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Reseting a compressor?

Bass4LifeRS

Bass4LifeRS

Oct 18, 2005
3,021
1,987
Norway
#1
Hey all. My old dbx 160x compressor has frozen on me. When I set it in bypass, it is on, and when I take bypass off, the unit is off too. This is backwards.

On top of this, when the ubit is actually on, I cannot change any settings, the turn of a knob has no effect on the unit.
Turning off/on the power does not change this behaviour.

I asked the local music store, and they suggested some kind of reset because the CPU (processor) could be stuck or something.

Do you have any tips to how I reset this thing?
 
#4
It's a rack unit, no batteries :)
Though after even more searching I found a comment on another forum, saying something like this:
"I suspect that what you need in this instance is the calibration procedure, ie what voltage at what test point to restore the VCAs to their proper gain structure etc., something that the schematic isn't necessarily going to provide. DBX's response is lame in the extreme - the info you need is sitting in some file cabinet in their office. I can understand the lack of factiory repair support for something that old, they have to let repair parts & such go eventually. _BUT_ The fact that they aren't willing to send you for a few bucks to cover their time a xerox of the repair manual or calibration procedure for a product that they are not willing to repair for you would tell me that they are running an operation that I would not want to rely on to support any new product they might be selling."
Click to expand...

LOL, looks like I am just gonna throw it in the garbage instead, I am no technician. Btw, that EBS Multicomp is looking good...:ninja:
 
#5
I'm betting that last quoted comment is dead correct. There is no CPU per se, and there is no battery (note however that almost all rack units that do contain a CPU also do have a small lithium battery that needs replacing every five to fifteen years).

But it is entirely possible that it needs recalibration. Before chucking it in the trash, consider that working ones sell for around $200, so if you can get it calibrated for less than that, it might be worth doing. Also, if you sell it on Ebay and clearly state that it needs recalibration and is not operating properly, you still might get $50 or so for it from somebody who can do the calibration. Just some thoughts- I know either of those options would be a pain in the butt anyway. :)
 

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