View Full Version : tweeter problem after recap
I have changed the second cap on my ditton 15 xr the tweeter was working nothing now swapped tweeters and it is the tweeter .Any ideas I have heard you can pull a bit of wire off the coil and resolder it .any tips please
Wakefield Turntables
16-09-2016, 16:38
Try taking some pictures of your work on the XO and the tweeters someone may spot an error.
Arkless Electronics
16-09-2016, 17:17
With those Celestion tweeters (if it's the ones I'm expecting) the problem is usually the tiny half loop of wire with bitumen on it you can see coming out of the sides of the dome on the front.... Sometimes mendable if you have very steady hands but fiddly and a bit hit and miss even for someone like myself...
walpurgis
16-09-2016, 18:08
With those Celestion tweeters (if it's the ones I'm expecting) the problem is usually the tiny half loop of wire with bitumen on it you can see coming out of the sides of the dome on the front.... Sometimes mendable if you have very steady hands but fiddly and a bit hit and miss even for someone like myself...
Yeah. That's often where the break is. Sometimes due to physical damage, or melting from too much power, as it has little heat dissipation available, unlike the main coil winding. As Jez says, it can sometimes be fixed if you're a bit handy. I have mended similar units.
Any tips of how to do it speaker were working until I changed second cap .
i have swapped the tweeters over confirms it is the tweeter that has gone :(:(:(
This is the tweeter
http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq85/diviy/20160916_192214tweeter_zpszakdejaw.jpg (http://s436.photobucket.com/user/diviy/media/20160916_192214tweeter_zpszakdejaw.jpg.html)
Arkless Electronics
16-09-2016, 19:12
Sorry to be blunt but it's not easy and I reckon if you have to ask you probably don't stand much chance of fixing it.... I do this kind of thing for a living (:lol: a living ha) and wouldn't put my chances of success above 60-70% ish.... From memory I think I've probably fixed these exact ones three times and was only successful twice.
My advise is to find some new after market tweeters that will fit the cut out and are at least the same efficiency. They can be "padded down" but not up;)
walpurgis
16-09-2016, 19:27
There's one for sale on eBay, but it has a £70 asking price. It's from a UL6 speaker, so you'd need to do a little research to make sure the impedance is right. The seller is open to offers.
Does the wire break under the bitchmen if that's the problem I have a friend who is a electronic engineering perhaps he can help me he is into all.sorts
They only cost me £60 I am medically retired so can't really afford lumping out for a new unit
Arkless Electronics
16-09-2016, 19:58
Strange... I posted that i have UL6's and like them but it's not here... Must have pressed cancel rather than post!
It most often breaks where the loop bit is but looks ok cos there is some sort of evo stick type stuff over it but can go anywhere from where it leaves the dome onwards... and can of course be a fault other than the common one we are talking here. IIRC it's aluminium wire and so a twat to solder.. try special "alusol"... don't get it mixed up with anusol!
The loop on the left looks very thin just where it disappears into the bitumen.
Can you see if the inner copper wire has melted or snapped there?
Probably only way forward is to strip a tiny bit of the insulation off and hope to find the intact end of the wire and solder something on to it. Small iron and fleeting touch required as it could melt away before your eyes with too much heat for any length of time but I guess you've nothing to loose.
That's a real bummer :(
walpurgis
16-09-2016, 19:59
The wire usually breaks in the little flexible 'loop'. You do have to figure which side is faulty though. The dud side will probably be a bit floppier! :)
IIRC it's aluminium wire and so a twat to solder.. try special "alusol"... don't get it mixed up with anusol!
:lol: even worse if you mix them up when not soldering!
walpurgis
16-09-2016, 20:06
:lol: even worse if you mix them up when not soldering!
Bummer! :D
Arkless how much would you charge to have a look and attempt repair or can you recommend any one .I going to try the wanted add`s on some of the forums but am I am medically retired cash is mega tight /
This just tops my week off mr`s beetle turbo went so had to put off having the head gasket done on my wagon all job`s I could do before back went .
They only cost me £60.00 plus the new foam and caps they are a 8.5 out of 10 cabinet wise.I have
I have tried getting hold of Darren HW but no answer on his phone or by pm as I know he might have a spare unit .
Cheers For all the advice
Gerry
Before you send the tweeter for repair, are you absolutely, definitely, sure it's not your soldering that is the fault?
It is not the soldering Mark i have swapped tweeters and still does not work I am trying to find the part number for the Seas tweeters that fit been hunting the net for the part number reports on them where very good.
Trying to get hold of DarrenHW i know he has some spares but cant get him on the phone or by pm
for the price of a new tweeter why not get a pair of mordaunt short pageant series 2 speakers?
they will eat the dittons for breakfast!
