Studer 963 modifications

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Junction

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 23, 2007
Messages
427
Location
Sydney, Australia
I have 963 console with 24 input channel bucket, fitted out with 8 mic input modules in the first 12 channel bucket and 8 stereo line input modules in the second bucket, 4 sub group output channel strips and left and right master output strips.

I want to drop in at least two more group output or stereo output channel strips, there are a couple of spare slots between the group modules and the master output channels, I tried dropping a group channel into the slot and the cue speaker eminated some horrible squealing tone, something is obviously wrong, the group module does work in another position.

I can see that cables from the backplane to output xlrs would be required, but I wonder if there are any mods/jumpers or whatever required to install more group outs. I cant see anything in the equipment manual referring to this. I can drop in more input modules without problem, I do know that more output modules were a possible option at time of ordering. Anyone had any experience with these awesome consoles at this level?

Cheers
Michael Blackburn
Sydney, OZ
 
Read through the user- and service manual for suggestions on possible setups - the Studer 98x are prepared for a range of different configurations.

Manuals are at ftp://ftp.studer.ch/ - make sure to get and save everything related to your board.

Jakob E.
 
I have a somewhat similar console to the 963 and had to make some custom wiring on the backplane pcb's to accomodate a pair of master channels. Everything except for the regular mono / stereo input channels is NOT plug & play on the these consoles, afaik.

Regarding the group modules, dive in under the console and have a look at how the existing group modules are accomodated for and repeat this wiring in a similar fashion for the extra group modules you wish to install. It helps to have a printout of the pcb connector pinout at hand, you will find this in the service manual from the Studer FTP.

good luck! Marten
 
gyraf said:
Read through the user- and service manual for suggestions on possible setups
Thanks Jakob, yes I have original ops and service manuals for my 963, just downloaded from the Studer site as well just in case there is additional information available.

martthie_08 said:
I have a somewhat similar console to the 963 and had to make some custom wiring on the backplane pcb's to accomodate a pair of master channels. Everything except for the regular mono / stereo input channels is NOT plug & play on the these consoles, afaik.
Thanks Marten, yeah that was the same conclusion I came to. The manual doesn't tell you how to add master/group modules, so i guess no choice but to try and trace out what is what on the backplane, not an easy job lying on your back underneath this thing, might have to flip it over. If its just wiring the I/O cables, then that shouldnt be too hard as you said I can follow the convention used for the other modules, I somehow suspect there is more to it than that because of the squealing noises I heard coming from the cue speaker when I dropped a group module into a spare slot with no I/O cabling.

Oh well, time to get out the tools ... Cheers :)
 
I can't tell you how much I hate soldering upside down beneath a console, watch out for gravity and always wear glasses. Flipping the console temporarily will make your life a whole lot easier...

I am not sure on how they implemented the groups on the 963 (mine is a 970 without groups). Do the group summing / output amps reside within the actual module or are they on eurocards "inside" the console? If the latter is the case you will need to check if you have any extra summing / amp modules, you could also use the ones from Jeff / ClassicAPI, that is what I implemented on my second stereo bus...
 
The output amps and transformers are all on module pcb, no euro cards are used,

that's great. The reason for my asking was that I once worked on a 963 where I noticed a ton of the output amp cards in the lower console next to the power supply. Btw: do you have one or two power supplies for your console?

so I just have to wire ins and outs to xlrs

yes, another thing might be a wire bridge from the respective group bus traces on the console pcb to the input of the group module? Not 100% sure about this, but if those aren't provided the individual group modules would have no way of knowing which bus they were summing.
 
martthie_08 said:
do you have one or two power supplies for your console?

another thing might be a wire bridge from the respective group bus traces on the console pcb to the input of the group module?
Marten, it has 3 x 5 - 24V regulator cards and 1 x Phantom Supply regulator card

and yes you are right .... as all busses do not appear on the input of each group card, a link or similar will be required at the backplane, just gotta find it, shouldnt be difficult hopefully.
 
Marten, it has 3 x 5 - 24V regulator cards and 1 x Phantom Supply regulator card

ok, the reason I was asking is because the 963 I worked on was fully loaded and it came with two transformer blocks, not sure about how many regulator cards. You might want to be  careful not putting too many modules in the console if it only has one main transformer unit.

as all busses do not appear on the input of each group card, a link or similar will be required at the backplane, just gotta find it, shouldnt be difficult hopefully.

yes, you should be able to do this in the same way it was done for the existing group modules. iirc all busses are balanced and you will need two wire bridges per group, not 100% sure though...
 
This is the pinout (3 connectors) for Studer 963 mono input modules, if that helps.

On a slightly different note, I was wondering (forgive the newbie question) if it is possible to rack the module and only connect what is 'needed' (for my use mic+line input, tape out, +/-15V and some 0V/shielding/grounding arrangement), or does everything have to be hooked up for it to function correctly?

 

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Read through the user- and service manual for suggestions on possible setups - the Studer 98x are prepared for a range of different configurations.

Manuals are at ftp://ftp.studer.ch/ - make sure to get and save everything related to your board.

Jakob E.
Is this still an active FTP? Any username/pw needed?
 
This is the pinout (3 connectors) for Studer 963 mono input modules, if that helps.

On a slightly different note, I was wondering (forgive the newbie question) if it is possible to rack the module and only connect what is 'needed' (for my use mic+line input, tape out, +/-15V and some 0V/shielding/grounding arrangement), or does everything have to be hooked up for it to function correctly?
Hi, did you rack your stuff ? Can you tell me if tape output is post fader ? Thanks
 
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