I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out over
the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they usually make
pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic (anyone
*really* refer to their old college texts or books they have read in the
past anymore?). So with all the books being "de-accessioned"
(librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a lot of bowed knotty pine
planks and burned out speakers.

If they can be salvaged, I can use them, but if they're likely to just blow
out again, I will send them to the curb monster that comes by late at night
before trash day.

So my question is this. Is it worth repairing 10 or 20 year old speakers?
Can replacements be readily had?

Is there a good site for diagnosing speaker problems? I almost always
assume it's a fine wire winding in the voice coil that shorted when a
speaker no longer even responds to a battery "click" test but I that's an
assumption.

Is it possible to match the characteristics of the old speakers closely
enough without manufacturer info like a parts list?

Do crossover networks ever go bad? Can they be tested with a multimeter?

And yes, I googled it,

http://www.google.com/search?q=diagn...ms&btnG=Search

but I didn't like very many of the sites it revealed. I'll keep searching
but Google ain't what she used to be.

Hmm, should have added "blown" to the search term - much better. Still not
great, though.

Thanks in advance for your input.

--
Bobby G.

On 5/21/2014 9:49 AM, Robert Green wrote:
I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out over
the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they usually make
pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic (anyone
*really* refer to their old college texts or books they have read in the
past anymore?). So with all the books being "de-accessioned"
(librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a lot of bowed knotty pine
planks and burned out speakers.

....

If'en the books don't get carried away, before throwing out entirely,
the local library has a "free" table for the purpose...I've had amazing
(to me) stuff disappear from there to at least delay the landfill deluge.

I've no input on the speaker repair per se altho I wonder how one
manages to blow "a lot" of them -- I've a set or AR-5 and 3a's from 50
yr ago and haven't ever "blown" one other than a car or tractor radio 5"
jobbie...

--

On Wed, 21 May 2014 10:49:50 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out over
the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they usually make
pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic (anyone
*really* refer to their old college texts or books they have read in the
past anymore?). So with all the books being "de-accessioned"
(librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a lot of bowed knotty pine
planks and burned out speakers.

If they can be salvaged, I can use them, but if they're likely to just blow
out again, I will send them to the curb monster that comes by late at night
before trash day.

So my question is this. Is it worth repairing 10 or 20 year old speakers?
Can replacements be readily had?

Is there a good site for diagnosing speaker problems? I almost always
assume it's a fine wire winding in the voice coil that shorted when a
speaker no longer even responds to a battery "click" test but I that's an
assumption.

Is it possible to match the characteristics of the old speakers closely
enough without manufacturer info like a parts list?

Do crossover networks ever go bad? Can they be tested with a multimeter?

And yes, I googled it,

http://www.google.com/search?q=diagn...ms&btnG=Search

but I didn't like very many of the sites it revealed. I'll keep searching
but Google ain't what she used to be.

Hmm, should have added "blown" to the search term - much better. Still not
great, though.

Thanks in advance for your input.

If it was me, I'd just toss them. But.....
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fixi...-Improving-Yo/

What's wrong with those instructions?
But, if it was me I'd toss them.
See if you can salvage the knotty pine.

Robert Green wrote:

I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out
over the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they
usually make pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic
(anyone really refer to their old college texts or books they have
read in the past anymore?). So with all the books being
"de-accessioned" (librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a
lot of bowed knotty pine planks and burned out speakers.

If they can be salvaged, I can use them, but if they're likely to
just blow out again, I will send them to the curb monster that comes
by late at night before trash day.

So my question is this. Is it worth repairing 10 or 20 year old
speakers? Can replacements be readily had?

Is there a good site for diagnosing speaker problems? I almost always
assume it's a fine wire winding in the voice coil that shorted when a
speaker no longer even responds to a battery "click" test but I
that's an assumption.

Is it possible to match the characteristics of the old speakers
closely enough without manufacturer info like a parts list?

Do crossover networks ever go bad? Can they be tested with a
multimeter?

And yes, I googled it,

http://www.google.com/search?q=diagn...ms&btnG=Search

but I didn't like very many of the sites it revealed. I'll keep
searching but Google ain't what she used to be.

Hmm, should have added "blown" to the search term - much better.
Still not great, though.

Thanks in advance for your input.


I can't speak to your specific repairs, but I have repaired speakers
for my car that had the broken rubber around the cone. The kit was
cheap and easy to install.

Simply Speakers.

dpb wrote:
On 5/21/2014 9:49 AM, Robert Green wrote:
I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out
over the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they
usually make pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic
(anyone *really* refer to their old college texts or books they have
read in the past anymore?). So with all the books being
"de-accessioned" (librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a
lot of bowed knotty pine planks and burned out speakers.

