Aviom personal mixer repair

[deveng]

Instead of replacing the 1/4" headphone jacks with the original, I've found a better way.  I remove the old jack and replace it with a panel mount Switchcraft.  To do this you must use a dremel tool and grind away some of the arc where the jack peeks through the case.  Leave enough material to use a large washer.  I solder short wires from the jack the pcb and then mount the jack onto the case.  It works great and provides strain relief.  Now if the unit falls over (which is all the time!) and lands on the jack with a headphone cable attached, it won't break the jack.  Just check to make sure its the smaller body jack as there's not a lot of room.  If the right jack is purchased it will sit about 1/8' above the pcb and fit nicely.

Now I've got one with a bad Cat5 jack.  I'll see if I can find a replacement for that and post.

regards,
Jeff

 

[becca23]

Do those tactile switches from mouser come with the square snap-on caps? I noticed on the e-switch website they mention them, but I don't see a way to specify them in the mouser order.

 

[deveng]

Switch only, no caps.  You can get a replacement button kit through an authorized Aviom dealer.  Comes with a complete set.  I forget how much it was.

EDIT: See BR's post on the first page of this thread.  He's an Aviom dealer and can supply buttons if needed!

regards,
Jeff

 

[deveng]

pucho,

Yep those switches are very delicate.  If you pull the push button top off the switch, about 1/3 of the time the switch will break.  Whenever I have to open one of these up to replace a switch, I always have to replace a number of them.  It's a good idea to have a bunch of them handy.

regards,
Jeff

 

[D43]

I am new to this forum but I just picked up some of the switches mentioned below and they work great!
Now I am wondering if anyone knows where I could find replacement ENDLESS digital rotary encoders for the aviom a16 ii? I need to replace the volume and pan knobs not the master type of encoder.

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[deveng]

First I'd remove them and see if there's a part number.  Its difficult sometimes to find exact replacements for things if no part number of manufactures name exists.  Mouser/Digikey could have a compatible encoder.  If you can't find a replacement at the parts houses then you might check out BR's post on page 1.  Otherwise an authorized Aviom repair place is the only other option.
Be very careful removing anything from those boards.  They're multi-layer

regards,
Jeff

 

[mcqueena]

Wondering if anyone has any of these switches laying around.  I had one broken switch, now I have about 15 after removing the caps and the case.  Mouser now has a 14 week lead time and digi-key has a 700 piece minimum because they'are on tape n reel.  Maybe there's a alternative or another source?  I did find them at fullcompass.com for $10/ea, which seems ridiculous.

 

[andre tchmil]

picture ?

 

[mcqueena]

Here's the mouser link:

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/E-Switch/TL3301TF160QG/?qs=p1ouRkteQiXKrWSFoxxj9g==

It's pretty specific, and the part number is discussed earlier in this thread.  It needs to be gull wing style surface mount with a 6mmx6mm body and 2.4mm square actuator.  The actuator is the hard part in finding alternatives but is necessary because of the button cap that it attaches to.

 

[D43]

Wondering if anyone has any of these switches laying around.  I had one broken switch, now I have about 15 after removing the caps and the case.  Mouser now has a 14 week lead time and digi-key has a 700 piece minimum because they'are on tape n reel.  Maybe there's a alternative or another source?  I did find them at fullcompass.com for $10/ea, which seems ridiculous.

I've got some. I will have to wait till Thursday to find out how many. I used them to replace a few in a mixer I had and they worked just fine! If you don't mind you can post your email address and we can work something out.

 

[mcqueena]

Thanks I sent you a pm.

 

[wildbill]

I did some repair on our units at church yesterday.  I'm disappointed that the parts must be obtained from the "authorized" dealers.

1.  I ordered a bunch of switches with the Mouser part number and installed one so far.  I can confirm the part number, fit and function.  Good show.

2.  I ordered four encoders from Full Compass at $13.51.  Got them Friday.  I identified them as Noble series REB161PVB
http://www.nobleusa.com/encoders.html
Since there are few Noble dealers in the whole United States, I measured size and figured the specs to cross them to something more available and cost effective.  That part number is a Bourns PEC16 series:

Encoder:
Mouser Part #: 652-PEC16-4225FN0024
Manufacturer Part #: PEC16-4225F-N0024
Manufacturer: Bourns
Description: Encoders 25MM SHAFT NO switch

I have not verified the part in my units to make sure it's good.  I will post with an update, I think within a week.  As a side note, the Noble units have a 30,000-cycle rating.  The Bourns unit has a 100,000-cycle rating.  One tenth the cost and three times better.  I like that..........

 

[wildbill]

I got the encoders and installed one in one of our units and it works just fine.  So, both the switch and encoder parts numbers work for me.  We're ordering enough this week to keep our units running for four more years  (or less) until we upgrade to something newer.  Most likely with a Dante interface.

Be careful with the traces and solder pads as they are easy to damage.  Don't ask me how I know.

