4410 052ti Tweeter Diaphragm Advice

[zixxv6]

Hello all I am a new member posting for the first time but have viewed many times and I really appreciate the knowledge base this forum provides. I need some advice on replacing the 052ti tweeter diaphragms in a pair of 4410A's I recently acquired.

It appears that both tweeters are dead as when testing with my multimeter for continuity I get no reading. Upon further inspection of one of the tweeters I can see where the fine copper wire surrounding the voice coil (?) has a break in it. I briefly attempted to re solder but I quickly realized why I am not surgeon and ordered up a pair of 052ti replacement diaphragms from OCS which arrived today. I have a couple of questions before I dive into swap these out, as I want to do this right the first time.

In the box is the warning that states that this service should be done only by an authotized JBL service technician and that centering of the voice coil requires special training and specific test equipment, etc. That said I have read that the 035 diaghragms which seem very similar to the 052's have centering pegs that help with the centering of the voice coil which I hope will allow me to be successful with this as a DIY.

Could I get some tips on how a pretty mechanical guy (thats me :) ) who hasn't done diaphragms before may increase his prospects for success in this project and any specific tricks I should be aware of?

Do I need to be able to run test tones through the tweeter during the final tightening done of the carrier frame as part of the centering process or do the pins provide adequate centering? How tight do you tighten it down?

Also do I need to move back the signal chain to determine what caused the tweeters to fail so I don't potential cook another new replacement or since I see the broken wire in the coil assume these have just given up after their previous owners neglect caught up with him?

Thanks in advance for any advice or direction to another thread with my answers that may have proceeded in response to the same questions (didn't find any when I searched but?)

[grumpy]

Hey zixxv6... no play-by-play for you but my initial reaction is to wonder why you
didn't just send the units in to OCS (or wherever) to have them done for you? IIRC,
it's not that much more than the diaphragm cost (may have changed).

May go well for you, perhaps not so well, but you'll know how they go together when
you're done. Worst case, you get a lesson in having the proper info and training
and get to pay someone to fix your mistake. You'll probably do fine if you're careful
and not hasty.

Having already made the financial commitment:
make sure the gaps are -clean- and locate the positions of coil/vs gap
and pins/vs holes or tabs, then place it down carefully (no rotation)... if it's not fitting
well, don't force it... find out why.

Test tones are good... there's probably a range and voltage spec for doing this
with the specific tweeter, probably on JBL's website... here (with crossover in place,
a 2V sweep from 550Hz-20kHz)

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/Studio%20Monitor%20Series/4410ALR.pdf

No need to crank down on the screws.

...sure, check out the crossover... with blown tweets, there's a fair chance the
speakers were abused, at least a little.

[johnaec]

Contrary to most service center wishes, there is no need to have them mount the 052 diaphragms, unless you're unsure of your personal skills, plus, they probably wouldn't change too much. They are definitely self-centering - I've done several myself.

I think the warning is aimed nore at people that would dent or bend parts, like the voice coil or dome, etc., but the voice coil is definitely self-centering.

John

[grumpy]

Cool. I've done other models (successfully :)), but I'd still advise my
favorite (and only) brother to send his in ... we have skills in different areas ;)

[zixxv6]

Grumpy - Johnaec...

Thank you both for the feedback and additional information. Sounds like these should be doable and the info provided helps confirm.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thanks again