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Peavey 1820 Cabinet Questions

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by bbrownderville, Jul 23, 2009.

  1. Jul 23, 2009 #1
    bbrownderville

    bbrownderville

    Jul 23, 2009
    Arkansas
    I just landed my hands on a 1820 Cabinet that is in pretty good shape minus a few things.

    I'm looking for suggestions on speakers i should use to replace the 2 - 10 in. Scorpions currently in it. They aren't sounding too awesome due to the fact of the second problem.

    The built in crossover is having major problems. When i run my head through the full range, the cabinet sounds like crap with hardly any sound when the gain on my amp is half way up. When i use the high side of the bi-amp it sounds decent but not like it should...When i try to use the low side of the bi-amp nothing works.. I cleaned all the inputs using a very hi grit sandpaper to remove all the junk and then added dielectric grease to keep from rusting. Any ideas on how to go about fixing the crossovers?

    Also any suggestions on heads i could use or combine to make the best of this cabinet. I am currently using a peavey series 400 head but i kinda want to add some of todays technology.
     
  2. Jul 23, 2009 #2
    wave rider

    wave rider

    Jan 5, 2005
    If you are getting nothing out of the low side, seems like that would indicate that the 18" is not working. I'd suspend judgment on the 10's until finding out what is wrong with the 18.

    With luck maybe just bad wiring; I'm a dreamer anyway...

    =wr=
     
  3. Jul 24, 2009 #3
    JTE

    JTE Gold Supporting Member

    Mar 12, 2008
    Central Illinois, USA
    The crossover is pretty indesctructible, except for the jacks and the soldering coming loose on the PC boards. I'd open things up, and use some alligator clips to connect directly to the 18, by-passing everything in the crossover. That'll tell you if the problem is in the speaker or in the wiring. Then do the same wth each of the 10" Scorpions. If any of them are bad, I'd just get new baskets from Peavey rather than buy whole new speakers. Both the BW and Scorps have replacement baskets. Make sure you get the right ones however. They make a lot of different 18" BW and I think there were at least two different 10" Scorpions.

    IF the speakers check out, then go through the crossover and check the solder connections. Touch them all up, check the coil to make sure it's still solid, and do some trouble shooting with a VOM to see if you can find a short or a break. Even if it's toast, you might be able to buy a new crossover module from Peavey. When I was a dealer (a long time ago) they had great resources for obsolete parts, way better than anyone ese in the industry.

    jte
     
  4. Jul 24, 2009 #4
    bbrownderville

    bbrownderville

    Jul 23, 2009
    Arkansas
    I took the crossover board out a couple days ago when i cleaned it.. All the soldering looked great and checked out. When playing through the hi side of the bi amp, its almost as if its acctually playing full range because the 18 sounds awsome.. but the 10s sound like poo. I was thinking about upgrading all of them gradually with new model stuff.. I just replaced my 15 in my kb100 with a new black widow and it sounds awsome... I may just check into getting a new crossover board.
     
  5. Jul 24, 2009 #5
    kesslari

    kesslari Groovin' with the Fusion Cats Staff Member Gold Supporting Member

    Dec 21, 2007
    Santa Cruz Mtns, California
    Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
    Wait - when you play through the high side, the 18 shouldn't be getting any power, should it? Sounds like the wiring is wonky.
     
  6. Jul 24, 2009 #6
    bbrownderville

    bbrownderville

    Jul 23, 2009
    Arkansas
    That's what i'm thinking.. I'm pretty sure i just need to invest in a new input/crossover board. I just need to find out who i need to contact.
     
  7. Jul 24, 2009 #7
    T-Bird

    T-Bird

    Apr 29, 2007
    Finland (Northern Europe)
    Hi.

    IIRC it shouldn't, but that was 15 years ago and I rarely biamped mine.

    OP, could You take a pic of the cross-over PCB, if the replacement isn't available or it's expensive. IIRC it was dead simple like JTE above said.

    If my memory serves me correctly, there was something strange and/or illogical about the way the jacks switched the cross-over for bi-amping vs. full range. One had to use both the bi-amp jacks (or terminate one) in order for the swithching to work or something odd like that.

    You might want to check the switches in the jacks for bent or oxidized contacts too.

    Regards
    Sam
     
  8. Jul 24, 2009 #8
    greenboy

    greenboy

    Dec 18, 2000
    remote mountain cabin Montana
    greenboy designs: fEARful, bassic, dually, crazy88 etc
    I'll go with the direct wiring to troubleshoot drivers, but I've seen a fair amount of these with burned/abused crossovers.
     
  9. Jul 24, 2009 #9
    wave rider

    wave rider

    Jan 5, 2005
    Email Peavey and ask for a wiring diagram to make sure all is wired correctly. You could also ask on their forum too. I read one post over there where the poster sent in his crossover for repair @ $20.00, not bad.

    =wr=