Over the last 25 years I have accrued 4 dead 8FB2B1F reverb tanks. I have checked for the obvious broken wires etc. Is there a common problem with these units that can be repaired easily? or is there a cross over unit that can be purchased? Any info on this problem would be greatly appreciated thanks.
Randy
Accutronics reverb tank repairs
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Randy Pokeda
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- Location: Prince George B.C. Canada
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Bruce Derr
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Assuming you've checked for dirty/corroded jacks, loose-fitting plugs, and bad cables, it could be one of the transducer coils. This is probably the most common failure I've seen, other than broken leads between the jack and the coil.
If you have a multimeter, set it to Ohms and measure at the input jack from its outer surface to the center hole. It should be around 200 ohms on that model of tank. If it's open (meter says Overrange or somesuch), there's a break in the coil or one of the thin wires between the coil and the jack. (Those wires can break internally with the insulation still intact.) Check the output jack in the same manner; it should be a little over 200 ohms. The input coil is more likely to blow because it gets a strong signal from the reverb driver circuit.
You can unhook the springs and replace the transducer assembly by drilling out the rivet and mounting the new one with a 4-40 screw. But it's usually not worth it when new tanks are so cheap. And I don't know if the transducers are even available anymore. But you might be able to get one or two good tanks out of the four by swapping parts.
It's sometimes possible to repair an open coil but it's not easy and the odds of succeeding aren't great.
If you have a multimeter, set it to Ohms and measure at the input jack from its outer surface to the center hole. It should be around 200 ohms on that model of tank. If it's open (meter says Overrange or somesuch), there's a break in the coil or one of the thin wires between the coil and the jack. (Those wires can break internally with the insulation still intact.) Check the output jack in the same manner; it should be a little over 200 ohms. The input coil is more likely to blow because it gets a strong signal from the reverb driver circuit.
You can unhook the springs and replace the transducer assembly by drilling out the rivet and mounting the new one with a 4-40 screw. But it's usually not worth it when new tanks are so cheap. And I don't know if the transducers are even available anymore. But you might be able to get one or two good tanks out of the four by swapping parts.
It's sometimes possible to repair an open coil but it's not easy and the odds of succeeding aren't great.
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Larry Hobson
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Reverb tank repair
Randy, Speaking just from me, other than checking for loose connection, forget repairs.Replace the unit. The small wire in the transformer ,if broken ,seems to be impossible to resolder . When I attempted to resolder a broken connection ,wire is so thin it burns up before accepting solder. Good luck, please report the outcome of your endeavor .
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Steve Spitz
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