...

If'en the books don't get carried away, before throwing out entirely,
the local library has a "free" table for the purpose...I've had
amazing (to me) stuff disappear from there to at least delay the
landfill deluge.
I've no input on the speaker repair per se altho I wonder how one
manages to blow "a lot" of them -- I've a set or AR-5 and 3a's from 50
yr ago and haven't ever "blown" one other than a car or tractor radio
5" jobbie...

So far I've blown 2 sets of rear speakers on my Harley - might have
something to do with high volume levels coupled with "optomistic"
power-handling specs . Oh , and the 100 watt amp in the tourpak .
--
Snag

Robert,

It's probably not cost effective to repair the speakers. To repair a
speaker it helps to know what's wrong, so let's open it up. What do you see?
2 speakers or 3 maybe? A PC board? A fuse?
Now what sort of tools do you have? A multimeter? An oscilloscope? A
soldering iron?
Ok let's hook the speaker up to a good audio signal. Turn the volume down
and the power on. Now bring the volume up. Hear anything?

Dave M.

Anything can be fixed, almost anything,
if the speakers were high dollar than repair'em, I'm still old school
when a decent set of speakers were high dollar, they still are if you
want real quality.
So fix them up like new and use them or put them back in the attic or
you might read up on acoustics and remove the speakers and put them in
the wall or ceiling.
google infinite baffle,
You'll find lots of information and parts available on the internet,
one of many....
http://www.speakerworks.com/speaker_..._kits_s/65.htm

On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 7:49:50 AM UTC-7, Robert Green wrote:
I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out over

the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they usually make

pretty good bookshelf supports.



In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic (anyone

*really* refer to their old college texts or books they have read in the

past anymore?). So with all the books being "de-accessioned"

(librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a lot of bowed knotty pine

planks and burned out speakers.



If they can be salvaged, I can use them, but if they're likely to just blow

out again, I will send them to the curb monster that comes by late at night

before trash day.



So my question is this. Is it worth repairing 10 or 20 year old speakers?

Can replacements be readily had?



Is there a good site for diagnosing speaker problems? I almost always

assume it's a fine wire winding in the voice coil that shorted when a

speaker no longer even responds to a battery "click" test but I that's an

assumption.



Is it possible to match the characteristics of the old speakers closely

enough without manufacturer info like a parts list?



Do crossover networks ever go bad? Can they be tested with a multimeter?



And yes, I googled it,



http://www.google.com/search?q=diagn...ms&btnG=Search



but I didn't like very many of the sites it revealed. I'll keep searching

but Google ain't what she used to be.



Hmm, should have added "blown" to the search term - much better. Still not

great, though.



Thanks in advance for your input.



--

Bobby G.

Question is better answered in the sci.electronics.repair newsgroup.

Robert Green wrote:
I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out
over the years.

Are they really blown, or is the rubber surround just rotted? It could be an
easy cheap fix.

badgolferman wrote:
Robert Green wrote:

I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out
over the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they
usually make pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic
(anyone really refer to their old college texts or books they have
read in the past anymore?). So with all the books being
"de-accessioned" (librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a
lot of bowed knotty pine planks and burned out speakers.

If they can be salvaged, I can use them, but if they're likely to
just blow out again, I will send them to the curb monster that comes
by late at night before trash day.

So my question is this. Is it worth repairing 10 or 20 year old
speakers? Can replacements be readily had?

Is there a good site for diagnosing speaker problems? I almost always
assume it's a fine wire winding in the voice coil that shorted when a
speaker no longer even responds to a battery "click" test but I
that's an assumption.

Is it possible to match the characteristics of the old speakers
closely enough without manufacturer info like a parts list?

Do crossover networks ever go bad? Can they be tested with a
multimeter?

And yes, I googled it,

http://www.google.com/search?q=diagn...ms&btnG=Search

but I didn't like very many of the sites it revealed. I'll keep
searching but Google ain't what she used to be.

Hmm, should have added "blown" to the search term - much better.
Still not great, though.

Thanks in advance for your input.


I can't speak to your specific repairs, but I have repaired speakers
for my car that had the broken rubber around the cone. The kit was
cheap and easy to install.

Simply Speakers.

Hi,
It all depends. What kinda speakers(music, instrument, size, etc.)
They all can be repaired. Voice coil can be re[placed, even impedance
changed. Cones replaced, ribbed or smooth cones, rubbers can be
redone,etc. I had a blown 15 in. keyboard amp speakers. I had it
repaired, recone, new voice coil, etc. for 80.00.

