Oh Krap What an Idiot

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Thanks, Ben.

EV makes a fine product, amps and speaker systems. Furman offers a great product as well.

Brother Kirb, please keep us updated. I'm interested in the outcome. :)
 
It's cool that you had a back up amp ready.

The DJ at my cousin's wedding, his amp fried & had no back up.....dead air for 40 min. till his buddy brought out another one.

Thanks Bill! One thing I've learned over the years is to have backup. In fact I had another set of speakers in the trailer. I figure that it's best to be prepared and not need 'em, instead of the other way around.

40 minutes? Cripes, I would have stroked out completely. The less than 10 minutes it took for me to get back up and running seemed like an eternity to me.
When you smell that smell, it is a bad sign, so it's Doctor Doctor, time is on my side!

Is this amp one of the new ones made in Germany? I thought you weren't supposed to be able hurt them in any manner!

Kirby, Joe is correct the fix on amps (at least the older ones without all the bells and whistles) is fairly easy! When you get into digital amps with DSP processing it may be a completely different story! I am great with repairing the older AB amps but with the digital amps I closed it back up and sent it back to the manufacturer!

I do believe that it is one of the models made in Germany. I'll have to pull the paperwork on it as my mind is not functioning right now. It's been a very long 4 days for me and I'm about tapped out of mental and physical energy.

To Thunder.
Yep. I am scared silly about the new amps with all the bells and whistles. I have never had an amp blow out on me, ever. Still using the BGW I bought back in 1978 along with the Dynaco Amp kit I built in the very early 70s (Still work but not used actively in gigs).
These new amps may claim lightweight and heavy power but I am still skeptical.

To Kirby.
I use and trust EV Products and I hope that it is something simple that won't cost you a bundle. I hate to hear whenever a DJ's system malfunctions in the middle of a gig. I can imagine the stress factor kicking in. Good luck with it.

I trust EV products completely also and hope that my worst fears are incorrect.

Kirby,
As mentioned before, before you have a coronary or stroke check the fuse, start with the simple stuff. I also think your amp is relatively new so maybe it's still under warranty. I'm not familiar with the Furman your using and if it was plugged into the same circuit as the amp. If it was and if the3 Furman is so equipped, what was the voltage reading at the time of the mishap?

Noted and thank? No voltage reading, so I'll have to plead the fifth or plead for a fifth.:sqwink:

One other thing when caps blow or anything electric the smell doesnt go away over night. I say this in brief experience with an amp years ago or electronics melt down. The ones in the know can deny or confirm my comment.

I don't know, I really don't know. :dontknow:

You're not supposed to let out the magic smoke!!!!
Fuses are simple and will leave no smell. Caps will usually "pop" when they don't feel well. Since you didn't say "I lost a channel"...I'd guess the output transistors are fine.
Looks like power supply to me.
Check the fuses and go from there. Most likely the bridge rectifier....but you never know. Look for the component burned beyond recognition.

God, I hope it's only that. I thought I plugged that amp straight into a wall outlet, but in my haste I could have grabbed another plug?

Kirby, congratulations on having a backup on site. Too many DJs often rely on just the one.
As for the trouble-shooting suggestions even though I only use Active speakers, the information provided is invaluable. Others who lurke here will learn something from this thread. You guys are to be commended for comeing to the aid of a fellow ODJT member. I'm new to the Board but can appreciate the willingness to help.

Thanks! Come prepared as we never know what might happen. Yeah, most of these guys are ok.. :D :sqwink:

If I was a betting man I would say the Furman took the bullet for the EV bet it isn't more than a fuse.....

The hard part might be to figure out what caused the problem in the first place

I sure hope so Jeff. Be a lot simpler to correct if it was.

Maybe the stink came from the Furman and not the amp.

Or maybe the stink was from the DJ?

That's what I'm thinking

What? That the stink was from the DJ?

Does the Furman have those pull out lights? If so, were the lights on and not pulled out? That can cause a heat build up and thus failure inside the unit.

Yes, it has lights. And no, they have only been turned on once as I never need to use them.

Kirby -

Call me tomorrow. That amp should be covered under warranty. If it is the amp, that will be the first EV amp failure under warranty that I can recall. In any event, I'm here to help. We'll make this painless.

Ben

I'll have to wait until Tuesday before calling. Long day today and we just got home. Not sure if the amp is still under warranty and I sure don't want to be credited as being the first to fry an EV amp under warranty. I know that you're here and there to help and that's why we love ya so much. Oh come on a little pain never hurt anyone.

Thanks, Ben.

EV makes a fine product, amps and speaker systems. Furman offers a great product as well.

Brother Kirb, please keep us updated. I'm interested in the outcome. :)

I will Fred. I'm still sold on the EV product and there will be more in my future.


Ok, long day. Coreen and I have been on the road all day. We drug ourselves out of bed and hit the road about 1:00 pm, drove to Monticello, IL to meet with one of our B&Gs and to do their engagement photos at Allerton Park.

