Yamaha Stagepas 300 failure mode

Just as well I'm not paying Yamaha 50 squid a pop for these blown amps. Repaired one end of 2011 , it bounced back. It is due to the short stub lead between amp and its immediate speaker, the elbow connectors. No name elbows on lead marked UPOFC Classic Pro Loudspeaker Cable. Took a bit of grinding to cut the top off the elbow, quite thick monkey metal. The ground connection out to the cable solder point is like a solder tag but with a 2mm x 1mm x tag thickness lug opposite the solder extension ,that locates into the moulded plastic insulator. The tag is not spot welded/bolted to the elbow metal so any twisting of the cable is transfered to the tag and the ring part can twist and touch the conductor stem to the tip, as the cylinder insulation along this stem does not extend into this solder tag, or perhaps as only touching ground contact, then localised heating and the cylinder insulation melting back a bit. I've not explored that far in, the top moulded insulation plastic does not look melted. These elbows have a vague brassy/coppery tinge of plating or something just on the tips , the main elbow body is Hex in plan and between it and the stem is what looks like a hank bush swage-form.

Reply to
N_Cook
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Several people have reported that their problems began when they started using speaker cables other than those supplied with the units which sadly are just not quite long enough.

Ron

Reply to
Ron

The thing is, Yamahas user manual specifically warns against using speaker cables other than those supplied with the units, so they are covered.

e.g.

11 Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

and:

To avoid any possible malfunction, use only the speaker cables included with the device

Cheers,

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

a

but

,that

this

explored

sadly

with

The owner dropped in the outlier speaker and long cable and specifically said it came with the amp, new. That has the cable sheathing pulling out of the strain relief mouldings to both of the jacks. I'm waiting on the owner getting back to me about the origins of the short lead

Reply to
N_Cook

Another identifier , perhaps, for these shoddy elbow jacks, the "hank shank" section has 32 "teeth" around it

Reply to
N_Cook

a

but

,that

this

explored

sadly

with

The foot long lead is not original Yamaha. The general warning applies about these non-moulded , ie user applicable solder-on tags with screw-on knurled barrel over the cable entry. The soldering and choice of cable was fine, it is a bad design of connector

Reply to
N_Cook

So not really a Yamaha Stagepass 300 failure mode as the thread title states then.

Cheers,

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

to

localised

melted.

something

states

It seems its a fault of Yamaha supplying 2 "long" leads only. Or this owner from new received only 2 "long" leads and no foot long lead. He got a shop to make up a foot long lead, and a long-long lead, nothing wrong with the job they did, unknowingly bad choice of elbows . Both long leads are not long enough for normal purposes if used as amp and 2 separated speakers. Does Y expect people to coil up the long lead and drape it around the "powered speaker" unit clamp or something? This Stagepas is only used as a "powered speaker" and an outlier speaker with a longer lead than Y supplied.

If Y supplied 3 appropriate leads all with moulded-on connectors then these faults (including the other pitfall of metal elbows and the grounded handle and the antiphase "left" channel o/p) would not emerge

Reply to
N_Cook

Well it sounds to me that the "shop" actually made a BAD and ignorant choice in the components they used, which ultimately cost the customer a lot of money.

Doesn't sound like a good job to me at all. Particularly as they no doubt charged him for the priveledge.

Cheers,

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

shop

the

choice

with seventh sense of hindsight

Reply to
N_Cook

I would have to disagree. I have done a lot of professional wiring in my time, and if you absolutely HAVE to use jacks for a speaker connection (a terrible choice for all sorts of reasons) then you make sure the two connectors cannot ever touch each other, either by using a proper jack plug (Neutrik) or by sleeving the soldered terminals in such a way that they will always insulate against the kind of problems you describe.

The shop it seems chose a crap jack plug and did not sleeve it, and charged the customer for this terrible piece of work, which cost him a lot of money.

I wouldn't be best pleased.

Cheers,

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

of

sorts

the

charged

money.