"Bob F" writes:
Robert Green wrote:
I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out
over the years.

Are they really blown, or is the rubber surround just rotted? It could be an
easy cheap fix.


More to the point, I think:

What brand of speakers are they?

If they're a pair of Pioneer HPM-60's, they're probably not worth
repairing.

If they're a pair of BOSE 901's, then you'll find some sucker on
ebay that will pay through the nose for them (no highs, no lows,
must be bose).

A pair of Infinity QE's, should be fixable (and may just have a blown
fuse).

If they're a pair of Maggies, get 'em fixed!

"Bob F" wrote in message
...
Robert Green wrote:
I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out
over the years.

Are they really blown, or is the rubber surround just rotted? It could be
an
easy cheap fix.

I suspect there's every type of damage a speaker can suffer from torn cones
to open voice coils and probably failed cross-over networks.

--
Bobby G.

wrote in message news:c013cdd9-fe34-47b9-aaab-
stuff snipped

Question is better answered in the sci.electronics.repair newsgroup.

Good idea, I'll crosspost the original item so that both groups can weigh
in. AHR folks, please forgive the second posting!

--
Bobby G.

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
On Wed, 21 May 2014 10:49:50 -0400, "Robert Green"
Thanks in advance for your input.

If it was me, I'd just toss them. But.....

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fixi...-Improving-Yo/

What's wrong with those instructions?

They're OK - I think I need a little more info on how to test crossover
networks because I think at least some of them are bad - i.e. the speakers
will sound connected to an amp directly but not when connected to the
crossover network in the box. However there were some useful bits.

But, if it was me I'd toss them.

I can make use of them if I can repair them and in some cases, would have to
buy new ones. Not sure of the tradeoff but I will be moreso when I price
replacements. If it's anything like drill batteries, I can buy a new drill
and battery packs on sale for the price of a single replacement battery
pack.

See if you can salvage the knotty pine.

Just flip them and load them down with some bricks to recurve them against
the bowing. It really wasn't bad compared to the one particle board shelf
that sagged like a pregnant cow.

--
Bobby G.

Robert Green wrote:
"Vic Smith" wrote in message
On Wed, 21 May 2014 10:49:50 -0400, "Robert Green"
Thanks in advance for your input.

If it was me, I'd just toss them. But.....

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fixi...-Improving-Yo/

What's wrong with those instructions?

They're OK - I think I need a little more info on how to test
crossover networks because I think at least some of them are bad -
i.e. the speakers will sound connected to an amp directly but not
when connected to the crossover network in the box. However there
were some useful bits.

But, if it was me I'd toss them.

I can make use of them if I can repair them and in some cases, would
have to buy new ones. Not sure of the tradeoff but I will be moreso
when I price replacements. If it's anything like drill batteries, I
can buy a new drill and battery packs on sale for the price of a
single replacement battery pack.

See if you can salvage the knotty pine.

Just flip them and load them down with some bricks to recurve them
against the bowing. It really wasn't bad compared to the one
particle board shelf that sagged like a pregnant cow.

Robert Green wrote:
"Vic Smith" wrote in message
On Wed, 21 May 2014 10:49:50 -0400, "Robert Green"
Thanks in advance for your input.

If it was me, I'd just toss them. But.....

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fixi...-Improving-Yo/

What's wrong with those instructions?

They're OK - I think I need a little more info on how to test
crossover networks because I think at least some of them are bad -
i.e. the speakers will sound connected to an amp directly but not
when connected to the crossover network in the box. However there
were some useful bits.

Capacitors in crossovers are probably the part most likely to fail, and they
should be easily replaced.

On Wed, 21 May 2014 10:49:50 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out over
the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they usually make
pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic (anyone
*really* refer to their old college texts or books they have read in the
past anymore?). So with all the books being "de-accessioned"
(librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a lot of bowed knotty pine
planks and burned out speakers.

If they can be salvaged, I can use them, but if they're likely to just blow
out again, I will send them to the curb monster that comes by late at night
before trash day.

So my question is this. Is it worth repairing 10 or 20 year old speakers?
Can replacements be readily had?

Depends on the speaker and what's blown. If it's just the "surrounds"
that have gone on a decent quality speaker it is well worth fixing
them. A lot of the speakers from the sixties and seventies are every
bit as good as the crap you buy today - even the "high end" chinese
junk.

Is there a good site for diagnosing speaker problems? I almost always
assume it's a fine wire winding in the voice coil that shorted when a
speaker no longer even responds to a battery "click" test but I that's an
assumption.

