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Author Topic: Most interesting troubleshooting?  (Read 6778 times)

g'bye, Dick Rees

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Re: Most interesting troubleshooting?
« Reply #20 on: March 23, 2017, 03:12:41 PM »

Thanksgiving at the in-laws and I hear a peeping noise from the kitchen.  My mother-in-law says, "Oh, we have a rabbit nesting under the deck upp by the foundation.  It makes that little squeaky noise."

I look under the kitchen sink and find a smoke alarm which had been taken down and tossed in there.  Low battery alarm...peep, peep, peep.
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Mike Diack

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Re: Most interesting troubleshooting?
« Reply #21 on: March 23, 2017, 09:25:48 PM »

With students when I talk about connector vs. signal types, etc. I use the phrase "just because it fits doesn't mean that you should stick it in there".  :-)
Lee
In the 1970s, long before the invention of the speakon, the usual thing for Australasian PA systems was to use
XLR3F->XLR3F cables for speakers (thus amps and speaker cabs used XLR3M chassis connectors) so speaker
cables couldn't be confused with mic cables.
In the "just because it fits" department, you'd be surprised how much sound you can get out of an SM58....
M
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Ed Hall

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Re: Most interesting troubleshooting?
« Reply #22 on: March 23, 2017, 09:39:39 PM »

Again back in the 90s, I was standing in as a BE for a local band. They warned me that the lead vocals had to really be pushed in the monitors, but only during the performance.

During sound check there were no problems with the monitors. Once the show started the lead dropped out of the monitors. I had to push it 10-12dB hotter!

The second set started and I noticed that the lights on the system compressor weren't acting like I expected. They weren't more or less in sync as you would expect for a stereo set up. I grabbed a flashlight and looked at the back of the rack. Nope! Not stereo. It was mono with a "Y"  adaptor into the compressor. The lead vocal was patched into the other side of the compressor then back into the monitor matrix. It was an old dbx stereo only compressor.

So during sound check the compressor was acting only on the vocal. Once the whole band started playing it was acting on the overall signal and squashing the vocal in the monitor. I pulled the patch for the vocal out of the compressor, patched the stereo back in properly and the show and monitors sounded much better.

I recommended they buy additional compressors for vocals.
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Mike Caldwell

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Re: Most interesting troubleshooting?
« Reply #23 on: March 24, 2017, 09:03:54 AM »

The sound system that hummed when powered OFF. A speaker speaker zones cable had gotten stepped on and the insulation cut through on the positive line making contact with the buildings steel frame. If the negative line had gotten cut through it probably would have gone un-noticed. There was a couple volt difference between the building frame and the power ground for that zones amp. The positive lead coming in contact with the building frame made for a complete circuit.

This one could start a separate topic "customer education"

A school was complaining that no one could understand or really even hear announcements during basketball games.
It worked out to stop by a game one evening on the way home from another job, I know that this gym has a decent system.
Get to the school, meet my contact, go and sit down a few rows behind the announcer at the scorer's table. No more than a minute later he makes an announcement reading some player stats holding the mic about a foot and a half off to his side while looking down at the stat sheets.

John Roberts {JR}

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Re: Most interesting troubleshooting?
« Reply #24 on: March 24, 2017, 09:27:41 AM »

The sound system that hummed when powered OFF. A speaker speaker zones cable had gotten stepped on and the insulation cut through on the positive line making contact with the buildings steel frame. If the negative line had gotten cut through it probably would have gone un-noticed. There was a couple volt difference between the building frame and the power ground for that zones amp. The positive lead coming in contact with the building frame made for a complete circuit.
This is one reason the install business prefers transformer isolated 70v speaker feeds.You can ground either lead and it still works, only when you short both does it suffer.

JR
Quote
This one could start a separate topic "customer education"

A school was complaining that no one could understand or really even hear announcements during basketball games.
It worked out to stop by a game one evening on the way home from another job, I know that this gym has a decent system.
Get to the school, meet my contact, go and sit down a few rows behind the announcer at the scorer's table. No more than a minute later he makes an announcement reading some player stats holding the mic about a foot and a half off to his side while looking down at the stat sheets.
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Randy Pence

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Re: Most interesting troubleshooting?
« Reply #25 on: March 25, 2017, 07:56:21 PM »

At a club I worked at, the power would sometimes cut out when it had rained earlier.  I don't mean the PA or FOh cut out, the ground fault switch for the entire panel tripped.  After a couple years of this, it stopped at the same an installed light for some lounge seating element failed to come back on after the previous panel reset.  When the light was investigated it was found that the power cable outer jacket had been stripped off in installation and patrons movement on the seating element had pinched the cable conductors to a steel frame which was part of the building, which happened to leak the ever slightest bit of water from the roof during heavy storms and like the water of the tao, find the place it wants to.

At a hotel I sometimes freelanced at, one of the wireless mics would randomly pop.  Not often enough for the customers to notice, but drove me fucking crazy.  I only worked there every few months and nobody else was bothered enough to try and track it down.  As we were doing out setup once for a conference, it popped again while we had plenty of time to investigate.  Eventually found it was the xlr output on a patch panel.  Since the AV company was a bit lazyand the receiver lived in the rack, nothing ever happened to the panel and a short mic cable became the new patch.
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Re: Most interesting troubleshooting?
« Reply #25 on: March 25, 2017, 07:56:21 PM »


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