Quoth'd Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I have a Hartke 3500 (with corners and rack ears) . . . Now after doing a good turn for (now ex-guitarist) and offering to fix some of his PA cabs for him I made the mistake of using my beloved amp as to test for faults. After a quick turn of very quiet sound level quickly getting fainter - the amp went pop, wiz, bang and then silent [the day of a gig too] So after disassembling the speaker I quickly found out that the crossover had gone and went short as it warmed up (cause of blown amp established). That left me with my amp to fix. I pulled it apart & did all the usual checks then found that the output transistors had blown. So after a quick hunt round, I found a set of compatible replacements for the 4x pairs of output transistors which I fitted and checked again. Good signal with tone source when quiet but as I turned the gain up - a distortion creped in (on the scope it looked like a saw wave on the negative signwave - top half fine / bottom half jagged). The louder the output gain the more distorted the output. Now my dilemma is this - I have replaced amp with a lovely Gallien Krueger backline which I am loving & looking forward to cranking when am back in a band again. I have a semi-working Hartke 3500 which I don't need so am wondering if it would be better to call Samson & order the replacement output (loaded) PCB then sell it as refurbished [u]or[/u] to sell it as non-working [u]or[/u] to break it and sell individual bits (case / front panel / transformer / pre-amp-board / send-return board / output board / heatsink etc). Any advice gratefully received as am loathed to flebay it and walk away with a miserable £20. Thanks Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 [quote name='Quoth'd' post='1130930' date='Feb 17 2011, 01:03 PM']I have a Hartke 3500 (with corners and rack ears) . . . Now after doing a good turn for (now ex-guitarist) and offering to fix some of his PA cabs for him I made the mistake of using my beloved amp as to test for faults. After a quick turn of very quiet sound level quickly getting fainter - the amp went pop, wiz, bang and then silent [the day of a gig too] So after disassembling the speaker I quickly found out that the crossover had gone and went short as it warmed up (cause of blown amp established). That left me with my amp to fix. I pulled it apart & did all the usual checks then found that the output transistors had blown. So after a quick hunt round, I found a set of compatible replacements for the 4x pairs of output transistors which I fitted and checked again. Good signal with tone source when quiet but as I turned the gain up - a distortion creped in (on the scope it looked like a saw wave on the negative signwave - top half fine / bottom half jagged). The louder the output gain the more distorted the output. Now my dilemma is this - I have replaced amp with a lovely Gallien Krueger backline which I am loving & looking forward to cranking when am back in a band again. I have a semi-working Hartke 3500 which I don't need so am wondering if it would be better to call Samson & order the replacement output (loaded) PCB then sell it as refurbished [u]or[/u] to sell it as non-working [u]or[/u] to break it and sell individual bits (case / front panel / transformer / pre-amp-board / send-return board / output board / heatsink etc). Any advice gratefully received as am loathed to flebay it and walk away with a miserable £20. Thanks Si[/quote] I'd fix it, mine was bought faulty (valve preamp section not working). Turns out a resistor had burned out on the board. Replaced all the nearby caps (one of which might have caused the failure) and the burned resistor. Broke the stupid bit which goes to the compressor control on the front panel and had to repair that by running some wires instead of relying on PCB tracks. That was 2 1/2 years ago now and it's been working great ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 [quote name='Quoth'd' post='1130930' date='Feb 17 2011, 01:03 PM']Now my dilemma is this - I have replaced amp with a lovely Gallien Krueger backline which I am loving & looking forward to cranking when am back in a band again. I have a semi-working Hartke 3500 which I don't need so am wondering if it would be better to call Samson & order the replacement output (loaded) PCB then sell it as refurbished [u]or[/u] to sell it as non-working [u]or[/u] to break it and sell individual bits (case / front panel / transformer / pre-amp-board / send-return board / output board / heatsink etc). Any advice gratefully received as am loathed to flebay it and walk away with a miserable £20.[/quote] You might be able to sell it as non working but that'd really push the price down. You could scrap it and sell it as parts but the chances are that you'll end up throwing the majority of those parts away in two years time when you haven't been able to sell them. I'd be more inclined to get the parts needed from Korg, get it back to the original spec and sell it on as refurbished - you clear the whole lot out in one go and make it available to a far wider market than just the electronics enthusiast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoth'd Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 [quote name='icastle' post='1131008' date='Feb 17 2011, 01:45 PM']You might be able to sell it as non working but that'd really push the price down. You could scrap it and sell it as parts but the chances are that you'll end up throwing the majority of those parts away in two years time when you haven't been able to sell them. I'd be more inclined to get the parts needed from Korg, get it back to the original spec and sell it on as refurbished - you clear the whole lot out in one go and make it available to a far wider market than just the electronics enthusiast.