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Old February 27th, 2008, 08:12 AM   #1
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Help - Whatīs wrong with my FP24?

I got my first mixer off of ebay but there seems to be something wrong with it. It`s a Shure FP24 which to my knowledge is identical to the Sound Devices Mixpre and besides the fact that it shows some signs of use and seem to have been dropped, there are two things that are strange:
1. When I first put fresh batteries in, it didn`t turn on. I unscrewed the battery cap and put it back on - and everything worked fine. But then after I hadn`t used it for an hour or so the same thing happened again. It did turn on only after I opend the battery compartment and closed it again. Same thing this morning... Does anybody have any idea what could be wrong?
2. The headphone out seem very hissy - is that normal?
I have to decide if I keep it or send it back. So quick help would really be appreciated.
Thanks,
Matthias
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Old February 27th, 2008, 11:16 AM   #2
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About #1, it is not uncommon for someone to chuck their battery powered device in the closet for a few months, sometimes with batteries in it. This of course can lead to battery leakage in the batt compartment.

Get some good light and a pair of reading glasses if you need them, and closely inspect both the terminals in the battery compartment and cap. If you see anything other than shiney metal, some cleaning might fix you up fast.

A q-tip slightly damp with water is one good approach to cleaning out any goo, which typically looks like whitish/greenish crystal deposits. Be very sparing with the water, you don't want it running out of the compartment into other areas of the mixer! Just clean out all the crud. And don't get it in your eyes!

Then, get a pencil with a good eraser on the end, and use that to burnish the terminals, removing all corrosion down to bare metal.

Another occasional problem is that the terminals or springs don't maintain good contact - careful work with a dental pick can solve this, or break the terminals off, in which case you need repair.

All the above not specific to the FP24, but any battery powered device.

I've never had my hands on an FP24 or MixPre, so I can't comment on the headphone amp.
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Old February 27th, 2008, 11:23 AM   #3
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The Shure headphone amps are known to be noisy.
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Old February 27th, 2008, 07:12 PM   #4
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Thanks, cleaning the contacts is kind of tough due to the design but I tried and it seems to help. Good to know about the headphone amp too. Itīs not a big deal for me anyway, I just wanted to know.
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Old February 28th, 2008, 07:23 AM   #5
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Sound Devices and Shure both have excellent track records with service. I'd send the MixPre in for a little vacation asap to make sure it was in top shape.

BTW, I think there are a few design differences between the two.

Thanks for the cautionary tale about buying used gear on the Internet.

Regards,

Ty Ford
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Old February 28th, 2008, 08:52 AM   #6
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Ty, ebay is always a risk, but as long as the inital price is right it might be worth a repair. From their website I take that Shure is still serviceing their mixers, Iīll just give them a call as soon as I have a minute.
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Old February 28th, 2008, 09:52 AM   #7
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I don't think you should use rechargeables in that mixer. Go with new alkalines.
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