D&R Avalon - what should I do with it?

I have a 32 channel in line D&R Avalon console from the early 90's, every second pot and switch is scratchy, some oscillation in some of the EQ channels, some mic inputs only start to work when I shout into the mic, I am sure it needs re-capping. It has gone well beyond any level of enthusiasm I have left to refurbish it. Quite unfortunate, it is a serious console, built like a tank, weighs 365kgs, very clean sounding, at least those channels that work ok. The channel strips are too long to rack up. It is too big to fit into the lift, so I would have to crane it out of my studio.

What should I do with it, any ideas??
Michael

I would restore it, you can get schematics at the d&r site http://www.d-r.nl/
Go to service and you find the manual and schematics there.

All the best,

Willem.

I would strip it, sell off the parts, and rent a gas-powered circular saw with a diamond blade to get rid of the chassis. Be sure to film it and put it on YouTube so the rest of us can enjoy it too!

---Joe

isnt diamond used for ceramic, marbre cutting???
;D

This was a lovely machine.  Hard to find a desk that is as transparent as these.  Topology is practical and modern.  Leave the chainsaw out of it.  There's bound to be a way to take it apart in pieces.  Check with Paul Westbrook in Texas.  He deals in these all the time.  Maybe he knows someone in need of spares.

fitting spares for potentiometers and switches seem still be available in D&R's webshop

Thats cool Harpo, never saw their webshop before, they have some hard to get pots there, possibly useful for other projects.

Willem, I have all the documentation, but it is probably going to cost more than it is worth to refurbish it and a heck of a lot of time.

The nice thing about the in-line architecture is a module can be very functional with the main I/O, external to the chassis, just needs a power supply. Hmmm maybe I could rebuild it in blocks of 8 channels, just make up new chassis' out of aluminium sheet, would be quite useful for smaller project work.

With all the modules out, it still took 4 people to move the chassis. Could probably even make some money on cutting up the chassis and selling as scrap. Hate the thought of trashing this, but too big, too heavy and too many problems to consider a complete overhaul.

Michael

I own a D&R OrionX that had some of the same issues
Most all the problems where related to the contacts between the opamps and
their sockets .I basically just removed them taking care to note the position
in relation to the socket and carefully reinstalled them and most problems where gone
and all is good since(over 3years w/out issue)
The D&R is a dream to track and mix with
Email Them They will offer support. Duco's a great guy
He own's the company and has alway's responded to my emails!!

Always try the Marvel Mystery Oil before you have your car hauled to the junk yard!

If it is a metal to metal contact problem, you may wanna try DeoxIT www.deoxit.com.  This stuff is famous for fixing the ribbon contact problem in early Mackies. I can testify it clears oxidation.  When I got my last batch in,  I sprayed some on an old rusty clock mechanism just for grins.  I put it aside in a ziplock, and about an hour later, it spontaneously started running!  Scared the shit out of me.

Regarding reconfiguring it, Funky Junk in Europe http://www.proaudioeurope.com/index.php?id=22&entryId=1922 makes a big deal out of cutting down huge SSL consoles.  They are even branding them.  Cutting up the sheetmetal bucket is not a big deal.  A jigsaw or a sawzall can handle that.  Surely the backplane is installed in pieces. 

Be Very cautious spraying anything near the opamps or sockets
I posed this question to D&R and they Don't recommend anything near the circuitboard
or the opamp surface
I didn't spray anything.I just carefully used a pencil eraser on the opamp leads
and reinstalled
I should also note that My console was in storage in Denmark for awhile
and then the previous owner had the console in his basement for awhile
These issues were found on my initial light off
and have not been a problem since
I would seriously contact D&R directly