I’m helping someone to try and fix a couple of powered subwoofers. A Paradigm PS12 and PS10. The person bought them on a local marketplace for basically the same price for a working pair. The previous owner had replaced the circuit boards and the speakers themselves then when he plugged them in they both blew something inside both of them instantly. I haven’t looked at them physically yet however I have some photos of one of the boards. The board is clean, there is no visible scorching on the board nor do any of the electrolytic caps look bulged or damaged in any way either.
My gut tells me that there has been a rewiring error and that is the cause of the instant death. I couldn’t see anything on the board that suggested a fuse of any kind either. The fault could lie inside the power supplies.
I am trying to find a schematic or list of possible issues that might be common with these subs. And any links to replacement boards or power supplies etc…
For troubleshooting would it be necessary to have a logic tester for the ICs? Also is there an area of the board that you guys would suggest for a starting point. There are lots of caps and even a number of transistors. I don’t currently have a multimeter capable of testing transistors or capacitors and I don’t want to buy one that can do those things if it’s unlikely I’ll need to go that far.
Failing that would it be possible to buy some other generic or other brand subwoofer amp and power supply and just wire the speakers to those instead. What would I need for that scenario that would be compatible with the speakers for those models?
I have a background mainly in computer and cellphone repair. The course I took in college had an analog and a digital electronics component to it. I can use a soldering iron rework station, multimeters, and those types of testing equipment.
Thank you for your help and I appreciate anything that helps me to bring them back to a working again and annoying neighbors.
On another note, is there a image hosting site that works well for this forum for the images I want to share of what the boards look like? I’ve had problems before when not being able to upload images directly to a forum and have to use an image sharing service. Some of them just aren’t compatible and often there is no error message that explains the incompatibility they just don’t work.
Thanks.
Imgur is what we usually recommend, sometimes the system will automatically remove the link if you’re new to the forum. You shouldn’t have a problem since you already have two approved posts.
-Mr. Carlsons Lab Admin