SL3000 Repair?

markamerica

I've surfed through a lot of old threads here looking for information. I reported last weekend having picked up a pair of 1.2TLs at a price I couldn't refuse despite the drive. I found that one tweeter was bad, and I found a replacement on Ebay and installed it and while test-driving it in its new home, another went bad. For this reason, I'll be looking into the Polk replacements when they become available (in October, right?) I figure if one was bad, and another went, there may be more casualties.

This lead me to do some research on repairing these. I decided to open one up. As my research indicated would be likely, the tiny hair-sized lead on one side had become detached. I figure age and 650 miles of bad road home took its toll. That also probably means the rest are not too long for operative condition either. I-10 through Louisiana is pretty washboard-ish, particularly in an F350. Nevertheless, the damage is done, so now I'm in rehab mode. Since the new tweeters aren't available right now, I'm going to need to make do.

F1Nut mentioned that the ferro fluid was likely sludge. True. Nevertheless, I soldiered on, staying up far too late last night and into the wee hours of the morning with an illuminated magnifier, and improvising some conductive adhesive. (It's actually amazing that I managed this at all. While my vision at a distance is great, I am finding now in my late 40's that myopia is beginning to set in, much to my annoyance, so that the magnifying glass is necessary. I digress...)

I succeeded in re-attaching the tiny lead. It reads a bit off-spec, however. All of the others in the cabinet range from 5.9ohms to 6.1ohms. This one now pegs the meter at 6.2ohms. I let it set overnight(okay, from 4am-9am this morning) held together by a small hemostat, and when I woke up, I immediately went to remove the hemostat and worried that the adhesive would cause the tool to stick to the wire, only to detach it again upon removal, but this did not happen. I re-checked my resistance and reassembled. Still at 6.2ohms. I re-installed the tweeter. I tested the speaker. Amazingly, it works, for now...

I actually dug around here until I found a thread about changing/replacing ferro fluid, that included some specs from a polk engineer. F1Nut, you seemed to be much-involved in that thread though it was a decade ago. Did you ever have any success?

I guess this is what a fella does when he can't get replacements, but still wants to tinker and hear the speakers?

Any thoughts?

drumminman

I have SL 3000's I can sell you, up to 6. PM me if interested.

markamerica

I tried to PM you, but it says your inbox is too full. Yes, btw, I am interested.

I will PM you as soon as your inbox will allow.

Thanks!

Mark

F1nut

I actually dug around here until I found a thread about changing/replacing ferro fluid, that included some specs from a polk engineer. F1Nut, you seemed to be much-involved in that thread though it was a decade ago. Did you ever have any success?

I don't think I ever pursued it because I bought a set of eight NOS SL3000's, which I ended up selling after the RD0198-1's came out.

markamerica

Thanks F1Nut, I read a lot of jokes about "oil changes" and so on, and there was one poster quite serious about it, or so it seemed. In doing research on the matter, I happened upon this: http://ferrofluid.ferrotec.com/ferrofluid-home/

I'm actually pursuing this a little bit mostly out of curiosity. In the end, I suspect I will end up with the RDO-198-1s, but a fella has to do what a fella has to do.

Mark

drumminman

markamerica wrote: »

I tried to PM you, but it says your inbox is too full. Yes, btw, I am interested.

I will PM you as soon as your inbox will allow.

Thanks!

Mark

Inbox cleaned out.

markamerica

drumminman wrote: »

Inbox cleaned out.

Thanks DrumminMan,

Now I've gone and started filling it again...

Deadof_knight

do you have any more 3000's left ?

drumminman

Sorry, no. I sold all I had to markamerica.

PolkieMan

So Polk still doesn't have any 198's?

Deadof_knight wrote: »

do you have any more 3000's left ?

drumminman

Don't know - call them. Seems like I remember a few folks getting RD somethings from Polk here lately.

PolkieMan

Yea 198's are much better I did two a month till all 6 were done. If they have them I'm going to get a spare, JIC.

drumminman wrote: »

Polk probably has RD-0198's. The SL3000's, I doubt it since the 198's replaced them and are a better tweeter.