Reply With QuoteConnect it without the "switch" and report back
(if its just a switch, it might not be so bad, but the units that also offer a Volume control will often just melt)
Outdoor Speaker Problem
Ok, long story, but I agreed to help the local lawn bowls club to put in some sort of stereo (inside and outside) for functions/club hires etc..
I have no background in anything audio, but I thought "How hard can it be" ?
Well this is were the problems startedI picked up a Panasonic VK70D stereo in excellent condition from gumtree. This is ample for what they want. I hooked this up in the club rooms and ran some speaker wire and it all worked beautifully ! I was a genius !
Then came the outdoor speaker section. I purchased a speaker selector off ebay (same as ) and some outdoor speakers - same as and hooked it all up.
I turned the stereo on and it was playing through the inside speakers. I switch that off using the selector, and switched on the outside speakers. Success !! How easy is this !! I am still a genius !! BUT..... it quickly turned to crap
The outdoor speakers lasted about 2 minutes and 'blew' ?? It sounds like the tweeter is still working, but the woofer (bass sound) is not there any more.
I havent taken them apart yet, and I haven't connected them up to another audio source to see if they still work. it could be the speakers, it could be the switch ( is there anything inside of those things apart from well a switch ??).
Here are the specs from the stereo - what I want to know is if this is all compatible. As I said I am happy with the stereo itself, but do I need different speakers (the stereo is 6 ohm, and the speakers 8ohm - I thought this would be ok ? I thought it was the other way that put strain on the amp ?), is it the switch that can't take it ??
I still have to test it (will do over weekend - still a bit upset it didn't work and I looked like a twit
Cheers for any advice
When I was a kid, I used to have an imaginary friend. I thought he went everywhere with me. I could talk to him and he could hear me, and he could grant me wishes and stuff too. But then I grew up, and stopped going to church.
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Connect it without the "switch" and report back
(if its just a switch, it might not be so bad, but the units that also offer a Volume control will often just melt)
Last edited by ol' boy; 06-03-14 at 03:21 PM.
The only only problem I can see is the 2 zone switch which is rated at 50W per channel, your speakers 150W/channel & Amp 100W/channel.
The amp is strong enough to drive the speakers, however at approx halve volume you're maxing the switch??
Possible switch failure is my first look see; as it is unlikely both outdoor speakers would fail at the same time.
Cheers, Tiny
"You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The information is out there; you just have to let it in."
Not knowing how PA's worked, I watched one being serviced one day and saw they used back then a Valve amplifier connected to an Open Line on poles around the showground ring.
The line was insulated and looked reasonably heavy but whether that was for strength to take the strain or the current it carried I dont know
At each speaker location there was a transformer connected between the line and the speaker as well as a volume control.
I wanted to put some speakers through the house years ago and I remember seeing in a Tandy book of these 'Pads' with a volume control in it for each speaker and it said by using these 'pads', this allowed you to individually control the volume of that speaker and 'presented a Load' on the line to the amplifier.
I guess it must be a like using a 'Dummy load' when you test a transmitter and dont want to use an antenna.
I gather by doing it this way keeps the impedance correct and either 'Balanced or Unbalanced' whatever and each speaker gets what it needs to operate when the actual line voltage would fry everything.
I was wondering if in Mods case, instead of the speaker sitting across the 'line' it somehow went 'Inline' and the speaker winding fused as it couldnt carry the 'load'?
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say, I just dont ever remember saying it !!
Those lines around the showground ring would actually be powered lines (100v IIRC) and those transformers would be just doing their job. A high voltage line can transfer signal over greater distances (think: HV power) than your normal output.
As has already been stated the switch was rated at 50W whilst everything else is rated far higher. If not designed to work at the rated power your either have a blown device (too much power) or a very quiet and/or distorted signal (too little power).
Depending what's in the switch, I tend to agree, this is where the problem may be, due to over-driving.
As mentioned, test each pair of speakers without the switch.
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