Feeler: Altec / Abbey Road RS 124 Build

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kishibashi

Active member
Joined
Aug 7, 2010
Messages
39
Location
Pasadena Los Angeles
I hope I am posting this in the right section. I am basically a solder monkey, I can solder well and read enough schematics to usually piece something together.

I have sitting in front of me 2 Altec 436B's that were modified to the original Abbey Road RS 124 off of the original schematics. They both sound super vibey yet completely different. Who wants to try to reverse engineer this and get a a build going on here? Igor? :)
 
I've possibly reverse engineered more of these sorts of things than anyone else here, but it shouldn't matter.    I expect it to be pretty easy to decipher. 
 
Need more info. There was a RS124 schematic floating around at some point that some said was bogus.

Are these Altecs ones that were modified by Mr. Winston O'Boogie? Or?
 
Yeah, get us some internal pics please!

Schematics made from a Hinson unit are in this thread: http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=41314.0

Sowter sells the trannies. The meter is a Jewell MM2, still in production.
 
Is it possible?!  Have we finally cracked the RS124 code?  Well, I for one am all for this project and am happy to contribute anything I can though I can't imagine that will be much, just see my post number ;)

Anyway, can't wait to see how this one goes.  Please post some pics and we can get a project file started. If nothing else, thanks to ed rees for linking to that schem; I had been trying to find one for a VERY long time.

Cheers!

-Wesley
 
ed rees said:
Schematics made from a Hinson unit are in this thread: http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=41314.0

How do we know this?  It wasn't stated. 
 
Who wants to try to reverse engineer this and get a a build going on here? Igor? :)

You know my mail :)

Added later:
Some time ago, I experimented with "self-calibrating" of vary-mo kinda compressors.
I.e. MSP430 etc, one pushbutton with led "CAL" from outside, and some misc crap inside.
Lemmie know if interested.
 
emrr said:
ed rees said:
Schematics made from a Hinson unit are in this thread: http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=41314.0

How do we know this?  It wasn't stated. 

I talked to Rotheu about it. His description, and viewing the schematic, made it obvious.
 
ed rees said:
emrr said:
ed rees said:
Schematics made from a Hinson unit are in this thread: http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=41314.0

How do we know this?  It wasn't stated. 

I talked to Rotheu about it. His description, and viewing the schematic, made it obvious.

It's not obvious to me, and I'm not buying it on such flimsy evidence.  If anyone wishes to believe so hard, go right ahead.  I need more.  If it's truly correct, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever to be coy about the path of discovery. 
 
Well all we have to do is compare it with kishibashi's to be sure..

I'll let Rotheu give details if he wishes. The Hinson verified 168 ohm build out, and neon balance circuit are enough evidence for me. Added feedback, relocated meter take-off, etc... It has all the stuff Hinson has listed or hinted to over the years in his postings.
 
Hinson got into it with me here for quoting his old website after he'd taken it down, and likewise went on to say how his web descriptives weren't the whole story.    As far as we really know, he made the whole thing up and doesn't know either.  Really, who at EMI is confirming? 
 
Yeah I've wondered about that. The document names he listed agree with standard EMI nomenclature of the era. No surprise he was able to get them from the EMI archives before they realized how valuable this 'old junk info' was.

He had intimate knowledge of EMI gear and consoles that could only have came from examining original docs.

Either way we'll have a confirmed schematic for the Hinson RS124, which is good enough for me and a lot of other DIYers I'm sure. Probably as good as it's gonna get..

 
Either way we'll have a confirmed schematic for the Hinson RS124, which is good enough for me and a lot of other DIYers I'm sure. Probably as good as it's gonna get..


. . . and all this based on something you haven't yet heard or compared to a plain old stock  :eek: 436?

 
Sorry to keep everyone on their tip toes. Maybe I posted too soon! Soon after posting I got in touch with a certain someone who already agreed to reverse engineer it. Because of this I can't post pictures of the inside now... :-( but a PCB will be available hopefully before the end of the year which also of course means the schematic to build it. I'll keep everyone updated :)

 
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