somethin burned up...why?

snuffinthepunk · Post by **snuffinthepunk** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 3:33 pm

so in a session today (one I only WISH I was workin on) the assistant runs into the lobby and tells me to call some of the guys cuz they smelled fire...i asked the head tech guy later on what it was and he said a transformer burned up really bad in one of the mods made to the desk (Neve 8078). It wasn't even part of the signal chain though....so I ask, what do you guys think could be some possibilities of why it burnt up? It wasn't even in use!

Thanks!

J

E-money · Post by **E-money** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 5:38 pm

Entropy?

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:44 pm

If it really was a transformer, thats pretty scary since a transformer is just a bundle of wires. Had to be something catastrophic to cause one to burn up.

Ryan Silva · Post by **Ryan Silva** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:32 pm

E-money wrote:Entropy?

Are you saying that all technical problems are in essence highly ordered components trying to return to a more natural state of being broken?
Like the universe, it's more likely to find a burnt up transformer than a highly functioning vintage board?

Everything is falling apart before my very eyes!!!

snuffinthepunk · Post by **snuffinthepunk** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:57 pm

rolandk wrote:If it really was a transformer, thats pretty scary since a transformer is just a bundle of wires. Had to be something catastrophic to cause one to burn up.

I'm no tech, but the head tech guy said it was a transformer, or so he thought. and a few people were freakin out a bit, so it seemed kinda catastrophic.

??????? · Post by **???????** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:36 pm

if a transformer in a piece of audio gear goes then it's a sign that something else is wrong. As a previous poster said a transformer is nothing but a coil of wires wrapped around a magnet...

now if an output transformer were operating into a direct short when it wants to see a load for instance, THAT would cause it to arc and melt down. Prolly smoke a little.

Probably was catastrophic, as transformers in Neve stuff is a big part of the sound and kinda hard to replace.

RodC · Post by **RodC** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:37 pm

Prob a tranny in the power supply. May have been old and the insulation in the windings just broke down. Could have been a bad component in the rectifer/regulator portion of the power supply shorted causing an overload and overheating of the transformer. Their mods may have caused the power supply to be overloaded and the transformer was taxed over a long period. Lots of possablities.

If it was an input transformer or output transfomer that would be pretty weird. Output trannys go bad often in high power/voltage tube amps but low level would be pretty weird and the circuit probably would not provide enough current to cause smoke.

Did you notice where the smoke was coming from? Did the board go dead?

??????? · Post by **???????** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:17 pm

interesting rodc, thanks, i hadn't thought of the low voltage level.

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:47 am

snuffinthepunk wrote:so in a session today (one I only WISH I was workin on) the assistant runs into the lobby and tells me to call some of the guys cuz they smelled fire...i asked the head tech guy later on what it was and he said a transformer burned up really bad in one of the mods made to the desk (Neve 8078). It wasn't even part of the signal chain though....so I ask, what do you guys think could be some possibilities of why it burnt up? It wasn't even in use!

Thanks!

J

Thats what happens when you play a "seering hot" guitar solo into any board..but most likely it was caused by

snuffinthepunk · Post by **snuffinthepunk** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:44 pm

RodC wrote:Did you notice where the smoke was coming from? Did the board go dead?

nah I wasn't in the room when it happened and never went in as it wasn't my place so I don't know where the smoke came from. but the board didn't go dead. It was a just a piece of outboard gear installed into the board, a compressor or eq or something or other.

philbo · Post by **philbo** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:40 pm

While a transformer is just wires, it is a LOT of wires, often with high voltages between them, insulated by plain old varnish. Things that can kill power transformers are heat and age.

Age can cause the varnish to break down and decay, causing the wires to short out and heat up.

Heat is caused by drawing more power through them than they are designed for, or not being bolted to a metal chassis firmly enough to carry away heat, or runnng them at an AC frequency they were not designed for (such as using a 60 Hz transformer at 50 Hz), or lack of proper air flow through the system (like vents being plugged with dust), or operating it at a voltage it wasn't made for.

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