Stereo2Go Forum Reader

thafuzz - 2008-10-13 14:39

So, I decided to crack open my big Wheely to clean it up and tighten up a rattle or two. I was surprised to see Matsuki woofers. I was curious how the motion sensor /alarm worked too. I wanted to see why it wouldn't power up using my wall plug. With the bass way up, it works at 50% volume before cutting in & out with a A.C. plug (round laptop type)and at 85% with batteries. I took to pics of if y'all have any ideas. It sure sounds great with some Erik B & Rakim or MARS' "Pump up the Volume". Now, I wanna do just that and really see these 10" woofers move some serious air.

thafuzz - 2008-10-13 14:43

Question. Is there supposed to be something on the board (last pics) where the "Fuse 125 V" is? or where the two empty metal connectors go? Could that be the missing link?

kid.sensation - 2008-10-13 14:47

It may be possible that matsuki was the original producer as blasterpunk told me in a former chat that he found 2 Matsuki-branded wheelys in switzerland i think.

Interesting to see inside the beast!them woofers are huge

thanks for sharing

can't help with your question tough.

transamguy1977 - 2008-10-13 14:49

If that is a 220 v box your best bet is to go to radio shack and get yourself a 120 to 220 v converter.
Or a 15vdc laptop power supply with at least 70 watts output.

thafuzz - 2008-10-13 15:20

Thanks guys. Frank, I went to Radio Shack and bought 15V AC Adapter (Input: 100-240vac 50/60 Hz 0.6A) (Output: 15VDC 1000mA) The Wheely's back panel does have a "DC IN 15V" port where I've used Radio Shack's Adapter. Also, I have kept the voltage selector on 110. Sorry, I'm puzzeled and anxious to BOOM. Again, Thanks for the help.

blasterpunk - 2008-10-13 16:43

Hhhhhmmmmm, i have to take a look inside the MATSUKIES. JENS ? ? ?

ak74 - 2008-10-13 16:54

...lovely

eric - 2008-10-13 17:11

quote:
Originally posted by THAFUZZ:
Thanks guys. Frank, I went to Radio Shack and bought 15V AC Adapter (Input: 100-240vac 50/60 Hz 0.6A) (Output: 15VDC 1000mA) The Wheely's back panel does have a "DC IN 15V" port where I've used Radio Shack's Adapter. Also, I have kept the voltage selector on 110. Sorry, I'm puzzeled and anxious to BOOM. Again, Thanks for the help.

You will probably want to bump that current rating 1000ma up a little. 1000ma is 1 amp of current, I'm guessing at high volume your going to be using closer to 3 or 4 amps of current. Not to get to complex but if you take TA's figures 15 volts and 70 watts you will need a supply that can put out 4.6 amps or current. At low volume it (1000ma) will be ok, but when you crank her up it will distort without being fed enough current.

thafuzz - 2008-10-13 17:28

That's what it sounds like. I guess it draws more power than it's currently getting. I tried some very cheap batteries from the Dollar Store and I got it up to about 80% before it acted up. I suppose if I drop $20 on 10 premium brand Ds, it'd thump harder. I'm not too savvy about this amp/volt/Hz stuff - but I'm coming along

My local Radio Shack store said I could bring in the Wheely to test out their laptop adapters rated 70- 100 watts. That should be fun blasting it in their store

masterblaster84 - 2008-10-13 17:46

If you bring that Wheely to your Radio Shack your going to have everybodies attention.

I would love to be there to see the reactions, stares and comments.

transamguy1977 - 2008-10-13 20:45

Yup 70-100 watts will do nicely.
Mine didn't even work well with batteries (Duracell)
It sucked them dry within an hour of use.
you are definitely underpowered at 1000ma though.

charlesdickens - 2008-10-15 06:53

Wow Fuzz, I get so pumped every time you post up the wheely! Those tens look HUGE!

isolator42 - 2008-10-15 07:57

quote:
Originally posted by THAFUZZ:

This pic shows that the main capacitor on the AC input board is dead - the discolouration on the board around it give this away. That issue (& maybe others too) is why it doesn't work on AC.

