Help Required on a PL-530 Multi Voltage Power Trans Conversion

[Awesomeaudio]

Hi Gents,
I have posted this request in the turntable section with no joy, so I thought I might try here.

I purchased this 120V version a while back and have been able to purchase a multi voltage tap and transformer from an Export Model Type donor unit. I want to do this to eliminate the need to use the step down transformer as we are on 240v here.

Looking at the original 120v set up (on mine), there are two red wires on one side and then on the other side are the White and Dark Brown and a Yellow.

The Donor Transformer has the same two reds with the addition of a Blue and Green on one side.

**( Blue and Green go to the voltage selector).

**( The Two reds to the PCB)


The other side of the Transformer has a White, an Orange, a Grey, a light brown and a Dark Brown.

** ( The Grey and Dark Brown go to the voltage selctor)

** ( The Light Brown from the voltage selector, I'm suspecting goes to PCB ? As does the Orange wire ),

But Where ?

Then there is the White from the transformer. I'm guessing this just goes to the same point as the original white. ??

Are the Power PCBs different on a 120v type and a Multi voltage type ?

Am I able to patch this multi tap into my existing board ?

Looking at the pics provided. The original 120v set up has the Dark brown and the white soldered at the power board.

On the Donor transformer, The Dark Brown goes to the tap and the Light Brown comes back from the tap. Supposedly the Light Brown is to be soldered in place of the Dark Brown's original pin at the board. ( ???)

Am I correct in thinking that the Light Brown and White get soldered at the original pins on the board ??

If so, then, Where do the Orange and Grey wires go ??

Does anyone have a Picture of a multi voltage PL-530 wiring designation or perhaps if someone has done such a conversion can point me in the right direction.

The Schematic is pretty vague. I've checked and it's been frustrating.
Please help


OVERVIEW

 

[john stumpf]

this may sound ignorant as im having trouble visualizing what the differences are. but if it were i ,i would compare the schematics you have to the 120v version and see whats different.im not understanding what the 110v only connection to sw2 is for. other than that the ac voltage to the board must remain the same on both models ASSUMING no other changes and the power supply is the same. VINYL ENGINE the other half of hi engine has the manual. whats the function of sw 2? all the wires to the selector and transformer are intact? it doesnt SEEM to present much of a problem

 

[Bob]

you need to id the two input wires and the two output wires to the original transformer and
their respective voltages. then determine the identical equivalents on the new replacement
transformer. this gives you the minimal solution.

then identify the other two input side wires and the two output side wires. the new may have
two separate input side wires to allow a series connection for 220/240 OR a parallel
connection for 110v. the secondary or output side may have an identical set or some
center tap or ...

don't assume the like colored wires are to be wired as previously connected.

if you're not sure of this procedure, contact the seller of the new transformer and ask
for the wiring specs. Also mark the old transformer with the input and output specs.

 

[Awesomeaudio]

I have no idea, which is why I've posted this thread.
I did contact the seller and he pretty much just blew me off..
So much for humanity.
If someone has a multi voltage 530 it would simplify this by a huge margin.
I appreciate your thoughts so far.
All I need is a few photos of how it's wired and I'll pretty much do the rest.
I don't know either, if the 120v power board is different to the multi voltage unit's board.
I can't find any pics of a multi voltage 530s innards.
Someone must have one here on AK, surely ??

 

[Bob]

I made some assumptions that weren't correct - there's too much random information here to
infer a correct solution. this is going to take a long time.