The first time this amp turned up with a blown amp modulle, that was probably due to non sleeved connector for the "L" channel, I agree there. I sleeved the elbow and added spiral wrap to the handle to avoid that happening again. The next time would be due to bad design of elbow, internal shorting. These look robust jacks from the outside. More robust than those usual right angle jacks on 100 or 150W combos , very low profile ones. They can hardly handle 100W from the number of times I've noticed them warming from compression of the insulation under the rivet-type central connector , if not so loose it is intermittant contact. Any other makes other than Neutrik proven reliable for 150W upwards?

Reply to
N_Cook

IMHO you should not be using jacks for anything over 150W. Far too Mickey Mouse, and not designed for that purpose.

I will not use anything other than Neutriks for speaker cables - the cable grip system is as imporant as the robustness of the jack itself, and Neutriks (both jacks and XLR's) do not EVER break if wired correctly in the first place.

Which is kind of what you need really, in a live situation, as failiure of speaker cables in particular can destroy your amps as well as your reputation.

Cheers,

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

the

I have one of the original Yamaha 5m speaker leads here. Although moulded on, I doubt the sleeve was really held even when new. Now ,although not pulled out of the perforated relief part , you can see the white and red conductor wires through the perforations , both connector ends, certainly no sleeve anchoring now.

Reply to
N_Cook

nk"

A couple of photos would really have helped to understand the problem!!!!!!

Reply to
hrhofmann

shank"

A couple of photos would really have helped to understand the problem!!!!!!

++++++++

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Ground off top section is under D Tip of D is ground off from the weld point to the left of B A is the small projection that should locate in end of the white plastic at B G locates over small nib of that plastic on the other side F insulator , still in the stem is not long enough at the other end, for to stop D touching C E is the "hank shank" form Although the cable is anchored firmly at the crimp forks, the "solder tag" can easily twist if the wires inside the sleeving twist, or looking at it again , nothing much stopping the tag shifting axially if the whole cable is tugged . Pulling on the cable dit not ellicit any problem , twisting of the cable did though

Reply to
N_Cook

My Yamaha leads are both the same length and have straight jacks. I have h ad the cut-out problem (like so many others) and can't remember what leads I was using but ANY other leads I have are high quality ones. The problem seems to be down to the limiter deciding when things are too loud. What is bizarre, though, is that I have had individual channel and master volume l evels set to about 10 o'colock (40% - well below the "peak" mark outside th e knob) and have seen the red light flash with only two vocals going throug h the unit. Surely there is someone out there who could work out how to di sable this silly limiter?

Reply to
petermillar52

My Yamaha leads are both the same length and have straight jacks. I have had the cut-out problem (like so many others) and can't remember what leads I was using but ANY other leads I have are high quality ones. The problem seems to be down to the limiter deciding when things are too loud. What is bizarre, though, is that I have had individual channel and master volume levels set to about 10 o'colock (40% - well below the "peak" mark outside the knob) and have seen the red light flash with only two vocals going through the unit. Surely there is someone out there who could work out how to disable this silly limiter?

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

My Yamaha leads are both the same length and have straight jacks. I have had the cut-out problem (like so many others) and can't remember what leads I was using but ANY other leads I have are high quality ones. The problem seems to be down to the limiter deciding when things are too loud. What is bizarre, though, is that I have had individual channel and master volume levels set to about 10 o'colock (40% - well below the "peak" mark outside the knob) and have seen the red light flash with only two vocals going through the unit. Surely there is someone out there who could work out how to disable this silly limiter?

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

My Yamaha leads are both the same length and have straight jacks. I have had the cut-out problem (like so many others) and can't remember what leads I was using but ANY other leads I have are high quality ones. The problem seems to be down to the limiter deciding when things are too loud. What is bizarre, though, is that I have had individual channel and master volume levels set to about 10 o'colock (40% - well below the "peak" mark outside the knob) and have seen the red light flash with only two vocals going through the unit. Surely there is someone out there who could work out how to disable this silly limiter?

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

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