Is it possible to match the characteristics of the old speakers closely
enough without manufacturer info like a parts list?

Do crossover networks ever go bad? Can they be tested with a multimeter?

Yes, they can go bad. Test right at the speaker terminals - inside the
box.. If the speaker itself is good, cheap chinese crossovers are
almost litterally "a dime a dozen" on Flea Bay. Relatively good ones
are not terribly expensive either.
And yes, I googled it,

http://www.google.com/search?q=diagn...ms&btnG=Search

but I didn't like very many of the sites it revealed. I'll keep searching
but Google ain't what she used to be.

Hmm, should have added "blown" to the search term - much better. Still not
great, though.

Thanks in advance for your input.

On 5/21/14, 10:49 AM, Robert Green wrote:


Thanks in advance for your input.

--
Bobby G.


I have a foggy memory of rewinding a tweeter decades ago. I determined
the gauge, then checked the resistance of a good tweeter to find out how
many feet it had.

As has been said, I'd check each speaker element. A battery would work,
but I'd check resistance with a multimeter. If it looked good, I'd clip
the leads on and see what happened when I pushed the cone.

Ten years ago, I thought something was wrong with my CD player or my
amp. Then I discovered that the foam surrounds on 6 woofers and 4
midranges were rotting. I found a place that sold repair kits.

In the last few years, I've been thinking of complaining to the FCC that
lots of FM stations are broadcasting distortion. Then I discovered that
my electrolytic crossover capacitors were bad. Some estimate that
electrolytics last 5 years on the shelf. Mine were 30 years old. A
month ago I replaced 18.

The ones I took out were 10% precision electrolytics. I used regular
nonpolar electrolytics because they were cheap and easy to find. The
ideal is metal film because they're precise and last indefinitely. Even
my crummy replacement capacitors made voices clearer and music better.

"David Martel" wrote in message
...

Robert,

It's probably not cost effective to repair the speakers.

Ironically now that I am cleaning up the attic I realize I never routed the
AV net there and I have nothing to listen to as I clean up. I'm hoping that
enough of the damaged can be saved to add whole house audio to the attic and
more of the basement (there's one TV/speaker setup by the sink area but
nowhere else)

I previously said "blown" speakers but "non-functioning" or "bad sounding"
would have been more accurate and less likely to result in accusations of
murdering helpless speakers. (-:

To repair a speaker it helps to know what's wrong, so let's open it up.
What do you see?
2 speakers or 3 maybe? A PC board? A fuse?

Since I have so many I'll probably have to just pick a model and go from
there. The Technics with the 15" woofer seems to woof OK but the tweeter
and midrange seem inert. I have not yet jacked them out of their case yet
because it's in an awkward place and because I just noticed the problem the
other day. I think I need to round up all the ones worth saving to try to
figure out what's what.

Now what sort of tools do you have? A multimeter? An oscilloscope? A
soldering iron?

All of the above but the scope's a pretty cheesy penscope not good for much.
I want to be able to check the crossover networks and haven't come across
much help in that area on the web. I have a DVM that has a capacitance
checker built-in, but I recall from previous threads about the flood of bad
caps a few years back, that the DVM can't really check out all the possible
flaws in a bad cap.

Ok let's hook the speaker up to a good audio signal. Turn the volume
down
and the power on. Now bring the volume up. Hear anything?

I know the basics. I just need to find out more about crossover network
troubleshooting and how to determine what kind of replacements I should use
for speakers/tweeters/woofers that don't have and characteristics marked on
them. I'm busy reading up on the design of cross-over network so I can
better understand their function in the world of the Dead Speakers.

Thanks for your input, Dave.

--
Bobby G.

"Robert Green" wrote in message ...

I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out over
the years. Typically I take them to the attic where they usually make
pretty good bookshelf supports.

In the spirit of domestic harmony, I am cleaning out said attic (anyone
*really* refer to their old college texts or books they have read in the
past anymore?). So with all the books being "de-accessioned"
(librarian-speak for "thrown out") I am left with a lot of bowed knotty pine
planks and burned out speakers.

If they can be salvaged, I can use them, but if they're likely to just blow
out again, I will send them to the curb monster that comes by late at night
before trash day.

So my question is this. Is it worth repairing 10 or 20 year old speakers?
Can replacements be readily had?

Is there a good site for diagnosing speaker problems? I almost always
assume it's a fine wire winding in the voice coil that shorted when a
speaker no longer even responds to a battery "click" test but I that's an
assumption.