We then scooted down the road to Mowequa, IL to meet with another couple to do their "before the wedding" meeting. The only reason we came to them is that since we were doing photos about 40 minutes away and the Groom is on the road a lot with his job; this was the only time we could all get together.

After our meeting with them, we drove by the Church where they are getting married and then another 40 minutes down the road to the venue where they are having their reception so we could check out the facility since we've never been there before.

Pulled in the drive at about 9:30 and tumbled out of the van. We've been on the go since Thursday and I'm beat.

Going to get some much needed sleep and will be heading out to the garage after work tomorrow to check on my gear. I'll let y'all know what's up when I know more.
 
Thanks everybody, on behalf of Kirby. He was a freakin' wreck Saturday when this happened. For those of you who don't personally know him....he is a perfectionist and this just about did him in! The B&G are a great couple and they felt bad for US when I went to talk to them, hat in hand, to apologize for our "technical difficulties."

Here's hoping it's something simple. If not, guess we'll find out how good our insurance is when I try to collect. The Elks Club manager said another DJ had "had the same thing happen to him."

Ben, as usual, you are THE stand-up, go-to guy in this business. Kirby will be talking to you, one way or the other once he gets a look at things tonight. Thanks for the support, guys. :sqbiggrin:
 
It would have to have been one helluva spike for the Furman not to catch it though.
I'd go to Radio Shack, Home Depot, Lowes and get one of the 5 dollar circuit checker that looks like one of those three prong adapter thingies that has the 3 LEDs in them and check the outlet to see if phasing and grounding are correct. You never know if some yo-yo got the black and white reversed. ( AC is different than DC. Black is actually the "high" side....NOT the ground side as in DC.)
Just thinking out loud.
 
Sorry to here about the amp Kirby.

I have a strong feeling the venues wiring is the blame. I have a venue in my area that has a room with 4 bad outlets on one side and two good ones on the other side. The bad side does not send out enough power for my gear and it always trips the alarm on my gear. I plug up on the other side and everything works flawlessly.

The venue owner has been made aware of this situation since January of 2009 and the penny pinching idiot refuses to get the issue fixed.
 
The Elks Club manager said another DJ had "had the same thing happen to him."

Being an Elk myself, I can attest to the fact that most of the wiring done in the halls is from volunteers producing sweat equity. Knowing this, I would highly suspect the wiring.
 
Yep, I would blame faulty wiring.
 
Maybe we as DJs should start asking the Venues for their Certificate of Insurance in the event that their wiring, AC, etc causes a problem that results in a damage or hazard to DJ and or Guests. What if a fire had started?.. I wonder, who would have blamed who.. and which Insurance would pay?
 
Ok, first of all I want to thank everyone that has offered suggestions, support, encouragement, etc. here in this particular thread.

Just a few minutes ago, we were able to go out and pull the gear out of the trailer to begin the process of checking things out. First of all, we smelled nothing whatsoever, nada.

I started rewiring all the cords that I pulled out on Saturday night, then I proceeded to go around the front of the road rack to power up.

Ok, this is where I feel like an idiot, a complete idiot.:sqembarrassed:

I see this tiny little breaker on the front of the Furman that I did not see in my frantic haste on Saturday night and yup it had tripped. Reset it and everything was good to go. Let the ridiculing begin.... I'll take it like a man.

Dan or someone, please rename this thread to "Oh Krap What an Idiot."

OPERATOR ERROR and INCOMPETENCE is to blame.
 
hey, better that than something really wrong with it!

We all have those duh moments, the main thing is you got the event going one way or another and continued on.
 
We have all had those "dip*hit":sqerr: moments Kirby, it was just your turn.:sqwink:

My last one was last year at our company party that was outdoors. I kept telling my wife it just didn't sound right, I was correct, I had the speakers pluged in to the wrong amps. :sqembarrassed::sqembarrassed:
 
Sorry to here about the amp Kirby.

I have a strong feeling the venues wiring is the blame. I have a venue in my area that has a room with 4 bad outlets on one side and two good ones on the other side. The bad side does not send out enough power for my gear and it always trips the alarm on my gear. I plug up on the other side and everything works flawlessly.

The venue owner has been made aware of this situation since January of 2009 and the penny pinching idiot refuses to get the issue fixed.

Hey John, great seeing you last week. Care to name the venue? You can PM me if you like.
 
Hey Kirby, You may feel like an idiot, but at least you weren't the first person to blow a EV Amp under warranty. You can leave that to some other guy.
 
Thanks guys, I really do feel like a buffoon. I panicked, didn't think of the simple solution and went nutz....:sqconfused:

@ Jacob....Spit, please and please be gentle.:sqerr:
 
Thanks guys, I really do feel like a buffoon. I panicked, didn't think of the simple solution and went nutz....:sqconfused:

@ Jacob....Spit, please and please be gentle.:sqerr:

Been there, done that.... bought the T-Shirt.... and the DVD

I think we all have at some point been blinded by our own frustration unable to see what's right in front of our noses.