Gen.Ben

iTrader: (4)

Hey guys,

I just bought this 4 channel amp from a friend for 5 bucks because he said it was broken. Hooked it up and I get nothing.

I opened it up and I noticed the pcb is cracked a bit but there are no traces or components on this piece of pcb. Here is a picture.



Any ideas? things I should try. Not really expecting to get anything from this but it was only 5 dollars so it's worth a shot. It'd be really nice to have amplified door speakers in my brothers car.

PsychoAcoustics Canada

iTrader: (3)

does the amp have a chassis ground screw? if it does hook that up to ground and try that

ndinadis

iTrader: (2)

did you check the underside of the board for traces? It may sound dumb but most use dual sided boards.

Gen.Ben

iTrader: (4)

Hey it looks like it does have a chassis ground. Didn't even notice it in the first place.

I will try that today or tomorrow and let ya know.

Gen.Ben

iTrader: (4)

After further inspection it looks like on the underside of the board there are a few traces that have been teared when the pcb was cracked.

I have decent soldering skills, what would I need to do to fix this properly?

ndinadis

iTrader: (2)

what I would do as an electrical eng student and diy guy but not necessarily correct is;
rough up the top of the board and epoxy it to repair the crack, then depending on the traces either try to drill the board and put in jumpers like you see other places on the board or if you want to be half assed just bridge the gap with solder.

Gen.Ben

iTrader: (4)

As a jumper to put in a drilled hole would a wire from the inside of a cat5 or phone cable work?

Do I have the right idea? I want the fix to last.

ndinadis

iTrader: (2)

you have the right idea, basically it depends on the trace, if its a low current small one for low voltage signal its fine, of its in the power supply side I would go something maybe a bit larger. making sure its a good contact with as little resistance through the repair is important. Its hard to say without looking at it, I was thinking the leg from a resistor or capacitor as a jumper would be easier to install as well.

Gen.Ben

iTrader: (4)

So would I just sand the top, epoxy it (may use JB weld, that stuff works wonders. Scrape some coating off the traces to show the copper, drill small holes where needed, throw some flux and wire on that and just solder it up?

ndinadis

iTrader: (2)

Sounds good to me