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Post new topic Tubefex dead - any help would be much appreciated!
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Author Topic:  Tubefex dead - any help would be much appreciated!
Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2012 1:52 pm    
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Hi all,

I just got a Tubefex as part of a deal and the seller made it perfectly clear that it didn't work, so I just took the chance! (I got it for "a song" basically!)

When turned on the Tube Mode LED's light up for a split second and relays are clicking, but then everything on the front goes out, except for the LCD display, which looks like this:



It has had the battery leak error at some point and it has been repaired and later it has gotten the batteryless mod and seller says it has been working after that, but since being stored for 2-3 years it suddenly doesn't work.

I've checked all voltages +/-15V +5V and the HT for the tubes and they're okay and I have also checked the circuitry in the repaired area surrounding the battery location and it seems to be fine. (I have schematic and PCB layout, courtesy of Peavey).

Does anyone have any ideas ?

Regards
Ole
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Ken Fox


From:
Nashville GA USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2012 3:07 pm    
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Try a reset.




Hold down rhe “DOWN” and “RIGHT” arrows/cursors for Session 2000, Transtubefex, Tubefex and Transtubefex and then turn on the power button.

If that does not work then it has further damage from the old batery leakage, most likely.
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Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2012 3:20 pm    
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Hi Ken,

Thanks for responding.

I should of course have mentioned in my original post, that I already did that - several times even - with no succes. Sorry about that.

I was hoping that maybe someone had seen these exact symptoms and knew the answer. I know it's a long shot, but still worth a try IMHO - it's a great unit.

Ole
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Ken Fox


From:
Nashville GA USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2012 3:32 pm    
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Sometimes the contacts are dirty on the cursors and cleaning can help it to reset. Seen this many times
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Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2012 3:37 pm    
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Definately worth a try!

Thanks Ken!
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Ken Fox


From:
Nashville GA USA
Post  Posted 30 Oct 2012 5:21 pm    
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Also look at the nuts holding the LCD screen on. I have seen them back out and short the display, causing strange display problems.
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Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 31 Oct 2012 5:16 am    
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Thanks for the suggestions Ken, unfortunately none of them worked.

The former owner said, that he had done the batteryless mod himself. I think the EPROM looks a bit homemade, but of course it could be perfectly genuine. Does it look normal to you and is it the correct nvRAM?




I wish I had an actual service manual as opposed to just a schematic, but I don't suppose that's possible to get. Do you know that?

Ole
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Ken Fox


From:
Nashville GA USA
Post  Posted 31 Oct 2012 12:39 pm    
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That looks correct inside. I have never heard of Peavey having any service manuals, only schematics.
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Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 31 Oct 2012 1:50 pm    
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Hmmmm ... looks like the end of the road then. To the dumpster it goes.

Thanks for trying to help Ken!

Ole
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Stephen Cowell


From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 31 Oct 2012 6:44 pm    
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Before dumpstering, pull and reseat all socketed IC chips... check for bent pins on them too, before and after. Make sure that resistor is still soldered to the chip... in fact, try that chip registered both to the top and the bottom of the socket... I forget which way they used to do them so they'd be compatible, but IIRC it should be pushed to the top where Pin1/Pin28 are.
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Ken Fox


From:
Nashville GA USA
Post  Posted 1 Nov 2012 5:27 am    
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"try that chip registered both to the top and the bottom of the socket."

Don't do that, it is in the right way. The 10K resistor soldered to it will not affect it if unsoldered. That holds write minus to positive for a smoother startup, but will work without it. Here is a picture of a Tubefex before the chip change.


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Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 1 Nov 2012 6:09 am    
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Thanks Ken!

Funny thing that you replied right now, 'cause I was just logging in to answer Stephen. I have had a look at the datasheets of the RAM chip and can clearly see, that ground is at pin 14 - which is pin 16 in the socket of course - so it must be right, but thanks for confirming that!

