©, on a Dual 1009.

This is the kind of cleverness I'm taking about!

Speaking of turntables, I once had a dustcover, the hinges for which had lost their springiness. So, to keep the dustcover up out of the way while placing records on the turntable, I would wedge a small square of styrofoam into the back corner. No scratches and it always worked.

Dave

 

[dB happy]

There's a piece of .38 special brass in my sx1250. I didn't take a pic because it's ugly, and I wasn't proud of it.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....ft-start-resistor-value.800386/#post-11107960

 

[Dave B.]

There's a piece of .38 special brass in my sx1250.

That's brilliant! C'mon, you're among friends here (and probably more than a few fellow gun nuts), so let's see a pic!

Dave

 

[Lavane]

I replaced a missing "steuerpimpel" with a tiny piece of Lego©, on a Dual 1009.

Brilliant!

 

[Lavane]

Spent .22 shells as a fuse replacement. Yes I did this. Twice. Once because my wife moved my speakers and and crossed a wire that blew the speaker fuse. I used the shell casing until my next trip to town. The second time was to replace the tail light fuse in an old car.

 

[quiet]

I haven't been in the game long enough to fix much of anything yet. But I did do this to get around the Pioneer sparky speaker plugs after being turned off by the $30 cost of used original ones. I'm sure everyone else has to. In stock at midnight. Only the best 1970s vintage rubber for my SX-626.

 

[Rockon1]

Bob, you're my new hero! That feat is gonna be hard to top!

Dave

Lol, wish I had a picture. It was way back in the 70's. Old cheap Gerrard table I believe. The plastic part of the arm broke off where it attached to the pivot. The metal pivot remained and I used it with the coat hanger- ultra low mass design for high compliance carts. Bob