1. this "export model" is not a brand but an exact "pull" from a pioneer 530 TT (with a multi-voltage option)?
2. the transformer and the voltage selector is intact as pulled (eg NO unwiring and NO rewiring)?
3. what is (light brown wire) cut wire going back? do you mean this is not a transformer wire
and it goes back to somewhere and does not come out of the transformer? hopefully yes
but verify.
4. you mention white on both - correct? (no pix of original - would be helpful to see this in order
to verify it MIGHT be identical usage in both) this may be one end of the primary side.
5. not shown in your pix is whether the orange in the picture of the new transformer is from
the transformer.
6. it would be helpful to see pictures of the old with all wires visible and identified
as well as pictures of the new with all wires visible and identified.
this way we can map the two as to PROBABLE function and BEST-GUESS the rest.
7. you need to find a schematic for the 120v version
8. you need to trace the leads on the selector to identify which wire corresponds to the
selected voltage
9. the white should be the bottom of the input (or AC) side of the transformer. next tap
is 110v, after that 120, then 220v, and last is 240v. if you have a VOM/DMM, use the
scale (low range whatever that is), to determine, in ascending resistance order, which
wires these are. (alternatively, if the wires are still as originally soldered (you haven't
undone this), which wires are "active" at the selected voltage) or do both to verify
both are correct - you cannot have two different sets of results.
10. if you verify the light brown? as going back to FU1 - the schematic says blue wire
so you MUST determine why there is a difference.
11. you need to trace the original's white, brown, and yellow. one could be a ground
but most Japanese units are double isolated and maybe a ground is mandated.
12. the schematic is clear - 5 wires off the transformer, 5 wires on the selector with
4 selections and one going to the fuse.
13. last question (for now), why is the white wire circled but with no description?

I think it would be helpful to have 2 complete sets of pictures (original then new)
of transformer and wires, and the wires to the board.

if the selector has not been touched, then you're almost there. all the 110/120/220/240
voltage wires have been accounted for. the key is the wires NOT accounted for
in the original - and any in the new.

 

[Awesomeaudio]

Ok Bob.
Firstly Thank you for taking the time to reply. You're response warrants respect.
Secondly, please allow me to illustrate the exact wiring from Transformer to multi tap via the pics below.
This would save time.
Please keep in mind that these two items were snipped straight from the power board. So the "Cut Wires" are exactly those. Cut from the power board.
The original 120v set up has a few less wires connected to the power board, hence my question. Is the power board on an Export type different to the U.S type ??
I have no idea as mine IS a US type and have not seen a power board from an export unit.







THIS IS A SPARE 120V TRANSFORMER I HAVE JUST TO SHOW YOU THE DIFFERENCE IN WIRING

 

[Bob]

based on your input (complete, incomplete, etc) from the pictures. there's still missing
information.

1. the selector should have 4 wires input from the transformer to correspond
to the 4 voltages (110,120,220,240) and there's only 3.
2. there's 2 wires out of the selector and should only be 1
3. there are 4 cut wires, which two are you referring to. by the schematic and my best-guess
all 4 should go to the power board but location will determine proper operation or FIRE.
4. still need to see where the 3 wires of the original transformer go. MUST be to the power board

at this point there is not enough information to continue. you need to answer all the questions above
to get enough information to get to the next step (only two to go).

so you can decide which of the selector's wires orange or brown, go to where one of the
three original transformer's three wires (white yellow brown) go. that's 6 choices of which only
one is correct. you can also make a guess where the white goes. and lastly the gray.

unless you're willing to use a vom/dmm to measure, it's a big guess. you're better off finding
a picture and hope it's correct.

 

[Awesomeaudio]

Please look at the pics. This is how the original 120v set up is wired.

The Yellow Wire


The brown and White


The Two reds


The donor unit is complete as purchased. It was just snipped out from the power board.
So the Orange, The Light Brown, The Grey and the white has to be connected to the power board somehow ??
I don't know.

 

[Bob]

there is not enough information to "map" the four wires of the new to the three wires of the old.

1. you need a schematic of the old - then you can indicate on it, where the
white, yellow, and brown go. this establishes what the AC input voltages
are and where they go. then we can look at the new set of wires and
figure out where they should go.
2. you need to determine everything I've mentioned in several posts.
3. even if you find out (somehow) where everything goes, wiring it
up without testing could mean
a, one wrong wire and you damage your tt and perhaps start a fire.
b. silently destroy your unit.
4. the assumption that simply wiring up something without checking
is not a good solution. there could be a circuit schematic UPDATE
or a different transformer.
5. I mentioned earlier there was a few wires that need explaining
on the new transformer.

