Took a big chance (and might need some help)
SwedePolk
Posts: 22
And it turned out half hit, and half miss.
Remember this pair? http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60727
Inspired by you guys, I really had my eyes set on acquiring a pair, so the will-ship-international was what decided it here.
The auction ended in december, and we settled shipping and terms during the holidays and into the new year. Having seen here that Craters and Freighters had been used by members and reported doing a quality job of it, I decided to go for that option.
All said and done, they were delivered to C&F, who packaged them and sent them on truck to the east coast of US, where they were put into a container, and loaded on ship early february. Ship slowly paddles across the pond, and arrived in Gothenburg on our west coast, on March 5. Putting these babies through customs and getting ripped off in the process (but I didn't exactly care about that, at that point) I could finally open the crate at the delivery terminal and see that I had in fact, bout a pair of speakers, and not a palletful of building bricks.
Stuff them in my car (
the new Volvo, it's like it was made to fit exactly around these) and get home.
A cursory inspection revealed that the wood was ok, cloth was a bit worn,the cabinets were whole and uncracked (no air leakage) and all drivers and tweeters were present. Speakers were dusty and some beginning oxidation on screws indicates they have been in moist/cold storage for a time.
Problem 1: One tweeter dome was depressed and looked to have been mishandled. Cant say if by accident or transport damage, but I figured since a RD0198 upgrade has been in the thought process, this is no big deal.
Problem 2 (and the real kicker) : Right channel passive radiator gives off a scraping sound when moved. Upon closer inspection, the cone is also not fixed in its movement path perpendicular to the plane of the baffle, but can be moved slightly sideways also. Bad!
So, I removed it, and immediately saw the problem. The glue joint between the white styrofoam (?) surface and the orangey textile suspension was completely disjointed. It appears this had been there for a while and speaker still used, because the white surface was all abraded and uneven, from what I assume is continued scraping/wear.
Bottom line, C&F did a superb crating and the transport seemed as far as I can tell, flawless. But, one radiator is damaged, and from what I can gather here, these are not available as spare parts, so I need to repair it.
Pictures inc when my camera stops hating USB, it has a personality these days.
Remember this pair? http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60727
Inspired by you guys, I really had my eyes set on acquiring a pair, so the will-ship-international was what decided it here.
The auction ended in december, and we settled shipping and terms during the holidays and into the new year. Having seen here that Craters and Freighters had been used by members and reported doing a quality job of it, I decided to go for that option.
All said and done, they were delivered to C&F, who packaged them and sent them on truck to the east coast of US, where they were put into a container, and loaded on ship early february. Ship slowly paddles across the pond, and arrived in Gothenburg on our west coast, on March 5. Putting these babies through customs and getting ripped off in the process (but I didn't exactly care about that, at that point) I could finally open the crate at the delivery terminal and see that I had in fact, bout a pair of speakers, and not a palletful of building bricks.
Stuff them in my car (
the new Volvo, it's like it was made to fit exactly around these) and get home.A cursory inspection revealed that the wood was ok, cloth was a bit worn,the cabinets were whole and uncracked (no air leakage) and all drivers and tweeters were present. Speakers were dusty and some beginning oxidation on screws indicates they have been in moist/cold storage for a time.
Problem 1: One tweeter dome was depressed and looked to have been mishandled. Cant say if by accident or transport damage, but I figured since a RD0198 upgrade has been in the thought process, this is no big deal.
Problem 2 (and the real kicker) : Right channel passive radiator gives off a scraping sound when moved. Upon closer inspection, the cone is also not fixed in its movement path perpendicular to the plane of the baffle, but can be moved slightly sideways also. Bad!
So, I removed it, and immediately saw the problem. The glue joint between the white styrofoam (?) surface and the orangey textile suspension was completely disjointed. It appears this had been there for a while and speaker still used, because the white surface was all abraded and uneven, from what I assume is continued scraping/wear.
Bottom line, C&F did a superb crating and the transport seemed as far as I can tell, flawless. But, one radiator is damaged, and from what I can gather here, these are not available as spare parts, so I need to repair it.
Pictures inc when my camera stops hating USB, it has a personality these days.
Post edited by SwedePolk on
Comments
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I believe it's possible to repair the radiator. Send a PM to F1Nut, it may take him a couple of days to respond though."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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Any pics of the damage? Just to get a look at it? Face is right; it might be possible to fix it.Lovin that music year after year.
Main 2 Channel System
Polk SDA-1B,
Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
Rotel RB-980BX,
OPPO DV-970HD,
Lite Audio DAC AH,
IXOS XHA305 Interconnects
Computer Rig
Polk SDA CRS+,
Creek Audio 5350 SE,
Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
HRT Music Streamer II -
Pictures from pickup (phone camera, my brain left real camera at home)
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Close up, notice the look on the SL3000, and the rusted screw surfaces.
Second picture, you can see a little of the problem from the backside of the radiator, will try get a better shot tomorrow when i don't need to use the camera flash. -
I have repaired those before with 5 minute epoxy ( Separate resin/hardner type ). The resin/hardner type bites like a pit bull and I have never seen it ever fail , even when used on some high X-max subs spiders.
Thats a hell of a lot of room you have in that Volvo...I was amazed to see them fit side by side. :eek:The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club -
I think you're gonna be ok, just don't panic or get impatient. Worst comes to worst, email Polk and ask them what glue was originally used to glue the PRs together.
