Looking at a set of Altec 9844A's...

IlikeTutols

New Member
Hi all,

Looking for some info, a local school is selling a set they used in their band room, seem to be in really good shape short of the typical small dings from the years. They were hanging during their time in use.

1. I see the ones they're selling have a gold cloth cover, while I have seen others with black. Does this mean anything or just a simple design change?

2 .What year were these produced?

Fair price? (I know, the age old question. I never know with Altec gear).

Thanks!
 
Thanks Bow! Looks like they will take $500 for the set. Pretty excited to get them hooked up, not so much on hauling them away haha.
 
Picked them up! Are the front grills removable for inspection of the drivers? Or do I have to go from the back?

Also, there were little fuses inline to the speaker terminals (external), are those necessary?

Being that they're so efficient, I was going to power them with a little SA50 50x2 mini D amp.
 
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You'll have to remove the back panels. The grill material is actually wrapped around the baffle before it's installed in the cabinet.

IMO&E, fuses are only half effective in the best case. At least half the time the HF voice coil will open in time to save the fuse. There are good arguments both for and against. If i'm running known and trusted equipment, i have no need for fuses.

Awe man, one of the horn drivers is completely dead. Super disappointed :(

Would I damage anything if I were to hook up to the horn directly, and play at very low volume to see if the horn is indeed dead, or if maybe its something the Xover etc?
 
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A dead driver could be just a dead capacitor i believe. If you have an ohmeter you could check the speaker to see if its open. But bowtie is the expert here.
 
Found the culprit, one of the small leads connecting to the horn from the positive terminal is snapped..how the hay do I even go about trying to repair that? Must be brittle from age?

Anywho, is there a quick and dirty to at least getting the driver going? Possibly taking a thin amount of aluminum foil and maybe wrapping that around the two disconnected leads?

Just throwing first things that come to mind haha.

Pretty much exactly what happened to this guy.

 
The lead in is a copper alloy ribbon with an enamel dielectric coating much like magnet wire. it can be soldered, but first you have to carefully scrape the enamel off the areas to be soldered. It's very meticulous and delicate work. There is a small margin between the meltpoint of the copper alloy and solder, too much heat or for too long will melt the lead in.

Conductive glue is probably a better approach to this repair, for a few good reasons.

But new GPA diaphragms is an even better plan.
 
Good points on all ends. Sounds like GPA is the only true way to go. The conductive glue for the interim sounds enticing, any recommendations?

Edit: The glue doesn't seem to garner great reviews haha.

Currently, I have a piece of aluminum foil pinched around the connection and it is working, probably won't last worth a darn due to vibrations haha.
 
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Ordered a new diaphragm! Worried mostly about the screwdriver stabbing the new unit, but Ill just thread the screws by hand first, then brace my finger against the screwdriver pushing away from the diaphragm.

So relieved its such an easy fix.

Wish me luck :D
 
I change them on the bench, two nuts and the whole driver comes off. If you don't have a non-magnetic screwdriver, (I don't) than guide the tip of the screwdriver into the screw with your fingers. Those diaphragms are just to expensive to take any chances with.

BillWojo
 
Any value in the old original diaphragms then? I would probably want to sell them off, but one does have a small dent in it, the other is in good shape and still functions.
 
Yes, they're worth a ton on eBay. I had a pair of Altec Model 15s and I got $100 for the working diaphragm and I think $10 for the bad one. Should've asked for more.
 
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