reuben Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Hi all.I have a Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX mixer that I use in my rehearsal room and for small band gigs. As with every SX I've come across the power input connector was dodgy and got worse and worse over time. Eventually the mixer has developed a problem where, when you turn it on the meter LED's go right up into the red. If you push the left and right faders up there is a corresponding noise. If I push the phantom power button a few times (or just leave the desk sitting for 10 or 15 minutes) the meters gradually reduce in level (as does the corresponding noise), but it never quite goes away. I have now replaced the power connector with an XLR but the problem has not gone away. My suspicion is that something is awry in one side of the PSU inside the desk, but I can't find a schematic and I'm not sure where to start. The reason for this theory is that if I move the power plug so that only 2 pins connect the power light stays on, but the meter LED's go out... I have decent soldering skills, I am good at following instructions, and I have a basic understanding of electronics (i.e. I can tell one component from another, and understand basic values and calculations). If anyone can help, I'd greatly appreciate it. I really don't want to have to fork out for a new desk if I can fix this one. It does everything I want it to (except work at the moment...). Cheers,Reuben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_P Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Not a terribly helpful reply I'm afraid, but I have experienced pretty much exactly the same problem with a Spirit Notepad. Running the Notepad from the PSU for my SX solved the problem, but if I try to use the origninal Notepad PSU it comes back. The voltage outputs of the Notepad PSU meter up OK, and there doesn't seem to be much to go wrong inside the supply except a fault in the transformer, but there is definately something dodgy going on! I didn't investigate any further as I only use the Notepad for those rare really tiny jobs, so I just share a PSU between them. Is there any way that you can try a different PSU and see if the fault lies with the PSU or the desk? Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 It's usually bad solder joints where psu components have heated up and cooled down. Resoldering the joints in the power supply area will probably fix it. You can normally identify the power supply by all the big lumpy components. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reuben Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 Well I finally got the desk apart again and after closer inspection, one of the electrolytic caps in the power supply section had a considerable bulge. I elected to replace all 5 of the larger caps in that general area, fired it up and no noise... No noise at all! Not even any of the noise it should be making. I pondered this for a while, and then decided it would be a double sided circuit board and I probably hadn't gotten any solder on the component side of the board, only the underside. A bit of fiddling, and some solder on both sides of each join, and it works like a new one... For now B-) Thanks for the suggestions.Reuben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 I know this is an old thread, but the schematics for the Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX can be found here, for future reference: http://music-electronics-forum.com/attachments/25495d1380858392-soundcraft-spirit-folio-sx-mix_1.pdf (I use one of these mixers so may need to refer to these in the future!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_P Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Since this thread has been resurrected, I will add an update: In the case of my Spirit Notepad, the fault turned out to be a broken wire in the power cable, resulting in intermittent loss of the ground connection. Swapping the standard plastic power connector for a mini-XLR resolved the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.spoons Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Since this thread has been resurrected, I will add an update: In the case of my Spirit Notepad, the fault turned out to be a broken wire in the power cable, resulting in intermittent loss of the ground connection. Swapping the standard plastic power connector for a mini-XLR resolved the issue. I repaired a Spirit Notepad for a client last year, same issue. As the desk was in a fixed location I just replaced the power cable with a captive one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I repaired a Spirit Notepad for a client last year, same issue. As the desk was in a fixed location I just replaced the power cable with a captive one. +1, I've done the same thing with a Spirit SX. The connector seems to be a very weak design, I'm glad that Soundcraft seem to have abandoned using it in their newer models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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