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Soundcraftsmen EQ slider replacement

The AE2000 boards line up with the holes and slider openings, but there are a few issues. The first I noticed, was the two terminals located highers up, are blocked by the bracket. The next thing is once the boards are moved forward, they hit the face-plate mounting brackets. The third issue being that I only ordered left boards. I still had to order the right side. The parts positions are mirror image, but not the terminals. So I made the corrections and ordered new boards. I may also be able to move them forward by reversing the top bracket for the boards, and not use spacers there. It will depend on the final fit of the knobs and clearance to the LED board.

The new boards are cut right at the edge of the outer sliders. This is to fit the brackets and also except the wider slider. It is as close as it can get in there.
IMG_2605.JPGIMG_2595.JPG
 
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The board is now cut to the edge of the slider to fit, only on the outside slider. Which is also the comparater balance slider on each board. And is why that slider has 3 terminals.
AE2000 slider board2.jpg
 
The original AE2000 boards were the same for each side. They just used jumper wires to choose which one was going to be the comparator or the tone control. i didn't have that option because the new sliders don't have pins to wire-wrap to. So instead of using jumpers and having extra pins for each end slider, it seemed less confusing just to make them left/right. Especially if I sell some of these for DIY projects.

The DX4200 boards just arrived. More on those soon.
 
There aren't many options for knobs for these sliders. The originals have an opening that is for a thicker shaft, but are tight the other dimension. They almost fit tight when forced on, but not deep enough. So I am going to try cutting the shaft off of one new slider and put it in a metal hobby knife handle. Then heat it with a butane torch and sink it to the correct depth. It would be nice to use the originals if possible.
 
DX4200 boards with sliders and mounted to front plate. The stand off boss' were cut off to the desired height.IMG_2678.JPGIMG_2677.JPGIMG_2674.JPGIMG_2673.JPGIMG_2679.JPG
 
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New left and right AE2000 boards, cut right to the slider edge on the outside. Hopefully it fits without cutting the bracket.
IMG_2680.JPG
 
I double checked everything and found some wires in the wrong position. Then tested, and found the 15Khz display would not light. I traced it back to a bandpass filter opamp IC. It was outputting -14VDC. Replaced it, and good to go. I adjusted the lights and gain pots and tested. Then put the knobs on. They actually fit fine with a little force to get them on. Nice and snug. Also repainted the cover.
IMG_2710.JPGIMG_2708.JPGIMG_2707.JPGIMG_2705.JPGIMG_2704.JPG
 
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slater529 said:
I'm interested, but I have two PE2217-Rs and a SP4002. Will you be doing anything for those units?
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From photos I took of a previous SP4002 repair, it looks to be the same board as the DX4200, except that the LED wires go to the board instead of direct to the LEDs. And the LEDs are tacked to the board edge. So I would just go to the LEDs and it's fine. I also just ordered an SP4001, so I'll see if the one I just assembled fit's in there. From the photos I'm looking at, it appears it's the same size board for all of the full size EQs. The RP2215-R, DC22215, RP2201, etc all look the same size. With the exception of the oddball stuff that doesn't use PCBs for the sliders. They mount to the chassis. I avoid those models because they twist the sliders tabs to lock them and they break from fatigue when reinstalling.

The disassembled slider photos are the proof that unless they are taken apart or replaced, they will not slide nice. There are people on ebay including "pro" shops that spray these and do all sorts of things except what needs to be done.

Photos of SP4002 and sliders
IMG_0946.JPGIMG_0950.JPGIMG_1609.JPGIMG_1612.JPG
 
Racingh11 said:
From photos I took of a previous SP4002 repair, it looks to be the same board as the DX4200, except that the LED wires go to the board instead of direct to the LEDs. And the LEDs are tacked to the board edge. So I would just go to the LEDs and it's fine. I also just ordered an SP4001, so I'll see if the one I just assembled fit's in there. From the photos I'm looking at, it appears it's the same size board for all of the full size EQs. The RP2215-R, DC22215, RP2201, etc all look the same size. With the exception of the oddball stuff that doesn't use PCBs for the sliders. They mount to the chassis. I avoid those models because they twist the sliders tabs to lock them and they break from fatigue when reinstalling.

The disassembled slider photos are the proof that unless they are taken apart or replaced, they will not slide nice. There are people on ebay including "pro" shops that spray these and do all sorts of things except what needs to be done.

Photos of SP4002 and sliders
View attachment 3331802View attachment 3331804View attachment 3331813View attachment 3331814
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Thanks for the update. I'm very interested in getting one for my SP4002.
 
Ae2000
And sp4002 x3
Really nice, there is no good way to rebuild those horrible original sliders. Without an entire day and still have old cappy sliders
The oem values are all over the place, have you checked to see if the new ones are more consistent?
 
Racingh11 said:
They are 9.8-10.3k ohm
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Wow, that's really tight, I can't imagine that it will not have a positive affect on the accuracy of each frequency.
Some of the oems are so far out I didn’t want to use them, and this is not just one unit, this is all those oem sliders. Maybe it didn't matter to them, but it does to me.
I'm a max.5% guy.
There's a buttload of this equipment out there.
I feel like this will increase the value big time, even though they are replacements
 
I'm hoping a new slider board will fix the issue I have with my SP4002: With each slider set exactly the same on each side (A & B), the stereo image is not centered. It's as if the balance control is at 10 o'clock. I end up with the Channel A zero gain control down below center, and the Channel B zero gain control up above center.

Attaching a photo that illustrates the scenario...

IMG_1222-2.jpg
 
Forgot to mention that both PE2217-Rs that I own have the same issue, each to a differing extent.

I never had this sort of issue with my old SP4001 back in the day... of course it was new at the time, and all my current Soundcraftsmen gear is very vintage!
 
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