Is it possible to match the characteristics of the old speakers closely
enough without manufacturer info like a parts list?

Do crossover networks ever go bad? Can they be tested with a multimeter?

And yes, I googled it,

http://www.google.com/search?q=diagn...ms&btnG=Search

but I didn't like very many of the sites it revealed. I'll keep searching
but Google ain't what she used to be.

Hmm, should have added "blown" to the search term - much better. Still not
great, though.

Thanks in advance for your input.

--
Bobby G.

BG 65 years ago when doing radio and amplifiers repairs I replaced many
speaker cones.They were available then. To match up needed, diameter,
depth of cone,
coil diameter and impedance. Had set of shims (made for this purpose) to
center coil around the magnet. Glued coil to cone and cone to frame. This
saved finding matching speaker and saved customer some money. WW

Scott Lurndal wrote:
"Bob F" writes:
Robert Green wrote:
I've got a lot of big, small and medium speakers that have blown out
over the years.

Are they really blown, or is the rubber surround just rotted? It could be an
easy cheap fix.



Rubber usually does not rot, and it's not regular rubber. There are three
basic surround types.

More to the point, I think:

What brand of speakers are they?

If they're a pair of Pioneer HPM-60's, they're probably not worth
repairing.


Too many drivers, but solid cabs.

If they're a pair of BOSE 901's, then you'll find some sucker on
ebay that will pay through the nose for them (no highs, no lows,
must be bose).


Probably did not get blown out, but may have fallen out. For what it's
worth, I know a lot about these.

A pair of Infinity QE's, should be fixable (and may just have a blown
fuse).

If they're a pair of Maggies, get 'em fixed!

It's funny the OP seems to be ignoring posting pictures or makes. Maybe we
got some Sound Design goodies. fishers ?

I've built many speakers, and have fixed many. It's not usually quick and
easy fix.

I can't cross post.

Greg

On 5/23/14, 3:34 PM, Robert Green wrote:
"David Martel" wrote in message
...


Since I have so many I'll probably have to just pick a model and go from
there. The Technics with the 15" woofer seems to woof OK but the tweeter
and midrange seem inert. I have not yet jacked them out of their case yet
because it's in an awkward place and because I just noticed the problem the
other day. I think I need to round up all the ones worth saving to try to
figure out what's what.

Now what sort of tools do you have? A multimeter? An oscilloscope? A
soldering iron?

All of the above but the scope's a pretty cheesy penscope not good for much.
I want to be able to check the crossover networks and haven't come across
much help in that area on the web. I have a DVM that has a capacitance
checker built-in, but I recall from previous threads about the flood of bad
caps a few years back, that the DVM can't really check out all the possible
flaws in a bad cap.

I've had capacitance checkers in the past, but they went bad. A
crossover capacitor may be beyond the range of a checker, anyway.

Big ones can be checked by the time constant using a couple of DMMs and
a calculator. (I used three DMMs, two to determine the voltage and
resistance of the third, on it's highest resistance range.) I found out
that bad nonpolar electrolytics give whacky results.

As I recall, the other thing to check is the capacitor's resistance.
I'd skip that.

Ok let's hook the speaker up to a good audio signal. Turn the volume
down
and the power on. Now bring the volume up. Hear anything?

I know the basics. I just need to find out more about crossover network
troubleshooting and how to determine what kind of replacements I should use
for speakers/tweeters/woofers that don't have and characteristics marked on
them. I'm busy reading up on the design of cross-over network so I can
better understand their function in the world of the Dead Speakers.

It's usually electrolytic capacitors, not coils or resistors, that go
bad. I have a Radio Shack DMM from 1979. I pull it off the shelf when
I need to check audio voltages up to 20kHz; most won't do that. A scope
can also show you where you're losing the signal, but if one side of the
audio circuit is grounded, you have to be careful where you clip the
ground lead.

I didn't bother to check with signals. Checking a few capacitors with
time constants made a believer of me; so I replaced them all. I needed
a chisel to get the circuit boards unglued from the cabinets and to get
the capacitors unglued from the boards. Their values were marked.

You talk about the voice coils becoming shorted, I think you probably meant to say burnt open. A voice coil with a shorted turn will still respond to the battery click test, it just will not respond well to higher frequency inputs.

" wrote:
You talk about the voice coils becoming shorted, I think you probably
meant to say burnt open. A voice coil with a shorted turn will still
respond to the battery click test, it just will not respond well to
higher frequency inputs.

It's going to mess Qes and efficiency. I think I've seen rubbed turns.
Smaller tweeters are more likely to fuse open near the connections. Woofers
will burn over a large area.

Greg