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RS Nova 8b recap and trouble shooting

C

CaptnMorgan

New Member
I have a pair of Nova 8bs cat. 40-4026A that have two blown capacitors (10 uf 50v), meaning I can physically see the end blown out. My mids don't fire at all even though I put a meter on them and they all read dead on 4 ohm. One tweeter works and tests fine and the other is blown. Woofers work great.
I bought them for $75 and told they were "tested", my fault for not insisting they be plugged in!

Anyway I have never recaped a crossover or really done any type of electronic repair or wiring.

My question is what should replace the originals with? I would also want to replace the 4.7 uf 50v which appear to be "ok". I don't know the difference between electrolytic, polypropylene, etc. I am also on a budget and I am a casual listener and don't consider myself a real audiophile.

Do you suggest that I attempt this repair since I've never soldered electronics before? I am fairly mechanically inclined but this is a bit different than turning a wrench haha.

There is a pair of complete crossovers on ebay for $20 free shipping for cat no. 40-4026, no "A". Would these work with mine? They look identical. I'm not sure if this would be the easier route for me.

I've read the Videolady mod thread a bit and it sounds like a fantastic upgrade but I'm just hoping to get these speakers working and get my feet wet with some minor repairs.

Not sure if this is relevant but my set up is a Realistic STA-36 with 25 watts RCM,I hope that's WPC but it does not specify on it or in the original catalog, it's paired with a Realistic Lab 420 table.

Thank you very much! Hoping to learn more about the electronics world.
 
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Welcome to AK! Your speakers are well worth fixing up. I would used Dayton poly film caps (5 or even 10% tolerance should be fine), which are readily available from Parts Express. If you're worried about soldering, you can always use wire nuts or crimp connections between the new caps and existing lead wires. Just cut the wires close to where they exit the old caps so you have some good length to work with. Then use some hot glue to seat the caps.

That said, soldering would probably be best for the long-term. There are a bunch of practice soldering kids available for purchase online. The only caveat being they tend to come with lead-free solder, which has never worked well for me -- I probably just need to take the time to get the temperature on my iron correct. Anyway, I prefer standard 60/40 tin/lead solder.
 
CaptnMorgan said:
I have a pair of Nova 8bs cat. 40-4026A that have two blown capacitors (10 uf 50v), meaning I can physically see the end blown out. My mids don't fire at all even though I put a meter on them and they all read dead on 4 ohm. One tweeter works and tests fine and the other is blown. Woofers work great.
I bought them for $75 and told they were "tested", my fault for not insisting they be plugged in!

Anyway I have never recaped a crossover or really done any type of electronic repair or wiring.

My question is what should replace the originals with? I would also want to replace the 4.7 uf 50v which appear to be "ok". I don't know the difference between electrolytic, polypropylene, etc. I am also on a budget and I am a casual listener and don't consider myself a real audiophile.

Do you suggest that I attempt this repair since I've never soldered electronics before? I am fairly mechanically inclined but this is a bit different than turning a wrench haha.

There is a pair of complete crossovers on ebay for $20 free shipping for cat no. 40-4026, no "A". Would these work with mine? They look identical. I'm not sure if this would be the easier route for me.

I've read the Videolady mod thread a bit and it sounds like a fantastic upgrade but I'm just hoping to get these speakers working and get my feet wet with some minor repairs.

Not sure if this is relevant but my set up is a Realistic STA-36 with 25 watts RCM,I hope that's WPC but it does not specify on it or in the original catalog, it's paired with a Realistic Lab 420 table.

Thank you very much! Hoping to learn more about the electronics world.
Click to expand...

I did the VL Mod on some Nova 8b's I got from a hoarder's garage sale last summer. I'd never done a crossover and after much frustration and a LOT of help and encouragement from AKers here, I got it done and it worked and the Nova's sounded great. I used a soldering kit along with "helping hands" I got from the local RadioShack store before it closed. Just a little reading and watching a few youtube vids on soldering and I think you will be accomplished enough to get this mod done for yourself.

Don't hesitate to ask questions here. Most of the time, people are very willing to help, coach, encourage, and cheer you on. Best wishes on your project.
 
Thank you for the fast replies and advice!
I think I'll just crimp them in there to start and practice soldering a bit and then do that.
Honestly before a week ago when I bought these speakers I had no idea what a capacitor was or how it worked, how to test a speaker with a meter, or what a crossover even did in a speaker. Haha the internet is an amazing resource. So I'll probably hold off on the VL mod for a little bit, plus I read some comments that parts were expensive.

Anyway, I looked around on Parts Express and

Would these work, the Metalized Polypropylene Caps? And they have +- 1% tolerance ones for about $2 more if it makes any difference.
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dmpc-47-47uf-250v-polypropylene-capacitor--027-422
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dmpc-10-10uf-250v-polypropylene-capacitor--027-428

The only poly film one I could find was a 10uf at $62!! Yikes. Didn't have a 4.7 in Poly film. Unless I'm not searching correctly.
http://www.parts-express.com/audiocap-ppt-theta-10uf-200v-film-foil-capacitor--027-740

Thanks again.
 
The first two you listed are the ones I was talking about and will work perfectly. Sorry, I wrote my first response in a hurry.
 
Ok will do. I've got a can sitting around somewhere. I'm assuming your talking about the switches for the mids and tweeters that you can select. "Low" "Normal" "High". ?
 
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