Altec 682A disassembly?

[jeffbro]

Not much can go wring with a dynamic mic but someone has brought me a dead one and I can't get it apart. Anyone have any tips?

 

[mjrippe]

If it is not a broken wire at the XLR, then almost certainly the capsule is dead. These mics don't have any "moving parts" like an SM57 where the head gets screwed on and breaks wires. In some there is an acoustic pressure tube that runs the length of the mic that is very hard to remove and just as hard to put back in. You can see a disassembly of a 683 on my instagram here: Login • Instagram
That tube makes it very hard to pull the mic apart, so unfortunately the answer is pull harder, but not so hard you break the wires when it comes loose

 

[jeffbro]

I've over come the first hurdle. There is a perforated cast metal shield protecting the diaphragm. Finally figured out that the entire shield is (invisibly) threaded into the mic body. Now that's out the capsule assembly seems loose. Now maybe I'm about to run into the difficulty you just described! We'll see.

 

[mjrippe]

That would be the "sintered bronze filter". You can see pics in the previous link of before and after cleaning.

 

[jeffbro]

The Instagram photo of the 683 is very similar except in this 682A the 'spokes' in the cast metal grill are straight radii, not slanted.

Another difference is that the pressure tube in this 682A does not extend from near the base up to near the capsule. Instead it makes a U turn way down in the base. Nothing comes up near the capsule, so I don't know how it is supposed to do its job.

Sadly the cause of the failure is that the tiny capsule leads are broken. Not once, but in two places. I'm afraid she's a goner.