Shadow, 5 min epoxy is a poor imitation of the real stuff. The problem is the real stuff comes in huge containers. Swede, if you know someone who uses epoxy for something see if you can bum some off of them. I'm not talking about Polyester resin - epoxy is something else entirely (I suspect you already know this, but just making sure). You won't need much for this repair if this is a route you choose to go. -
see if some sticky tape can pull out the dented dust cap. Duct tape.
engtazengtaz
I love how music can brighten up a bad day. -
see if some sticky tape can pull out the dented dust cap. Duct tape.
engtaz
Vaccums also work... just be careful with it.Lovin that music year after year.
Main 2 Channel System
Polk SDA-1B,
Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
Rotel RB-980BX,
OPPO DV-970HD,
Lite Audio DAC AH,
IXOS XHA305 Interconnects
Computer Rig
Polk SDA CRS+,
Creek Audio 5350 SE,
Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
HRT Music Streamer II -
I think you're gonna be ok, just don't panic or get impatient. Worst comes to worst, email Polk and ask them what glue was originally used to glue the PRs together.
Shadow, 5 min epoxy is a poor imitation of the real stuff. The problem is the real stuff comes in huge containers. Swede, if you know someone who uses epoxy for something see if you can bum some off of them. I'm not talking about Polyester resin - epoxy is something else entirely (I suspect you already know this, but just making sure). You won't need much for this repair if this is a route you choose to go.
I was just generally calling mixable epoxy " 5 minute " ....if there is a brand name of that sort I have not used it...the stuff I normally use at work comes in single use containers ...mixes readily ( Gets extremely warm ) and works so well you can machine off the excess and the grip isnt broken by anything.
It must be single use packs of the real stuff you mention....stuff is amazing.The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club -
shadowofnight wrote: »I was just generally calling mixable epoxy " 5 minute " ....if there is a brand name of that sort I have not used it...the stuff I normally use at work comes in single use containers ...mixes readily ( Gets extremely warm ) and works so well you can machine off the excess and the grip isnt broken by anything.
It must be single use packs of the real stuff you mention....stuff is amazing.
Ah, ok. Generally, "real" epoxy has a longer cure time than 5 minutes. Depending on the ambient temperature, some formulations can take several hours to cure. As a general rule, the faster it cures, the weaker the resulting bond - you'd have to ask a chemist why it works this way. -
As far as the PR goes. Watch the epoxy stuff. Make sure it can work on styrofoam. Some of them can melt it instead of glue it.
Model airplane glue works. I have done this myself. But again make sure it works with styrofoam.
Now for the tweeter. Place your mouth over the dome and suck. It should pop right out. -
As far as the PR goes. Watch the epoxy stuff. Make sure it can work on styrofoam. Some of them can melt it instead of glue it.
Polyester resin and some other rare formulations (Vinylester) can melt styrofoam, but these are vastly inferior glues when compared to epoxy. Epoxy will not melt styrofoam.
Model airplane glue, aka CA glue, aka superglue, will melt foam, but this is how it bonds things together. The amount of melting should not be a concern as long as you don't smother the foam in glue. -
Thanks for all the advice given so far, I've started to ask around for glues and will get something done on this maybe this weekend.
Do you have any input on what I should do with the styrofoam itself? The surface where the glueing is to take place, is not anymore smooth and 'polished' due to the edge of the textile having run across it back and forth, should I glue to it as is, or try to prepare it in some way? -
Here's an idea.
You've all seen those businesses like "Bikini Clad Lawn Care" and "Bikini car wash"
Maybe someone should start a business ... Bikini Wearing Tweeter Suckers. When your tweeter get's pushed in, you can have a hot model type wearing a bikini swing by to suck your tweeter dome out. You'd need some insurance to cover when they accidentally suck a customers tweeter off.
I predict we would see a wave of tweeter domes needing repair
W
http://www.bikinilawn.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iSlPYGFn1c -
I think the 5 minute epoxy should be fine. Even better would be marine epoxy. Epoxy sticks to just about anything, so no need to prepare the surfaces.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I think the 5 minute epoxy should be fine. Even better would be marine epoxy. Epoxy sticks to just about anything, so no need to prepare the surfaces.
3M makes a product called 5200, it's used to bond hulls to decks on boats.That might hold
here
A paper towel tube works well to help suck out dented dust caps and bikini-clad tweet fixers seem to like the shapeSome of the worst wrongs get righted on three cords -
Update:
I have repaired the rear suspension with Loctite 3430 epoxy and it worked like a charm.
Post repair music testing revealed that 1: it worked well and 2: the foam cone of the PR has in places come loose from the composite front PR plate. (different damage than the original) After some digging I decided on using a thinner glue that would be able to penetrate in depth (capillary effect) to bond this together. Choice fell on Loctite 435, which by inspection of their data sheet seemed appropriate.
Warning: 435 melts foam like it is getting paid. I tested on the back of the cone to make sure, and 1 single drop smeared out makes a crater the size of a thumbnail and 1/4" deep.
In the end i decided on just glueing the edge of the area where it was loose, with the 3430, which seems to have worked out fine. I'll sound these out with some Pink Floyd or Jarre when 36 hours have passed and the epoxy is completely cured.
