Any electronics experts out there? Poorly EBS HD350

[Fizzer]

Hi Folks, 

My trusty EBS HD350, which I've had for years, has been slowly developing an intermittent crackle/hiss over the last few months. Mostly a 'tap' (OK, thump) has fixed the issue. 

The other day it seemed to give up the ghost completely, no amount of jiggling, tapping or sweet talking would coax it back to life. 

I'm making do with an Ashdown Classic Line 30W at the moment and it isn't exactly my tone and doesn't have enough grunt for practices or gigs.

EBS have suggested cleaning the send/return jack and looking at the series/parallel dip switches (which I have done). No luck so far.

 

Here's a video I took of the issue - any suggestions for a fix? I've been quoted £120 to just take a look!

 

 

[TheGreek]

They used to be based in Letchworth, Herts and were very helpful.

 

They have moved away and I've heard negative comments about the service. 

[warwickhunt]

Find a new tech!  

 

Most round here offer a free diagnosis (and they are good) but even the guy here who charges £30 to look, knocks that off the price if you go ahead with the job.  

 

The send return thing is not uncommon when it is never used.

[BassmanPaul]

Try linking the Send and Return with a signal cable and see if that helps.

 

[Fizzer]

Yeah, I've had the send return linked for a long time - this seems to be a fresh issue.

Any recommendations for a tech near Oxfordshire/Berkshire?

[songofthewind]

http://www.inerear.co.uk

[Mykesbass]

21 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

Find a new tech!  

 

Most round here offer a free diagnosis (and they are good) but even the guy here who charges £30 to look, knocks that off the price if you go ahead with the job.  

 

The send return thing is not uncommon when it is never used.

Whereabouts are you? There's a recommended techs thread which I'll go and find. £120 bench charge does sound excessive.

[Mykesbass]

 

[BassmanPaul]

Any progress on this adventure?

 

[Sparky Mark]

Have you tried unplugging the headers on the red wiring and reseating them? I'd seriously recommend not poking around inside with your hands when it's powered up; use a plastic Biro if you have to.

[Huge Hands]

On 30/12/2022 at 16:51, Mykesbass said:

Whereabouts are you? There's a recommended techs thread which I'll go and find. £120 bench charge does sound excessive.

I work in pro service of electronic equipment and for B2B repairs, that is a normal (if not slightly cheap) charge for a standard first look at something that is not under warranty by a repair house.  However, as @warwickhuntsaid, these charges are usually refundable if you go ahead with the repair.

 

I totally get why they do it - after they give their report, 90% of the time people will say - it's not worth it, I'll buy a new one, so they end up working mainly for free if they don't charge up front.  The company I work for got rid of their own in-house repair dept as it wasn't worth paying someone to spend all day trying to repair a DVD player that was only worth £30 new.

 

BTW - I'm not having a go at the OP - just explaining why these companies charge.  I hope you find a more reasonable tech.

[Huge Hands]

I'm not claiming to be an expert in any way but I just watched the video and was surprised at the amount of movement in that connector on the board when you pressed the cable.  I'm wondering if there are dry joints underneath?  It did seem to affect the audio at the other end too, so could be dry joints at both ends?

[Dan Dare]

Unless it's a really obvious issue, it's a bit pointless to ask for a solution on here, where, even if we have electronics knowledge, we cannot see or hear the amp and the problem. I'd be wary of poking around if you don't know what you're doing at the suggestion of people who, albeit well-intentioned, may not know what they're talking about (no offence intended to anyone).

 

Huge Hands is absolutely right above. Most tech's will quote a highish price to diagnose to protect themselves from doing a lot of work only to be told that the customer does not want to go ahead with the necessary repairs. Plumbers and mechanics do similarly for the same reasons.

 

Why not ask your tech' if he/she will offset the diagnosis charge against the cost of any repairs that are needed? Most will in my experience.