Aviom personal mixer repair

[deveng]

Does anyone know where to get replacement parts for an Aviom II  A-16II personal mixer unit?  I need a replacement headphone jack, a couple of the surface mount micro switches and a couple of replacement push button knobs.  I've called Aviom and they won't sell to anyone but an authorized Aviom reseller!  This is ridiculous.  I've called a couple of resellers and all they want to do is provide service or sell new ones.

I'm in southern California.  I would expect there would be a half dozen options for these parts, but I've found none so far.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[Svart]

Since I doubt they use any kind of proprietary parts for these things, you should be able to find the parts you need from a warehouse like digikey or mouser.

If you have pics maybe we can help you find the parts.

 

[deveng]

Well that's my last resort as there are hundreds of surface mount switches in the Digikey catalog alone.  I can certainly do that but sourcing parts is time consuming!  If it comes down to that, I'll have to go that route though.

 

[pucho812]

have you tried to contact aviom? maybe they can give you a part number for those things...

 

[deveng]

Yep, I contacted Aviom first.  They were polite but not very helpful.  I may contact again and try to get a manufacturers part number although I doubt they'll want to provide that information.

 

[Svart]

Some of us are pretty familiar with digikey's offerings.  Get a pic of the parts you want to replace and we'll help find them pretty quickly.

 

[deveng]

Well believe it or not, I found the replacement tactile switch at Digikey!  I waded through 100 or so possibilities and found, I believe, the exact switch for 53 cents each. Can't beat that.  I was feeling confident so I tried the phone jack.  No luck on that one.  Doesn't appear to be a Switchcraft, Neutrik or Rean.  It was shattered and only a small portion of the encasement is left.  So, I'll need to get to one of the working units, open it up and take a picture.  Hopefully someone will recognize the brand or it might have a part number on it.

Thanks for the offer of help!  I'll see if I can get a picture from one of the working units and post that.

regards,
Jeff

 

[0dbfs]

Hey Jeff,

If you could post the digikey/mouser and/or mfg part numbers for anything you find I would really appreciate it.

I've got a handfull of these devices to keep up with and I expect they'll become fatigued at some point down the road.

I'll do the same for anything I come across.

Cheers,
j

 

[deveng]

0dbfs,

I'm ordering the tactile switches today.  Here's the info for the part.

Source: Digikey
Digikey #:  EG1869CT-ND
Manufacturer: E-Switch
Manufacturer part #: TL3301SPF160QG  (2.8mm actuator)  WRONG SIZE see following post!

I'll try these and make sure they're correct then update this post.

By the way if you are looking for switch buttons or pot knobs,  I found them in kit form only (replacements for entire unit) around $20 from Musician's Friend.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[deveng]

I received the E-switch parts but the actuator dimension is too big to fit the snap on button (2.8mm instead of 2.4mm).  Now I've found what I believe to be the perfect fit at Mouser.  They have the smaller actuator in the same switch available for 42 cents!  I'll buy some of these and update this post again if they work or not.  By the way I'm going to use an Xacto blade and trim the actuators on the ones I received and I'm pretty confident I can make them work too.  The footprint size and actuation force appears to be perfect.  

Here's the updated info:
Supplier: Mouser
Manufacturer: E-Switch
Mouser Part Number: 612-TL3301TG
Manufacturer Part Number: TL3301TF160QG
Price: $0.42
Availability: 80 units

Should be about a week by the time I order and verify this info.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[deveng]

Gents,

I received and installed these switches.  They're the right size actuator and fit perfectly to the switch button.  Looks like an an exact replacement even down to the 160gf for actuation.  So order with confidence!

Supplier: Mouser
Manufacturer: E-Switch
Mouser Part Number: 612-TL3301TG
Manufacturer Part Number: TL3301TF160QG
Price: $0.42

I've ordered the replacement stereo headphone jacks as well.  Once I get these "originals" I'll see if I can match them up to a manufacturer and part number.  Again, I'll update as I find out anything on the jacks.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[deveng]

Got the headphone jack replacements (from Aviom, actually through Full Compass as an authorized reseller).  I don't recognize these as any "major" manufacturer of jacks.  There's nothing recognizable on them but a logo with what looks like sj.  Anyone know of a manufacturer with those letters?  Otherwise it's $8 a piece for what looks like a 99 cent part!

Regards,
Jeff

 

[BR]

Hey Jeff,

Sorry I didn't catch this in time.  Next time, contact me cause I'm an Aviom dealer and could hook you up with a good deal.
I have some of the plastic buttons here if you need some.

take care
Gil

 

[deveng]

Gil,

I will remember you!  I hate paying 8 times what something is worth.  I don't mind someone making a profit but sometimes things get out of hand.  The jack is one thing but they wanted $8 a piece for the tactile switches too!  When they are 42 cents at Mouser I believe this is almost a criminal markup.

Do you have the part number and manufacturer of those jacks?

Regards,
Jeff

 

[Svart]

do you have a picture of the jacks?  Might be able to identify them for you.

 

[deveng]

Svart, Gil

Here's the pictures of the Aviom replacement jack.  Anyone know who manufacturers this part, where it can be purchased and how much?  I've had no luck finding an exact replacement from any of the normal suppliers

Regards,
Jeff

 

[kazper]

I have a few of those 1/4" jacks lying around that I got from surplus stores. I'm thinking they were from Cascade surplus electronics out of Portland Oregon. If not it was Surplus Gizmos out of Hillsboro Oregon.

I don't think it was something on there web site, but something they had on the shelves (most surplus places don't get everything on the web)

 

[deveng]

The jacks are kind of cheaply made and not very rugged.  I just replaced one on a second faulty Aviom yesterday so now I don't have any spares.  These units get used daily and I expect another will go south.  It's a good thing I ordered a pile of those tactile switches!  When you pop the switch caps off they often pull the top of the tactile switch apart.  This happened on the first Aviom and I broke 2 switches.  The second one I broke 4 switches.  I figure they must have been ready to go anyway.  Fortunately, they're cheap and easy to replace.  The phone jacks are not as easy.  The Aviom pcb has a large ground plane on top and bottom of the board, so trying to get the pad hot enough to pull the lead out is tough.  Even after removing all but a small piece of the lead its still hard to pull out and get a clean through hole without damaging the pcb.  So, if anyone wants to do this, make sure you have a hot, high wattage soldering iron and a good solder removal tool.  Tale your time and don't force it out.  The boards are very well made and rugged so heating them up doesn't damage the hole plating but pulling on a lead with not enough heat to melt all the solder could be a problem.

I'm now in need of a few more of these jacks so if anyone recognizes this part let me know.  Gil, I'd like to hear your price for these things.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[jtw131]

I know this is an old topic, but I wanted to thank DevEng et al for the info on the tactile switch.  I have one I need to replace and I just ordered it from Mouser.  I will let you know how it goes when I get them.

Thanks
Jeff

 

[pucho812]

those switches break very easily and with caveman like musicians they break too often. their are other options that are in the same price range now that do the same thing and are more durable.

like check out the elite core audio pm -16. I  Saw it at namm, I want it for the studio.