Arkless Electronics
17-09-2016, 14:28
Arkless how much would you charge to have a look and attempt repair or can you recommend any one .I going to try the wanted add`s on some of the forums but am I am medically retired cash is mega tight /
This just tops my week off mr`s beetle turbo went so had to put off having the head gasket done on my wagon all job`s I could do before back went .
They only cost me £60.00 plus the new foam and caps they are a 8.5 out of 10 cabinet wise.I have
I have tried getting hold of Darren HW but no answer on his phone or by pm as I know he might have a spare unit .
Cheers For all the advice
Gerry
I wouldn't take the job on I'm afraid. I have minimum charge of £30 on any job no matter how small. Also I couldn't guarantee it's reliability once repaired.
I would only do this if it was my own speakers.
If you can't get a replacement unit (and be careful if you do! You may realise how fragile these are now.. do not even touch the wires or the dome!) I still say get some new tweeters that fit and are of at least the same efficiency and the same impedance (no I can't help you on that).
These tweeters were used on many Celestion models and so in theory there should be plenty about. The problem being they are not that robust as far as tweeters go and so in many cases you will find speakers being sold on cheap due to the tweeters being blown...
walpurgis
17-09-2016, 14:58
for the price of a new tweeter why not get a pair of mordaunt short pageant series 2 speakers?
they will eat the dittons for breakfast!
You do have a point there Jamie. :)
i went from ditton 15 xr's geoff and they really did :)
i have enough spares now to build a pair of pageants just for old times sake.
really good speaker.
Arkless Electronics
17-09-2016, 15:38
I can sell you pair of Morel MDT29 tweeters with <10 hours use for about half new price. £40 the pair delivered. I could not take them back if they proved unsuitable though.
It is not the soldering Mark i have swapped tweeters and still does not work I am trying to find the part number for the Seas tweeters that fit been hunting the net for the part number reports on them where very good.
Trying to get hold of DarrenHW i know he has some spares but cant get him on the phone or by pm
Fair enough, I just thought maybe you had swapped them at the crossover end. It was more a hopeful suggestion than a criticism of your soldering as it's a lot easier to fix a soldering issue than fractured leadout wires.
I can sell you pair of Morel MDT29 tweeters with <10 hours use for about half new price. £40 the pair delivered. I could not take them back if they proved unsuitable though.
The md30 is oft used as a replacement, dunno if the 29 is the same tho. Whats the spec on the hf1300
Arkless Electronics
17-09-2016, 16:47
The md30 is oft used as a replacement, dunno if the 29 is the same tho. Whats the spec on the hf1300
I didn't know that! Just thought it looked about the right size and it has a good reputation. I used them for a few hours in a diy speaker experiment many years ago before removing them and putting them back in their boxes. As far as I can tell the 30 has a rear loading cavity which the 29 does not.
probably will do then... better option than buying the originals, even if you can find them, as they break so easy.
can you just bung any old/new tweeter in then as long as it fits the hole?
Arkless Electronics
17-09-2016, 17:53
can you just bung any old/new tweeter in then as long as it fits the hole?
Not entirely... but far more so than with a replacement bass/midrange unit, which really does need to be the right one!
In the case of a tweeter the box etc has no effect on the sound as they are sealed at the rear anyway. They tend to have a more even response than woofers as well and so the HF crossover is often much simpler and doesn't apply any EQ-ing specific to the tweeter... So.. as long as the tweeter fits (or can easily be made to by maybe widening the hole a smidgen) and is of the correct impedance and at least the same efficiency as the original, it usually works very well to fit a different tweeter and can even improve on the original.
It needs to be at least the same efficiency as if it is less the tweeter range will be quieter than the woofer range and they won't meet up seamlessly in the middle... it will sound dull. If the tweeter is a bit higher efficiency than the original then that is fine as it can be padded down with a couple of resistors to give the correct level.. or even made a bit brighter than standard if you wish!
Before any speaker experts start going apoplectic the above is a generalisation based on most cheap to mid price (and sometimes expensive!) speakers having simple crossovers without tweeter specific EQ etc;)
Finally got the dittons up and running thanks to Steve at Arkless mrs on nights so giving them a run out .
way different sound to my Kef speakers just need to sort out the positions of them but really like what I am hearing treble is way better to my old gits ears :):)
"Steve at Arkless" - do you mean Jez?
Arkless Electronics
09-10-2016, 13:30
Who is this invisible staff member? how much am I paying him?
Just what I was wondering.
Had my dyslexic head on I have run them for 24 hours as they had new caps sound even better .even the mrs said wow what a difference to you other speakers
then the comment come how many hundreds did you spend on them :lol::lol::lol:
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