The DC adaptor you got from Radio shack will definitely not be enough for that Helix. The BBDB pics show that there's no power consumption figure on the back of the Wheely 5000, but using the similarly sized Techsonic J1 as a guide, you should get a DC power supply capable of supplying at least 40 watts at 15 volts. That is, 15V at 2667mA, not the maximum 1000mA yours has. A good thing to get would be one of the universal laptop power supplies like this one:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1616*
which will happily supply the power that Wheely needs. Hammering your radio shack DC adaptor could be potentially dangerous, for the adaptor & the Helix.

* I have no idea whether batteryspace are any good as an online seller, but US$30 seems a decent deal for a power supply of that capacity.

Good luck & let us know your progress.
Its a shame that you can't yet blast a boombox like that to the max...

monolithic - 2008-10-15 15:48

quote:
Originally posted by MasterBlaster84:
If you bring that Wheely to your Radio Shack your going to have everybodies attention. I would love to be there to see the reactions, stares and comments.

Man, what I wouldn't give to see that!

I hope the store is kinda crowded 'cause when the eyes lock in on the biggest production boombox ever made,...

jaws WILL drop, my friend!

BTW, great pics!

I MUST have one of those, without question!

thafuzz - 2008-10-15 19:09

Wow! Thanks Iso, and everyone else too. This is a tremendous help. I will try and video when I take my Wheely in Radio Shack to test it out on their cash register's front counter.

I'll post a clip when I do just for the "Shock & Awa" looks.

bashngu - 2008-10-15 21:09

quote:
Originally posted by isolator42:
quote:
Originally posted by THAFUZZ:

This pic shows that the main capacitor on the AC input board is dead - the discolouration on the board around it give this away. That issue (& maybe others too) is why it doesn't work on AC.

I don't think that discoloration is cap leakage. I think it is epoxy used to hold the cap in place during wave soldering (not unusual). Usually caps of that size dont go bad (although it has happened). The missing fuse is just simply that. They decided to bypass adding a fuse (cost cutting) when they manufactured the unit. When using an external AC adaptor you are bypassing that entire board that you have pictured.

Now getting back to why it won't power up with the regular AC plug. This may seem too simple but always try the simple 1st. It's possible that the 110/220 switch is badly oxidized or perhaps even bad. Have you tried cleaning that switch before you tried anything else? If contact is not being made inside that switch, then NOTHING is going to happen when plugged directly into the wall. Hit that switch hard with DeOxit and work it back and forth for awhile. Then try it. And of course, check all the solder connections under that board. Start there and see what happens.

As far as the RS adapters go, yes, they will definately be under amped for this application. Isolater is correct in that you will need more than twice the current supplied by that radio shack adapter to power this unit as it should be.

isolator42 - 2008-10-16 08:01

quote:
Originally posted by bashngu:
...I don't think that discoloration is cap leakage. I think it is epoxy used to hold the cap in place during wave soldering (not unusual)...

oop - you might be right there...

moncheeto - 2008-10-16 08:24

quote:
Originally posted by bashngu:
quote:
Originally posted by isolator42:
quote:
Originally posted by THAFUZZ:

This pic shows that the main capacitor on the AC input board is dead - the discolouration on the board around it give this away. That issue (& maybe others too) is why it doesn't work on AC.

I don't think that discoloration is cap leakage. I think it is epoxy used to hold the cap in place during wave soldering (not unusual). Usually caps of that size dont go bad (although it has happened). The missing fuse is just simply that. They decided to bypass adding a fuse (cost cutting) when they manufactured the unit. When using an external AC adaptor you are bypassing that entire board that you have pictured.

Now getting back to why it won't power up with the regular AC plug. This may seem too simple but always try the simple 1st. It's possible that the 110/220 switch is badly oxidized or perhaps even bad. Have you tried cleaning that switch before you tried anything else? If contact is not being made inside that switch, then NOTHING is going to happen when plugged directly into the wall. Hit that switch hard with DeOxit and work it back and forth for awhile. Then try it. And of course, check all the solder connections under that board. Start there and see what happens.

As far as the RS adapters go, yes, they will definately be under amped for this application. Isolater is correct in that you will need more than twice the current supplied by that radio shack adapter to power this unit as it should be.

and at the same time could have a bad non working transformer or if it has a voltage selector make sure its on the right voltage some boxes will not work when plugged in on a 120v line when switched to 220v....