Sound system gizmo

So, this would be better on an AV forum or a repair forum -- if someone wants to direct me to, or crosspost this, to a _viable_ newsgroup, feel free.

The stage monitors at church are cutting out. You'll be up there singing along and suddenly you can't hear yourself. We know it's not the monitors themselves, because they'd all be cutting out at once. I'm suspecting it's not wiring, because there's no popping or scratching: things just go out of a sudden.

I'd like to put something at the output of the mixer board and at the input to the monitor amp (they're 25 feet apart, with in-floor cable between) that at least gives a sound/no-sound indication. I know perfectly well how to make something -- if I do it the hard part will be NOT making a color organ. I'm wondering, though, if there's something out there allready. Ideally I want something that will tap into an existing circuit that has XLR connectors on it, that gives a visual indication (like a flickering light) when there's sound on the circuit, and that can be seen from 25 feet away.

Any suggestions?

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Tim Wescott 
Wescott Design Services 
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Reply to
Tim Wescott
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monitors themselves, because they'd all be cutting out at once."

Incorrect conclusion.

Reply to
jurb6006

Can you get your hands on a cheapo rackmount compressor, somewhere?

They usually have XLR inputs and a bunch of bright LEDs on the front, often switchable to show input signal level only.

Reply to
bitrex

Me, I'd go with the light organ. It wouldn't even have to have separate lights for different frequency bands. Even a single 5mm LED would be visible from 25 ft. Elementary for someone like you.

Reply to
Pimpom

Is it a Mackie?

m
Reply to
makolber

A diagnosis without explanation is just white noise.

Expand.

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Tim Wescott 
Wescott Design Services 
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Tim Wescott

Den onsdag den 1. februar 2017 kl. 20.21.01 UTC+1 skrev Tim Wescott:

amplifier going into protecting mode from overheating/short etc. ?

Reply to
Lasse Langwadt Christensen

O scope?

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

A multimeter works for amplified signal. A mains plug with neon does for mains. For unamplified signal, ac coupled opamp + LED or meter.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Get rid of the band.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Reply to
pcdhobbs

Is the mixer by any chance a Mackie?

m
Reply to
makolber

You answered your own question when you mentioned "Color Organ". Get one of those cheap color organ kits, for one that flashes LEDs. Connect it to the SPKR output of the amplifier, or better yet, connect it directly to the wires at the speaker. Conceal it with a blanket or something so only select people can see the LEDs, and you will know whether there is audio going to the speaker.

Have you opened the speaker cabinets. You might have a loose wire on the crossover, or at the jack where you plug in the speaker cord. I used to run sound systems for living. (for bands). The most common problems were bad speaker and mic cords, or the jacks they plugged into. The jacks in speakers were notorious for problems. They get banged around, pulled, twisted, and jerked. (Particularly for bands, where the equipment is moved all the time). If I were you, I'd buy or make some new speaker cables, and try them, as well as checking inside the speaker cabinets. (Having a spare set of speaker cables is always a good thing to have on hand anyhow, and they are not real costly).

Reply to
boomer#6877250

I forgot to mention, if you want something at the " input to the monitor amp", just get an equalizer that has a LED bar graph on it. If you dont actually need the EQ, just set it FLAT. Used equalizers can be gotten pretty cheap on ebay or second hand stores.

Reply to
boomer#6877250

That's one of my working theories.

At this point I just want to know whether to point at the mixer, the amp, or the wires in between.

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Tim Wescott 
Wescott Design Services 
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Reply to
Tim Wescott

That has my vote, too. Protection circuitry, to prevent DC from damaging a speaker, can suffer from aging capacitors and do this. Usually, it's only a half dozen little small-signal components that need to be checked (or, while you're in there, replaced).

Reply to
whit3rd

Ebay. ~ $1.00, with free shipping:

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Or go to EBAY & search for "KA2284 Battery Indicator Power level indicator Pro Audio level indicator module"

Ed

Reply to
ehsjr

This listing comes up for me in Canadian currency. Does it show Canadian or US currency for you?

When I do searches on eBay I find items listed in US dollars, then when I click on them they show up in Canadian. I have to pay extra fees to pay Canadian listings, so I'd like them to not show in the search results, but I can't find a way to make that happen.

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Rick C
Reply to
rickman

Here's a cut & paste of what I see:

Price: C $1.26 Approximately US $0.97

As I recall the reason they give the approximate instead of exact US dollar figure has to do with the exchange rate.

Ed

Reply to
ehsjr

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