without a picture of the correct (and ONLY one possible combination of
circuit and one and only one possible transformer), you can reverse engineer
the circuit and the new transformer
1. measure the resistance on all transformer wires to determine
110/120/220/240 wires and the bottom (assumed to be white)
BUT must be measured as such. this takes one minute with a
VOM/DMM
2. measure all the points on the selector and note the wire color
this takes another minute
3. there should be one wire (orange or the brown - neither of
which are connected to the transformer) that is the other
end of the AC input. the other being white BUT only after checking
in step1.
4. then these two wires substitute for two out of the three (white
yellow, brown ) of the original
5. you must determine where the three original wires (from step 4 above)
go in order to determine what they do. then the two wires of the new
in step 3 match exactly.
6. there is still the issue of what the grey does.

these steps take less time than what it takes me to type all this out.
it is also step by step. takes 10 minutes max.

I've made the assumption you have a VOM and can use it.

I mentioned three steps, step two is to measure the wires. Step 3
I haven't mentioned yet - is to apply voltage to parts of the
new transformer and selector and measure the voltage across
the red wires. you can do this with your TT with the step-down
to get the AC inpit for the VR. YOU MUST MATCH THIS VOLTAGE
AS A TEST BEFORE WIRING THE NEW STUFF INTO THE TT
OTHERWISE THE VR BOARD MAY SEE A SUPERLARGE
VOLTAGE AND DESTROY ITSELF. Silently and within microseconds.

measure, analyze, test or wait for a picture.

 

[Bob]

we just wasted a lot of time. go to vinylengine. download all the service manuals.
there's one for single voltage and another for the multi-voltage (shows all the
colors you have). there are two power supply boards - one for each transformer.

there you have it. you should be good to go. no measurements, no analysis.
just follow the diagrams for the multi-voltage schematics.

 

[Bob]

page 3 and 4 of the additional SM shows the color wires, where they go and where on the board
they go.

 

[john stumpf]

i dont feel so ignorant now!

 

[Bob]

in the absence of schematics, you have the long hard road of reverse engineering the components,
the wiring, and the board connections. In effect, you are building a schematic.

however, having a schematic and/or pictures is still not enough. as many AK discussions reveal,
many boards, schematics have mislabeled parts, incorrect stenciled values, and may be out-of-date.

so the best self defense, is to test the mods/fixes/changes/updates/upgrades before installing
in your one-of-a-kind unit. In SS units, a mistake may only take out a part or a section of
components. AC is different, you can destroy units. For tube amps, the high voltages could
kill you and caps that explode can spew toxic waste...

so this is a happy ending. hopefully, the OP will document the process so AK and AKers benefit
this would still be true since it might apply to other Pioneer TTs and even other components.

 

[rcs16]

A lot of discussion on wiring a multi-tap transformer. The white wire is the common lead, connected directly to the AC plug. Use your ohmmeter to determine the resistance of each transf V tap wire to the white wire. this will determine which lead colour is for which V tap. the lead with the largest R to white/common wire is the 240V tap and so on, so the lead with the lowest R to the white is the one for the 110V tap.
Since you need 240VAC, you can make it simple and eliminate the line voltage selector and wire directly to the fuse. Usually you have a fuse that 1/2 the A rating for a 240V application vs a 120V app.

 

[Bob]

decisions, decisions, decisions. the OP, by inference, wants to use the selector. @rcs16 - you are
correct about directly using the trafo. the schematic I referenced show the white wire as the
common lead.

in fact, since he has an extra 120v transformer, he could have wired it in in series with the original,
and paralleled the two red output leads (unnecessary since one set probably can supply enough
current). I did mention measuring the leads BUT the schematic shows all the colored trafo wires
in the voltage order the selector maps to. there is little left to do than solder the puppies in.

sometimes the OPs have a solution they must have, and depending on their ability to accept
other solutions, we offer solutions that don't meet their original need.

 

[Awesomeaudio]

Calm down Bob. I have no solution.
And my ability is unlike yours.
I've had a hectic week and have had very little time to devote.
I thank you all for the info including you Rick.
I'll chime back on this when I'm able to.