Rotate your Altec Woofer every 10,000 songs - lesson learned..

[Storm]

Good Morning,

I was very bored last night, so I took out the power drill and rotated the woofers in my Altec 846Us.

One lesson learned: that sticky goop is strong! I was taking off the woofer on the second speaker board and it was stuck. I gently wiggled it back and forth and it finally came off.

But, when I took it off, a big blob of goof ran down my fingers. I tried to get it off by just moving it around on my finger, but the stuck would not come off.

When I rotated the woofers, I annotated the woofer rotation on the back of the board that the speaker is mounted. This way, I know when the last time I rotated the woofers.

I was just kidding about the 10,000 songs - but does anyone really know what the appropriate time should be to rotate the woofers?

The blob is indicated in the picture below. The 2 outer accordians are stuck together. Is this bad? Should I try and fix it, or leave it alone?

What is that glob stuff made out of? It is yucky!

;)

Thank you for letting me share my evening.

Back to the show...

And, don't forget to rotate those woofers, every 10,000 songs.

:p

-Storm

[intotubes]

If you warm the goop with a hair dryer, you can gently remove the excess with a toothpick or q-tip. I would try and remove some of it in that location.

[ARRAY]

Thats' damping compound for ya!

[grumpy]

If you're after opinions, I'd leave it. You're likely to do more damage than good. -grumpy

[Zilch]

I'm with grumpy.

Leave it alone.

Gravity will redistribute it, assuming it's 180° you rotated.

You want the total quantity of goop to remain constant.

[As long as it ain't propogating, at least.... :D ]

[Nightbrace]

You only need one song to tell you what to do with the woofers,

"Let it Be"

[Rolf]

Think about it. From the "top" to the bottom, in a circle, over time the bottom must be the heaviest. Turning the woofer from time to time should have a positive effect. ???

[grumpy]

Think about it. From the "top" to the bottom, in a circle, over time the bottom must be the heaviest. Turning the woofer from time to time should have a positive effect. ???

yeah... I meant, leave the goo. Turn 'em as often as you like. -grumpy

[Rolf]

yeah... I meant, leave the goo. Turn 'em as often as you like. -grumpy

In Norwegian: Hæææ???

[Steve Schell]

I agree with intotubes on the technique of removal. The stuff really softens up when it gets warm.

This condition happens a lot with these Altec drivers, and it should be attended to. I once had a pair of Malibus, and all or nearly all of the cones had torn on the 414Z drivers adjacent to the big lump of goo.

[grumpy]

:) I humbly defer to Steve, intotubes, Rolf, and anyone else with direct
experience in their the recommendation to remove excess migrated
damping compound. I'm content to rotate my goo as needed. -grumpy

[spwal]

Hi,

Is it imperative to rotate the model 19 woofers. Mine are glued very solidly in place. we were trying to take them out to lighten the load of moving them, but couldnt punch them out from the back.

If i were a gambling man, i would say they havent been touched in the last 5 years, and who know howlong or if ever before.

Are their tell-tale signs that something is wrong?

Just curious. I would say these drivers look as new as the day they left the factory.

[jblwolf]

What this compound is made of,I have a few ALTEC drivers that have this type of compound that has run off(to the bottom of cabinets:banghead: ) over time to the point where there is very little left on the surrounds.and can this compound still be bought or is it time to recone the drivers?

[SEAWOLF97]

If you warm the goop with a hair dryer, you can gently remove the excess with a toothpick or q-tip. I would try and remove some of it in that location.

anything that affects balance or impeads the accordian cannot be good for it. Is the problem just one driver or both ?

[ARRAY]

What this compound is made of,I have a few ALTEC drivers that have this type of compound that has run off(to the bottom of cabinets:banghead: ) over time to the point where there is very little left on the surrounds.and can this compound still be bought or is it time to recone the drivers?

I wouldn't be too concerned about lack of compound on the cloth, just as long as it creates an airseal. I assume your Altecs are ported cabs, which is less of a worry than sealed in this situation (less back pressure). Nothing more than a thin re-coat is all that's required for your woofers. I offer 20oz cans of compound, the real stuff, for pickup only at the moment (because it is solvent based and really difficult to ship - currently working on a solution for shipment). If you know anyone travelling through Winnipeg who wants to pickup for you then drop me a line.

[Storm]

Thank you for all of your advice.

The goop problem is only on one woofer.

