Author Topic: Beta Lead Repair Question  (Read 3359 times)

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Offline NsubUlysses

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Beta Lead Repair Question
« on: August 09, 2006, 02:27:24 pm »
Well, I have a Beta Lead that wasn't working and then I fixed it and it immediately broke again and now I'm stumped. Here's the story:

- Beta Lead had a broken solder. It was a solder of one of those little white bar type things. I don't know what they're called but they are plastic and about 1.5"s long.

- Turned the amp on and it worked fine after I fixed the solder. Turned it off and turned it on again and it blew a fuse.

- Replaced the fuse with the right fuse -- 250V 6A fuse.

- Now when I turn it on one of those little white bar things starts on fire and I have no idea why. Anyone out there ever dealt with anything like this before? I've checked the whole thing about 3 times and can't find anymore broken solders or disconnected wires.

Yeah, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

rick.heil

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Re: Beta Lead Repair Question
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2006, 02:51:39 pm »
hmmm.....usually when a fuse blows out right after a repair it indicates something wrong with the repair.  Send pictures of the "white bar type thingies", or locate them on the schematic (page 12 of the manual - http://sunn.ampage.org/svcmans/beta/betamanual12.jpg; page 13 of the manual - http://sunn.ampage.org/svcmans/beta/betamanual13.jpg - this assumes component side of the preamp board).

How long did it "work fine"?

What comes to my mind is that you may have bridged a connection by accident when you were soldering. This is easy to fix with some desolder braid, but can be a real bitch to find if you don't know what you're looking for. 

Locate the problem part in the manual and tell me what "part" it's labeled as.  If i have no idea, I'll take mine apart and check out what a working one looks like.

Offline NsubUlysses

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Re: Beta Lead Repair Question
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2006, 08:26:39 pm »
Those are actually not the schematics for the circuit board I re-soldered. I took the part I re-soldered out to see what it was and it was marked on the circuit board as "R50." The board that I did stuff to sits right next to the circuit board with the knobs on it.

I can't find a schematic for that board online anywhere.

I guess I should have mentioned that it is a Beta Lead head, and not the combo.

rick.heil

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Re: Beta Lead Repair Question
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2006, 06:20:35 am »
head and combo are exactly the same thing, just with a different casing built around them. 


Ok, so that means you're on the power board, not the preamp board.  R50 is marked on the schematic (page 23) as being ".35, 10W", which means .35 ohms, rated at 10 watts.   this should be a big-ass resistor....yeah, this would smoke if something was wrong, its one of the main output ones.

I would check Q13 and Q16 to make sure they haven't blown as well, that would be my first guess as to what went south.   I'd also check the assembly around the IC (a 4558) on the bottom of page 23, make sure those resistors are still correct (thats the negative feedback setup I think).  After that.....well, the very last thing would be the diodes marked as CR4 and CR10.  but those shouldn't be a problem.



If those are fine, put your nose next to the transformer and take a whif.   If it smells like toast, then you may have a bad tranny.   



I still have the gut feeling that you might have just bridged something accidentally when you were soldering.  Look at the diagram on pages 20 and 21, that will show you where there should be bridges and where there shouldnt.  Its probably something simple like that.

Offline Don T

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Re: Beta Lead Repair Question
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2006, 10:55:35 am »
Hello,
Yep, Rick has it right. You are looking at the summing resistors for the output transistors. Most likely you have shorted power transistors (typical failure mode). If the power board is a 20-0135 then it came with 3055 & 3056 transistors. If it is a late beta then it has a 20-0166 power board. The schematics for the SA series power amps cover those boards. The diodes will cause the fuse to blow but will not cause the resistor to cook. If you have access to a variac, you can power up the board enough to track voltage / circuits without blowing fuses or doing further damage.

Don T
It's the ear not the gear.

Offline NsubUlysses

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Re: Beta Lead Repair Question
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2006, 06:23:44 pm »
I will look into those things. I can't thank the both of you enough for your help!