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C29 Speaker Switch

M

Mike Reed

New Member
I have a chronic problem with one of my speakers (usually left) cutting out. It seems to happen more at lower volume. I believe I read somewhere, possibly this forum, that it is likely the C29 Speaker On/Off switch. Believing that may be the culprit, I cycle the switch several times when it happens, and it seems to fix the problem at least temporarily.

My question is, is the speaker on/off switch really the problem? Has anyone else experienced this? And, if so, what is the remedy?
Thanks.
 
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Are you using an SCR speaker relay control with the C29? That's all the front panel speaker buttons control.
 
I have an SCR but I am not using it. I have the speakers connected directly to the amps. But, when I switch the C29 speaker switch to OFF the speakers turn off. What am I missing?
 
Mike Reed said:
I have an SCR but I am not using it. I have the speakers connected directly to the amps. But, when I switch the C29 speaker switch to OFF the speakers turn off. What am I missing?
Click to expand...

If the SCR connected on the rear panel of the C29?
 
The SCR is not connected to the back of the C29, and the speaker switch will turn the speakers on and off, which I do to get the speaker back on that keeps cutting out.
 
Mike Reed said:
The SCR is not connected to the back of the C29, and the speaker switch will turn the speakers on and off, which I do to get the speaker back on that keeps cutting out.
Click to expand...

I don't understand it either - the speaker switches should not have any effect on audio output signals. I would suggest trying the other set of output jacks and see if that makes any difference.
 
Likely a coincidence and you're flexing/moving something on the board.

Cycle the other switches, see if one (or more) of them also affect the speaker, start with the Tape 1 and Tape 2 switches.

My suspicion is that either you have a dirty tape monitor switch (if you're lucky), a cold-solder joint on the board (still lucky), or a bad ribbon cable (not so lucky).

Don't do it with the volume high.

Also, which line out are you using? I believe LINE OUT is tied to the headphone out, MAIN OUT is not.

Have you tried headphones to see if the headphone jack is affected? The HEADPHONE LEVEL knob on the top of the preamp also affects the LINE OUT jacks.

You should be using the MAIN OUT jacks, which are controlled by the MAIN OUTPUT LEVEL knobs on the top, one of those might need cleaning, try cycling them also.

Finally, what happens when you lose a channel and push the MONO button? Both channels or still one?
 
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Are you using the regular out puts or the line out put. The line out has separate controls on top that can be come very intermittent. The unit also does not have gold input or output connectors so you may have to clean your RCA connectors on your cables and clean the RCA output receptacles on the C-29. I learned a long time ago gold RCA cables with gold connectors where the center pin is split and can be expanded slightly is the only way to guarantee long term dependable operation with units that do not have gold connectors. My biggest head ache was with my C-28 which the C-29 replaced for the next 30+ years with only an occasional switch and balance control cleaning. It was a great unit.

I now have a C-34 because of the gold connectors, monitor amp but most importantly the graphic tone controls. Though I do miss having a separate treble and bass control for each channel. Even if the steps were two large.
 
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