[/quote] Thanks for the advice - I think I will see about getting it repaired. Time to call Samson & see how much they're charging for the power module Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 [quote name='Quoth'd' post='1131702' date='Feb 17 2011, 11:31 PM']Thanks for the advice - I think I will see about getting it repaired. Time to call Samson & see how much they're charging for the power module [/quote] It's Korg (UK) now Tel: 01908 857100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Just a quick note, as someone who has recently damaged his own Hartke 3500 - one, icastle is a total dude; also, Korg are better than I expected,. You'll just need to be [i]precise[/i] with the parts required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoth'd Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Again thanks - you've also saved me an embarrassing call to the states Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 You seem to know your sh*t m8,i was lost the minute you mentioned oscillicopes so i wouldnt attempt to advise you technically,financially though if replacing the humped bits and selling as a working amp is viable id defo repair it,sellling it for spares usually means letting it go for peanuts,ive a Peavey mk111 bass head with shagged outputs and was led to beleive the power transformer was rare and worth selling along with other bits n bobs,on ebay it shot up to £0.99p.....and it was me that f***in bid for it...id fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 [quote name='dougie' post='1132998' date='Feb 19 2011, 01:23 AM']on ebay it shot up to £0.99p.....and it was me that f***in bid for it...[/quote] You sold yourself a bargain there Dougie... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 [quote name='icastle' post='1133003' date='Feb 19 2011, 01:40 AM']You sold yourself a bargain there Dougie... [/quote] Story of my life m8,story of my life.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 [quote name='dougie' post='1133012' date='Feb 19 2011, 02:07 AM']Story of my life m8,story of my life....[/quote] Ah well, looking on the bright side, at least you didn't end up charging yourself postage on top... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 I have to say, I always thought that there was no cure for a broken Hartke ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 [quote name='Happy Jack' post='1133080' date='Feb 19 2011, 09:26 AM']I have to say, I always thought that there was no cure for a broken Hartke ...[/quote] I might have to track you down and kill you for that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoth'd Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 [quote name='dougie' post='1132998' date='Feb 19 2011, 01:23 AM']You seem to know your sh*t m8,i was lost the minute you mentioned oscillicopes so i wouldnt attempt to advise you technically,financially though if replacing the humped bits and selling as a working amp is viable id defo repair it,sellling it for spares usually means letting it go for peanuts,ive a Peavey mk111 bass head with shagged outputs and was led to beleive the power transformer was rare and worth selling along with other bits n bobs,on ebay it shot up to £0.99p.....and it was me that f***in bid for it...id fix it.[/quote] Dougie - Have you still got the amp or is it long gone by now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Happy Jack' post='1133080' date='Feb 19 2011, 09:26 AM']I have to say, I always thought that there was no cure for a broken Hartke ...[/quote] damn you ! in was going to come with with 'what becomes of the broken hartke' Edited March 2, 2011 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 [quote name='Quoth'd' post='1147196' date='Mar 2 2011, 02:58 PM']Dougie - Have you still got the amp or is it long gone by now?[/quote] i have indeed,albeit stripped,lurkin in my"useful"cupboard full of projects doomed never to work again m8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Quoth'd' post='1130930' date='Feb 17 2011, 02:03 PM']I have a Hartke 3500...break it and sell individual bits...[/quote] Good evening, Quoth'd... Just a shot in the dark... I have a 3500, and need to replace the mains transformer (original shorted out...). Did you get yours fixed (if so, forget this, and well done..!); if not, would you be willing to sell me the transfo (assuming it to be toroidal...), please? Give me an idea of price, and postage (to France, postcode 53110...) if you can help me out. I only need the transfo (my amp blew just a few weeks out of guarantee, so is otherwise in good shape. Ain't that always the way..?) Thanks in advance for any help you can give, and... Have a nice day Douglas Edited March 27, 2011 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Good evening, all... Just to give public acknowledgement of the splendid assistance offered by Quoth'd in getting my HA3500 repaired, over and above the 'call of duty'. It's now up and running, due to his contact information for the parts and 'gut shots' for wiring up correctly. Great job. Deeply grateful, many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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