Topic: Strange and Scary UA-5 Problem

[brandont_h]

So I bought my UA-5 stock from someone on this board, and then proceeded to have someone else from this board perform the digi mod on it.  At the completion of the digimod process, I was told that my rear RCA inputs seemed to be blown, and that they must have been that way when I got the unit, because the digimod isn't anywhere near the RCA output circuitry.

Last night, I was using my UA-5 connected to my soundcard via SPDIF and in the middle of recording something, the signal became very distorted (think like a big muff fuzz pedal).  I checked to see if it was just the digital signal going out, but the headphone output sounded exactly the same as the spdif signal.  (In retrospect, this makes sense, since the headphone jack comes after the a/d and d/a.)  Therefore, I'm concluding that the problem must be in the A/D section of the unit, but this still doesn't explain two things.  1)  Why were my RCA jacks shot when I got this unit?  Anyone heard of that before?  2)  If the solder on my digimod is loose or something, why would it just randomly start to have troubles?  I've taken this thing to lots of shows since I had the mod done, and never had a problem.  I use it for the first time just sitting on my desk to record some music, and it seems to be dying.

Any advice?  Please?

EDIT:  Oh, and to clarify, this is an intermittent problem, which makes me lean farther toward the possibility that it's just a loose connection or something, but how can I track down where the problem is?

EDIT (again):  It's starting to seem more and more like this is a problem relating to the digimod.  Occasionally when I tap the wire, I can hear that through the speakers.  Right now, it's just having intermittent bursts of noise even when I'm not touching it.  It's silent, and working fine, but any second there'll be a horrible burst of static.   

[F.O.Bean]

that sux, anybodyn know whats up!!!

if worse really came to worse, i would take a look at the schematic and try and fix the problem for you, but if somone knows more than me, please feel free to help him out!

why dont you look at the schematic yourself and also check out the insides and see if soldering is messed up or the board looks like its been melted anywhere too

[brandont_h]

Well, believe me, I've had it apart. . .  The only thing I could find obviously was a tiny piece of solder (probably from the digimod) that had come loose, and was near (possibly touching) another trace on the board.  I cleared it away, and the thing seems to be behaving now, but I don't know if it'll stay this way or not.  heh.  Wish me luck, cause I'm so poor right now that the next equipment failure I have will be the end of my taping career for a while.

[AT853rxwh]

Well, believe me, I've had it apart. . .  The only thing I could find obviously was a tiny piece of solder (probably from the digimod) that had come loose, and was near (possibly touching) another trace on the board.  I cleared it away, and the thing seems to be behaving now, but I don't know if it'll stay this way or not.  heh.  Wish me luck, cause I'm so poor right now that the next equipment failure I have will be the end of my taping career for a while.

That could do it easily.  If you have someone nearby that is good with a soldering iron, you might want them to recheck the digimod.  Not done properly could easily turn a UA-5 into trash.  +T for your trouble...

[Sean Gallemore]

did Mr. Lenz do the mod?  I KEEED!@!

[brandont_h]

Haha, no.  The guy who did the mod is very reputable, and a really nice guy to boot.  I didn't mention his name because I don't think the quality of his work is necessarily in question.  In fact, he kept my box for quite a while testing it and trying to figure out what was wrong with it.  So far I've had no more problems with the unit, so let's hope it stays this way.  I'm still upset about the RCA inputs on the back being shot though. 

[F.O.Bean]

if ya have a multi meter, poke around for continuity, the number one thing to do in electronics!

[Matt Quinn]

Hey Brandon,

I believe I sold you that UA 5, right?

I never had a problem with the RCA outputs, and I used them all the time......not sure what happened to them.

You mentioned you used it a number of times in the field without issue.....when you were using it at home, was it running on AC or battery power? 

[brandont_h]

I've used it in the field with both battery and AC power, and when I had problems with it most recently at home here, it was on AC power.

As for a multimeter. . .  I can't say I really know what I'd even be looking for if I were to get one.  (I mean, continuity, yes, but if I didn't find it, I'd have no idea how to fix that.)