Members Lizards??? Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Hi all, I'm wondering if any amp gurus out there can help me diagnose a problem with my Tech 21. Sometimes while playing, usually after ten or twenty minutes, it will make a popping noise and go almost silent. Playing hard causes a slight muffled sound to come through, but other than that, no sound is made. When I turn the amp off after this happens, it will make another popping sound as it powers down. If I turn it back on without waiting a while, the same thing will happen again, only this time it pops and goes quiet almost immediately. Letting it cool down for a while buys more time. Anyone ever have a similar problem? Any ideas what part is defective? Thanks for any help. I appreciate it. I like this amp and hate to see it unusable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lump Posted October 18, 2012 Members Share Posted October 18, 2012 Just a suggestion, take a short cable and run it from the effects send to the effects return and see if it stops the problem. My trademark did some funky stuff because those jacks started making intermittent contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fixintogo Posted October 19, 2012 Members Share Posted October 19, 2012 Just a suggestion, take a short cable and run it from the effects send to the effects return and see if it stops the problem. My trademark did some funky stuff because those jacks started making intermittent contact. Mine did too, and the Tech 21 guys told me to squirt a little contact cleaner in the send and return jacks and then plug and unplug a cable into them several times. I still have to do it every now and then, but it works. OP: Don't hesitate to get in touch with Tech 21 - they were extremely responsive to my queries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted October 19, 2012 Members Share Posted October 19, 2012 Talk to Tech 21: their customer service is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeadNight Warrior Posted October 19, 2012 Members Share Posted October 19, 2012 Yeah, it sounds like it could be an input or loop jack kind of problem. I had something similar with my little practice amp. Took it back to the store and it was as I'd guessed there'd been a dodgy solder joint on the input. Probably showed itself after a bit of use from the heat in the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members etawful Posted October 19, 2012 Members Share Posted October 19, 2012 Originally Posted by fixintogo Mine did too, and the Tech 21 guys told me to squirt a little contact cleaner in the send and return jacks and then plug and unplug a cable into them several times. I still have to do it every now and then, but it works.OP: Don't hesitate to get in touch with Tech 21 - they were extremely responsive to my queries. Happened to mine too. . . It's a pretty common issue from everything I've read. Just spray some contact cleaner in the loop jacks, push a cable in and out 4 or 5 times and it will very likely be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lizards??? Posted October 19, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 19, 2012 Hmmm. I haven't used contact cleaner but I do normally run a cable from the loop send to the return. Probably not that, then? Did any of yours make the weird popping noise too? Thanks! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted October 19, 2012 Members Share Posted October 19, 2012 Mine goes quiet & then loud again sometimes. Spraying CC into the jack sockets seems a temporary fix. Never popped though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lizards??? Posted October 21, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks. Bump in case anyone else has ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members d.orydzuk@shaw.ca Posted January 10, 2014 Members Share Posted January 10, 2014 Hi L,I'm no guru but I had a similar problem with my brothers TM60 and my TM30. Because letting it "cool" seems to increase the time before failing it appears to point to the audio power amp as being the culprit. I have replaced the LM3876T in my brothers TM60 and the TDA2050 in my TM30 and the problem went away. These amps have notoriuosly poor heatsinking on the audio power chip mostly because the "Tab" on the power chip must be isolated from the grounded chassis, which these amps use to dissipate heat. As a result the audio power chip can run very hot, when the amp is used loud and long, and this can damage the chip causing the amp to behave as your amp does, IMO. If you can, or have an electronics saavy friend that can, then try replacing this part if the spray didn't do the trick. it will only cost you about 10 bone for the part and another 8 for shipping from Newark or Digikey. A lot less than an amp tech will charge, LOL!Good Luck,Dano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.