Harrison 4032 restoration?!

[Shane Solo]

I see no one has posted anything in a while, but i am trying to resurrect a 4032 in Los Angeles, and its proving to be a bit of a nightmare.  Did I see that one of you had someone silkscreen new plastic faceplates that go over the meters?  My console is missing them and it looks horrible without them, andy ideas where I can get this done?  I will get into the bigger problems I am having if someone replies.

 

[nrgrecording]

I see no one has posted anything in a while,

Yeah... so much to do these days...  but iam not in a hurry.
I bought 800m cables for the harrison... tape sends machine 1 1-32, tape sends machine 2 1-32,  tape return machine 1 1-32,  tape sends machine 2 1-32, external equipment, 40x mic in, speakers, communication...
I also bought 6000 capacitors which needs to be replaced.
Iam working on a new vca module as a replacement for the old dbx202 vca.
Iam working on a flyingfader automation for the harrison with midi and daw control.
And iam thinking about adding small lcd displays which can show tracknames right out of the daw over mackie protocol.
Thats a lot to do. Probably more than 300 hours of work. And it lasts long if you're working 1 hour/day at this project.  ;D
However... this is a hobby... so iam not in a hurry.

but i am trying to resurrect a 4032 in Los Angeles, and its proving to be a bit of a nightmare.  Did I see that one of you had someone silkscreen new plastic faceplates that go over the meters?  My console is missing them and it looks horrible without them, andy ideas where I can get this done?  I will get into the bigger problems I am having if someone replies.

If the missing meter faceplates is the only problem... then buy the console! 
You can make them yourselfs or find someone to do it for you.

My ideas:

Transparency sheets for laser printers:
You could try to use transparency laser sheets which is the cheapest of all. Costs 20$.
Print the scales on the laser sheets, cut some white paper so that the area where the leds
are is not covered with the white paper... fix both parts with the existing screws on the meter module.

silkscreen:
because you will need channel 1-40 plus the master and aux lettering you will need an A3 sheet maybe.
This might cost around 200€ but one set of 4032 meter faceplates is around 10€.

digital printing:
thats good for small quantities... could do the same as the silkscreen but its cheaper

metal faceplates:
Thats the most expensive way. I have a cnc machine and I could make new faceplates for
myselfs... I could check the costs if you like. The way how these plastic faceplates are made
by harrison is probably not the best way. I could make a thin black anodized metal plate with a
cutout in the middle and a small piece of perspex. This will look very professional and will work
for the next 1000 years. 

 

[nrgrecording]

Some pictures... about what happened in the meantime...

This should be the new vca automation. My goal was to have a flying fader automation for around 30€/channel.
The internal harrison logic like BUS-GROUPING and MUTE/SOLO should still work. The automation can be saved within
a track of any DAW (midi). You can also use the faders to control the DAW mixer if you want.

Prototype  for channel 1-8...  (maybe I will switch to a ucapps application later)

I had to fix the PSU.... I wondered why some voltages did not worked some times...
well, not a good connection anymore:  ;D

Bypassed the connector... 

One of the first connectors/cables... it will be over 300 cables/connectors... 

The VCA Replacement PCB:  8)

This pcb has the same pinout as the vca plugin-pcb. So it works with all harrison 32 and 24 series consoles.
There is a small circuit for the motorfader voltage to change the linear taper/voltage to a vca-compatible voltage.
3 trimmers to adjust zero dB point, double db scaling point (where the db scale changes) and an adjustable mute point.
I got help from Kubi with the circuit, thanks Kubi!  8)

Frank.

 

[helterbelter]

Hi Frank !

Looking good : )

I expect to show some pics of my console project at the beginning of November. My VCA stuff won't be included yet though.... Far too busy with other stuff. But the S800 and SL520 add-on are looking good  ;D

 

[telefunk]

...and ladies and gentlemen: After 30 years of wait, the "D" series is born!!!! 

love it!

 

[SIXTYNINER]

YEAH !
Finally A "SuperPorn" nice automation ! 

Frank : Really "Erstaunlich" .

cheers
6t9r

 

[telefunk]

Hi everybody!

One little question for all you Harrison people: How are you dealing with the fact that Harrison 32/24-series uses -6db internal levels, especially concerning the patch points, since mostly all outboard gear has been designed for +4db levels?

I think its a very interesting issue.  

Found a nice drawing about analog levels...

 

[Shane Solo]

Hey everyone, I am getting custom covers made for the meters on my 4032.  They will be silkscreened plastic, with a black backing and only clear where the led meters are. If anyone needs some, I'm sure it would be a little less expensive to have them made than just one set.  I have the older 12 segment LED's. I will be putting the order in today, so get back to me quick, if not, the guy doing it for me will have a template ready.  Should look nice when they are done, I will post pics.

Also, I have asked other places, but does anyone know who did the "Warner Bros. surround" mod to these consoles.  I am trying to resurrect this beast, and the lack of proper documentation for this mod - on all channels - is taking way more time in troubleshooting than it should.  Right now I have 18 channels up and running and need to get the rest done before I am totally broke.

Here is a pic of the surround card that is in all channels including the master section.

 

[timkroeger]

Hello all,

I'm resurrecting this thread because it contains so much valuable information but is also missing a lot of the referenced links since the old nrgrecording site is not available anymore. Most of the images have also been linked and not uploaded so these are gone, too. I know this is the way things go with a lot of referenced sites and I also know that it takes a lot of time to keep things working which most of us simply can't because of more important commitments (family, job...). wayback machine at archive.org did not help a lot, either since they seem to mirror/backup only very low resolution images and skip on larger images and other filetypes.

I personally updated and moved some deprecated images that I referenced in 2003/4 at the old plexi palace forums, now vintageamps and updated the posts, to keep the threads working, so I know this is a lot of work and can't really be expected from someone. But does anyone have a copy of the old html/harrison.html and html/studiobau.html subpages of Frank's site? Maybe Frank himself? *hint* hint*

I'd gladly offer part of my time to bring this information into shape and collaborate so this thread hopefully becomes readable and understandable again.

Why am I doing this? I am currently restoring my Harrison 3232 and I think I'd benefit a lot from the pictures, PDFs and annotations. I have gained so much knowledge out of these forums and also some others (e.g. homerecording or vintageamps) that I want to give something back. Also, currently I've got quite some time to spare  I am hoping that some of the subscribers and hopefully Frank himself will respond.

Cheers
Tim

 

[SIXTYNINER]

...... I am currently restoring my Harrison 3232 and I think I'd benefit a lot from the pictures, PDFs and annotations. I have gained so much knowledge out of these forums and also some others (e.g. homerecording or vintageamps) that I want to give something back. Also, currently I've got quite some time to spare I am hoping that some of the subscribers and hopefully.....

Any docs-help to share about ?
thanks