Plays well.Has many jacks in back.On sale at ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3070329593

wrote:

Plays well.Has many jacks in back.On sale at ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3070329593

Do the Shadow switches (e.g. tape monitor) work reliably? Apt preamps
were wonderful, but those old pushbuttons get noisy and replacements
seem to be unobtainable nowadays.

"David Satz" wrote in message
om
wrote:

Plays well.Has many jacks in back.On sale at ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3070329593

Do the Shadow switches (e.g. tape monitor) work reliably? Apt preamps
were wonderful, but those old pushbuttons get noisy and replacements
seem to be unobtainable nowadays.

Funny you should mention that...

Arny Krueger wrote:

"David Satz" wrote in message
om
wrote:

Plays well.Has many jacks in back.On sale at ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3070329593

Do the Shadow switches (e.g. tape monitor) work reliably? Apt preamps
were wonderful, but those old pushbuttons get noisy and replacements
seem to be unobtainable nowadays.

Funny you should mention that...

I presume those switches are mechanical. If so, judiciously applied
silicon lube will dramatically improve most noisy contacts and last
for years.

For noisy switches, try Caig's red stuff and ProGold.

I wrote:

Do the Shadow switches (e.g. tape monitor) work reliably? Apt preamps
were wonderful, but those old pushbuttons get noisy and replacements
seem to be unobtainable nowadays.

whereupon Tom Aurand wrote

I presume those switches are mechanical. If so, judiciously applied
silicon lube will dramatically improve most noisy contacts and last
for years.

to which I reply:

IIRC these switches are sealed in a diabolical fashion which prevents
the injection of Tweek or Cramolin or Caig fluid (or unicorn snot or
whatever else people are using nowadays) to clean the contacts--and the
enclosure can't be opened without breaking the switch, due to a highly
effective curse placed on its design by an ancient wizard.

I've heard of people replacing the Shadow switches with mini-toggles.
If the problem isn't dealt with one way or the other, the preamp tends
to go "intermittent" intermittently.

David Satz wrote:

IIRC these switches are sealed in a diabolical fashion which prevents
the injection of Tweek or Cramolin or Caig fluid (or unicorn snot or
whatever else people are using nowadays) to clean the contacts--and the
enclosure can't be opened without breaking the switch, due to a highly
effective curse placed on its design by an ancient wizard.

The idea is that they are sealed to prevent the contacts from oxidizing,
but the end result is that when they do, you are in big trouble.

It is possible to use a #64 drill to put a hole in the side of the case
and inject Cramolin with a syringe, and that will work for a while, until
the spring breaks, which is the other thing that goes wrong with Schadow
switches.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

(David Satz) wrote in message . com...
wrote:

Plays well.Has many jacks in back.On sale at ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3070329593

Do the Shadow switches (e.g. tape monitor) work reliably? Apt preamps
were wonderful, but those old pushbuttons get noisy and replacements
seem to be unobtainable nowadays.

You can still buy shadow push switches, even in gold if you like. One
way to make them last is to treat them with Stabilant 22A, a liquid
semiconductor with lube properties. I have used this in my tiny,
****ty alps mini push switches in my Soundcraft consoles and they have
lasted for many years.
Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

Scott Dorsey wrote:

The idea is that they are sealed to prevent the contacts from oxidizing,
but the end result is that when they do, you are in big trouble.

Yes--the Law of Unintended Consequences ...


It is possible to use a #64 drill to put a hole in the side of the case
and inject Cramolin with a syringe, and that will work for a while, until
the spring breaks, which is the other thing that goes wrong with Schadow
switches.

And I will herewith admit that I am busted: I even knew that the correct
spelling was "Schadow" but I caved, took a shortcut, goofed off. May my
sins be forgiven in the course of time. Tuchel, Tuchel, mene upharsin ...

I used to dismantle those switches to clean them. Not an easy task. That
wasn't a bad preamp.

Pete

David Satz wrote in message
om...
I wrote:

Do the Shadow switches (e.g. tape monitor) work reliably? Apt preamps
were wonderful, but those old pushbuttons get noisy and replacements
seem to be unobtainable nowadays.

whereupon Tom Aurand wrote

I presume those switches are mechanical. If so, judiciously applied
silicon lube will dramatically improve most noisy contacts and last
for years.

to which I reply:

IIRC these switches are sealed in a diabolical fashion which prevents
the injection of Tweek or Cramolin or Caig fluid (or unicorn snot or
whatever else people are using nowadays) to clean the contacts--and the
enclosure can't be opened without breaking the switch, due to a highly
effective curse placed on its design by an ancient wizard.

I've heard of people replacing the Shadow switches with mini-toggles.
If the problem isn't dealt with one way or the other, the preamp tends
to go "intermittent" intermittently.

I used to sell the Apt preamps & amp, and service them up to currently. Of the many, many
Holman preamps I've worked on, I can't recall ever having any problems with the flag button
switches, but, if I did, I must not have had any trouble getting cleaning spritz into them(I
use Triflow or a silicon spray lub, which I find quite superior to Caig products). The most
common problems with the Holman were soldering issues, the occassional failing lytic cap, and
muting relay oxidation. The relay problem is a simple one to permanently fix. I just connect
the N.O. contacts to the C. contact, so that the N.C. contacts simply short the signal to
ground during startup/shutdown, without the contacts interupting the signal path.
I'll agree that the line stage of the Holman was not hard to beat(except the tone control
circuit was extremely good), but I think that the phono stage is STILL one of the best solid
state phono stages in the world, which is easy to make even better with some power supply & cap
upgrades.

--
Stephen Sank, Owner & Ribbon Mic Restorer
Talking Dog Transducer Company
http://stephensank.com
5517 Carmelita Drive N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico [87111]
505-332-0336
Auth. Nakamichi & McIntosh servicer
Payments preferred through Paypal.com
"Pete KE9OA" wrote in message
...
I used to dismantle those switches to clean them. Not an easy task. That
wasn't a bad preamp.

Pete

David Satz wrote in message
om...
I wrote:

Do the Shadow switches (e.g. tape monitor) work reliably? Apt preamps
were wonderful, but those old pushbuttons get noisy and replacements
seem to be unobtainable nowadays.

whereupon Tom Aurand wrote

I presume those switches are mechanical. If so, judiciously applied
silicon lube will dramatically improve most noisy contacts and last
for years.

to which I reply:

IIRC these switches are sealed in a diabolical fashion which prevents
the injection of Tweek or Cramolin or Caig fluid (or unicorn snot or
whatever else people are using nowadays) to clean the contacts--and the
enclosure can't be opened without breaking the switch, due to a highly
effective curse placed on its design by an ancient wizard.

I've heard of people replacing the Shadow switches with mini-toggles.
If the problem isn't dealt with one way or the other, the preamp tends
to go "intermittent" intermittently.