Chameleon amps, anyone got the faintest idea?

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   I've just been asked to look at one of the 1U Chameleon amps, a 2500D.  When it arrived it was occasionally going into protect.

I've now taken a look inside and, oh man, what a mess!  A collection of PCB's some glued down, some free-floating, no labelling of anything.  The power supply is potted in epoxy in the middle of the toroidal transformer, the output stages are of course buried in the aluminium channels on the sides.

I'm quite well used to having to reverse engineer amplifiers I don't have schematics for but these are just something else.  I found if I wobbled one of the PCB's it would cut in and out of protect but now it's just stuck in protect and I'm very puzzled!

Anybody ever worked on them?  Anyone want to play with this one?

I'm probably going to recommend that the band get something else.... 

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ceharden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 05 June 2005 Location: Southampton Status: Offline Points: 9211	Post Options Post Reply Quote ceharden Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Chameleon amps, anyone got the faintest idea? Posted: 22 July 2009 at 8:48pm
	I've just been asked to look at one of the 1U Chameleon amps, a 2500D. When it arrived it was occasionally going into protect. I've now taken a look inside and, oh man, what a mess! A collection of PCB's some glued down, some free-floating, no labelling of anything. The power supply is potted in epoxy in the middle of the toroidal transformer, the output stages are of course buried in the aluminium channels on the sides. I'm quite well used to having to reverse engineer amplifiers I don't have schematics for but these are just something else. I found if I wobbled one of the PCB's it would cut in and out of protect but now it's just stuck in protect and I'm very puzzled! Anybody ever worked on them? Anyone want to play with this one? I'm probably going to recommend that the band get something else....

subbass Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 30 March 2009 Location: bristol Status: Offline Points: 1683	Post Options Post Reply Quote subbass Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 8:51pm
	picpicpicpicpicpic

Jake_Fielder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 08 October 2007 Location: Stevenage/Nrwch Status: Offline Points: 4213	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jake_Fielder Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 8:53pm
	yeah, lets have a look
	Im abletronics, and so is my wife.

ceharden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 05 June 2005 Location: Southampton Status: Offline Points: 9211	Post Options Post Reply Quote ceharden Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:14pm
	Sorry, not the greatest pics: Anybody want to buy it?

rich_gale Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 18 February 2008 Status: Offline Points: 2698	Post Options Post Reply Quote rich_gale Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:20pm
	jesse at 'soundburn' bristol has some experience tackling these beasts. i was scared by my 2u unit. the 1u unit scares me even more because i cant imagine how busy and tangled all those wires and boards are without that extra breathing space of a 2u unit.
	REFLEX ALL THE WAY.... (however, im playing with horns again...) That ok Mister Valiant? :)

ceharden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 05 June 2005 Location: Southampton Status: Offline Points: 9211	Post Options Post Reply Quote ceharden Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:21pm
	It looks like it was built in someones shed as a prototype. I can't believe these were manufactured and sold in any quantity like this.

rich_gale Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 18 February 2008 Status: Offline Points: 2698	Post Options Post Reply Quote rich_gale Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:24pm
	i retract the previous comment now. i actually really like the look of the inside of that amp. amazing use of space. anyone tested on of these in terms of real world power?
	REFLEX ALL THE WAY.... (however, im playing with horns again...) That ok Mister Valiant? :)

ceharden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 05 June 2005 Location: Southampton Status: Offline Points: 9211	Post Options Post Reply Quote ceharden Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:33pm
	You wouldn't necessarily be saying that if you were sat here, tilting a PCB and wondering why the amp goes in and out of protect as you move it. It's full of 2 pin Molex KK series connections with no way of telling which is which when you have half a dozen on the same PCB! And I wasn't joking, it is actually all glued together with a mixture of epoxy and hot glue!

Jake_Fielder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 08 October 2007 Location: Stevenage/Nrwch Status: Offline Points: 4213	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jake_Fielder Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:40pm
	wow, thats weird. I have never seen a transformer like that! what happens if the caps go!?
	Im abletronics, and so is my wife.

ceharden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 05 June 2005 Location: Southampton Status: Offline Points: 9211	Post Options Post Reply Quote ceharden Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:55pm
	If the caps go, I think the technical term for the amp is FUCT! What a surprise, the fault turns out to be some of the push-on connections which have lost their spring.

Jake_Fielder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 08 October 2007 Location: Stevenage/Nrwch Status: Offline Points: 4213	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jake_Fielder Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 9:57pm
	HAHA really!? sorted!
	Im abletronics, and so is my wife.

chickenfizz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 March 2008 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 879	Post Options Post Reply Quote chickenfizz Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 July 2009 at 10:25pm
	I used to have 4 chameleons... All went bang. 3 of them I dropped off at rock-tech over 3 years ago and never heard back from them :p The remaining one was a S 1200 that kept going a bit longer than the rest of them, when it went bang (at the time it was just idling with 2 8 ohm tops) I had a go at it myself, but got nowhere, then sent it off to someone who threw it in the bin! Fail