Stephen: Pulling, checking and reseating socketed IC's was the first thing I did and I did the same thing with all the cableplugs too.

It'll really hurt to put it in the dumpster now, after having spent some time trying to fix it, but it seems inevitable now unfortunately.

Thanks to both of you for trying to help and if anybody else has "the magic idea" it'll be much welcomed of course! I'll delay the trip to the dumpster for a little while.

Ole
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Mike Wheeler


From:
Delaware, Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 2 Nov 2012 10:31 am    
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Ole, I sent you an email.
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Carl Kilmer


From:
East Central, Illinois
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2012 7:05 am    
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Ole,before you scrape it, use a very good magnifying glass
and check the area where the battery had been installed.
You may find a trace was desolved by the leaking battery.
I had this problem with one and had to install 2 jumpers.
It took a while, with a lot of patience, but I got it done.
It's been 4 years now and it's still working. Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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jay thompson

 

From:
east peoria, il USA
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2012 8:01 am     Tubefex dead - any help would be much appreciated!
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Are the two jumper wires a part of the Tube Fex mod?
I have replaced the chips in two TransTube Fex and there were no jumpers used after removing the battery for that mod.
Regards, Jay Thompson
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Carl Kilmer


From:
East Central, Illinois
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2012 8:41 am    
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Hi Jay, the 2 jumpers are fine wires installed to replace
the traces that were eaten away due to battery leaking.
These can be hard to find after the area has been cleaned.
A very good magnifying glass and a bright light is a must,
and a schematic is also very usefull for this.
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jay thompson

 

From:
east peoria, il USA
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2012 9:45 am     Tubefex dead - any help would be much appreciated!
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Thanks Carl,
Didn't think about that.
Regards, Jay Thompson
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Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2012 1:46 pm    
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Carl, Jay,

I did the magnifying glass thing and I even checked each and every trace with an Ohm-meter and made sure everything was connected like in the schematic, which I have.

The wires are - like Carl said - part of the original repair after the battery corrosion damage and while it doesn't actually look too cool, it's ok.

Question: I have the circuit board layout diagram as well, but only for the top side of the board. Do you happen to know if this board is multi-layered or is it just top and bottom traced?

Ole
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Carl Kilmer


From:
East Central, Illinois
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2012 4:16 pm    
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Ole, I'm not positive, but I think it's just dual sided.
I know when I did mine it was just on each side in
that area. It may be multi layer in some other places.
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Ad Kersten


From:
Beek en Donk, The Netherlands
Post  Posted 13 May 2013 1:37 pm    
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Ole,

Don't know if you managed to get the Tubefex going or dumped it. I also have a Tubefex that went dead and I found it is a multi-layer board. You can easily see this when you hold the board against light because you see dark patterns that are not coming from the top or bottom of the board. So must be inside.

I originally though it did not suffer from battery leakage since I replaced the battery some years ago and it worked well until recently. Also, I did not see any signs of leakage.

Now when it went dead I tried all sorts of things to get it working again. I even took it to a repair shop but no solution. Then I carefully checked the boards again with a magnifying glass and found very small signs of chemical attack by earlier battery leakage. In my case it was in a very small hole next to the hole where the minus pole of the battery was soldered on to the board:



I carefully removed the residues and cleaned the hole a bit with a thin stainless steel wire. I then stuck a piece of wire through the hole and filled it with solder....and it came alive again. Now I am not sure whether it will stay alive because I still have some unwanted sounds (squeaking, volume variation). I think the connection between solder and copper on the various layers is too thin. Need to redo this better.

Anyway, check that spot if you still have the unit.

Ad
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Ole Dantoft


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 13 May 2013 1:53 pm    
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Ad,

Thanks a lot for this information and the description of how you fixed yours - I really appreciate it my frind!

No I didn't dump it after all, because soon after this I found another used one in perfect condition and at a very fair price, so I decided to keep this one for spare parts.

I'll definately have yet another look at it when time allows it.

Thanks again and all the best!

Ole
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