So, should I bother to get a hair dryer and remove the excess goop? If I don't, will it ruin the woofer and the driver?

Let me know before I do it.

Thanks.

-Storm.

GO BEARS!

:p

[John]

I wouldn't be too concerned about lack of compound on the cloth, just as long as it creates an airseal. I assume your Altecs are ported cabs, which is less of a worry than sealed in this situation (less back pressure). Nothing more than a thin re-coat is all that's required for your woofers. I offer 20oz cans of compound, the real stuff, for pickup only at the moment (because it is solvent based and really difficult to ship - currently working on a solution for shipment). If you know anyone travelling through Winnipeg who wants to pickup for you then drop me a line.


I have the product as well but it is brushed on, just like altec did it. The only purpose of this material is to air seal the surround and acoustic damping.

[jblwolf]

I wouldn't be too concerned about lack of compound on the cloth, just as long as it creates an airseal. I assume your Altecs are ported cabs, which is less of a worry than sealed in this situation (less back pressure). Nothing more than a thin re-coat is all that's required for your woofers. I offer 20oz cans of compound, the real stuff, for pickup only at the moment (because it is solvent based and really difficult to ship - currently working on a solution for shipment). If you know anyone travelling through Winnipeg who wants to pickup for you then drop me a line.

ARRAY,The cabs are ported but the surrounds have lost about 90% of the compound,I havent played them in many years because of that.Im sorry to hear that you dont ship to the US,is there any places in the US that sell this compound?and what is this compound made of?

[Zilch]

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=5158

[John]

ARRAY,The cabs are ported but the surrounds have lost about 90% of the compound,I havent played them in many years because of that.Im sorry to hear that you dont ship to the US,is there any places in the US that sell this compound?and what is this compound made of?

Where are you located in Mich?

[jblwolf]

[quote=John;147785]I have the product as well but it is brushed on, just like altec did it. The only purpose of this material is to air seal the surround and acoustic damping.[/quote

After I posted I saw John's(also from "up north")Message but the compound he has is brush on,I'm guessing this compound comes both in spray and brush on?
at the factory did they spray it on,seems like it would be too thick to spray on,the compound that came off my surrounds was yellow/clear and looked like some type of tree sap!!
WHAT IS THIS STUFF:biting: :banghead:

Sorry no pics but it sound like a great Spring project.

[ARRAY]

ARRAY,The cabs are ported but the surrounds have lost about 90% of the compound,I havent played them in many years because of that.Im sorry to hear that you dont ship to the US,is there any places in the US that sell this compound?and what is this compound made of?

Hi there, it couldn't hurt to hit the cone edge with a thin layer of compound. It's highly unlikely they put a measured amount on there (too time consuming per driver) and I doubt even matched pairs have identical compound presence. A little more or less on one or the other driver will be inaudible. I am really sorry to hear you haven't enjoyed your speakers for years because of a lack of edge compound. But you know, although I am not there to see them I think it'd be safe to play them. Feel the suspension, does it feel tacky still? If so, play em. That compound will be impregnated into the fabric even if a bunch has run off. Keep in mind the fabric is glued to the basket and cone before the compound gets applied. It is tenacious stuff, an oil based polymer. Perhaps heritage member John could help you out. He is a trucker (I beleive) and maybe while making a stateside run through your neck of the woods you could meet him on route. Although I haven't spoken with him about it, he lives in town here and if you wanted to pay him courier charges I could send a can down with him. You could divide up the can with your friends on that end afterwards to make the economics work.

[KCCT82]

Sorry this is not a lansing product but I don't really go to other forums so I'd ask here...:o:

Does anyone know if my Tannoys (SRM 15) are experiencing the same problem? It's not soft like the guys mentioned above. Thanks

[Robh3606]

That looks like a repair of some kind?? Maybe there was a small tear in the surround at the the frame??

Rob:)

[robertbartsch]

Since only one woofer is "dripping" I wonder if there was an outside force, like a home heating vent, or sunlight from a nearby window that caused the glue to soften and melt over time?

I've owned a few Altec woofers with the black shinney glue on the surrounds but none have ever melted like this.

[KCCT82]

Robh3606- thanks for the reply, i'm not sure, but I don't think so... :banghead:

robertbartsch- hi, actually the previous owner said the weather got really hot one summer and that's when it happened. I was a noob when I bought them, didn't pay much attention to these things... :banghead::banghead::banghead: I guess all I can do is either heat it up and remove or have a professional put in new surrounds.