 

[JohnRoberts]

good work and thanks for sharing...

JR

 

[deveng]

Good work tracking down those encoders!  I'll probably order a few  as backup parts for my Avioms. 

As for the switches, I've found that when removing the switch caps, its very easy to break the good switches.  I just repaired a unit last week.  After repairing many of these and breaking a lot of tactiles, I found that if you gently pry the switch cap up with 2 small tools on each side, keeping it square (no tilt when pulled up) you can successfully pull the cap without damaging the switch.    This last unit had 3 bad switches.  I was able to pull all the switch caps without damaging a single "good" one.    If the top of the tactile switch still breaks off with gentle cap removal,  it probably needed to be replaced anyway. 

Regards,
Jeff

 

[deveng]

New problem.  I have an A16ii that "crackles" and audio is intermittent when using the PoE connection.  Verified the RJ45 connector is good.  It works fine with the wall wart power.  There's no schematics for these things around that I know of so I'm wondering if someone has hit this problem yet. 

By the way, I thought it was the channel volume rotary encoder at first so I replaced it with the one WildBill recommended.  Fits and works perfect!    The pcb has a big ground plane and the encoder bottom is like a heat sink so de-soldering is a bit difficult.  Gotta use a hot iron (I set mine to 850).    To ensure no pcb damage, I recommend disassembling the old encoder by pulling the tabs back and removing everything except the bottom section with the large tabs.  A hot iron applied to the bottom of the pcb will allow pulling up one side at at a time.  Be gentle when pulling the tabs out and using a hot iron.  Too much muscle and heat can damage the feed-through plating.


Does anyone know how the PoE power is terminated on the Avioms?

Regards,
Jeff

 

[deveng]

I have an Aviom that is crackling when using PoE power (works fine with PS-120 wall wart)

Anyone have info on how the Aviom is terminated for PoE? 

Regards,
Jeff

 

[NxlKing2304]

So I have used both the tactile switches and encoders listed here and both work amazing.  I am looking for a replacement 1/4 stereo Jack and. Cat5 connector replacement, instead of paying crazy money from fullcompass.

The Cat5 Jack I just bought and recieved is made from Kinsun Industries.  I am going to contact them with pictures and see if they can get me a MFG part number.  Once I get that, maybe I can cross reference a part from digikey or mouse.  The search continues.  I may have found a winner for the Cat5 Jack.  https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stewart-connector/SS-6488S-A-NF/380-1024-ND/388286.  I will order 1 and see if it fits and report back.

Tip - Use a pair of pliers when pulling off switch covers.  Grab the top and bottom of each switch and pull directly away from mixer and you shouldn't pull any switches apart.  If they still break then they were used and abused over time anyway.

 

[NxlKing2304]

I tested the CAT5 Jacks which are listed below and they are a direct fit and work flawlessly.

So I have used both the tactile switches and encoders listed here and both work amazing.  I am looking for a replacement 1/4 stereo Jack and. Cat5 connector replacement, instead of paying crazy money from fullcompass.

The Cat5 Jack I just bought and recieved is made from Kinsun Industries.  I am going to contact them with pictures and see if they can get me a MFG part number.  Once I get that, maybe I can cross reference a part from digikey or mouse.  The search continues.  I may have found a winner for the Cat5 Jack.  https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stewart-connector/SS-6488S-A-NF/380-1024-ND/388286.  I will order 1 and see if it fits and report back.

Tip - Use a pair of pliers when pulling off switch covers.  Grab the top and bottom of each switch and pull directly away from mixer and you shouldn't pull any switches apart.  If they still break then they were used and abused over time anyway.

 

[JoeNapo]

I wanted to thank everyone on this thread for the great information contained within.  It was certainly very helpful.  Using the information contained within I successfully repaired 2 Avioms that were dead and being thrown away.  It took me between 4 and 8 hours of time and 20 dollars in switches of which I used only 1 switch.

1) The Mouser Switch part number is perfect.  It is an exact match.  Mousers picture and reference information was not helpful but the part number reference back to the manufacturer provided the drawing for the part and the specifications matched the one that was broken.
2) The tip of apply even pressure to remove the button caps is the key to getting the device apart without damaging the switches.  I used to pen knifes.  I put the point of one against the side of the top of the button cap and the point of the other against the side of the bottom of the button cap.  I then provided even upward pressure with both knifes.  This gradually lifted the cap of the switch shaft.  I used this technique to remove all the button caps on one device and 6 button caps on another device.  I still recommend having spare switches available so that if any do break you can repair them when you have it apart.
3) If you are going to replace the headphone jack you will spend a fair amount of time getting the ground soldered lug hot.  The ground plain on the board is huge and it eats the heat.  Be careful once you get it hot do not burn yourself by touching the ground plain.  I also recommend getting a good solder sucker to be sure you remove all the solder before trying to remove the jack.

My email is available on the board if you wish to discuss.