| Author | Message | ||
     John Minutaglio (Jsm610) Senior Member Username: Jsm610 Post Number: 168 Registered: 04-2004 Posted From: 66.135.163.170 |
Here are some bulb pictures John:      | ||
| John Minutaglio (Jsm610) Senior Member Username: Jsm610 Post Number: 169 Registered: 04-2004 Posted From: 66.135.163.170 |
Some more questions/requests: - Does anyone have a schematic for the guitar or the transformer? How do the pin-outs map to power? - Is the power-cable a 'standard' MIDI plug? - Would someone take a picture of their transformer and post it here? - Now I get 'bright' lights for about 5 minutes, then 'dim' lights and the transformer box hums. The hum only sounds when the lights should be on (in sync with your playing). Does anyone know if this is a sign of a transformer issue? It seems like if I cut power to the transformer for a couple of minutes and then turn it on again I get bright lights again... - I seem to no longer get the blue lights to illuminate at all, but they worked yesterday... - I looked at Radio Shack for a surface mount transformer, but they didn't have the right specs - anyone know a good place with a good selection of transformers?  Where's the 331-doctor when you need him most... | ||
| Howard Bishop (Ozover50) Senior Member Username: Ozover50 Post Number: 788 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 211.27.100.65 |
On the golf course, of course!! | ||
| paul wilczynski (Jingle_jangle) Senior Member Username: Jingle_jangle Post Number: 1991 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 24.23.164.148 |
Those are car bulbs. There are a number of online sources for transformers. Let your fingers do the googling. | ||
| Graham Griffiths (8mileshigh) Senior Member Username: 8mileshigh Post Number: 270 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 82.163.138.230 |
Craig Brody has transformers.............Reproductions of transformer boxes for Rickenbacker 331 "Lightshow" guitars are available by special order. Please e-mail or call for more details...$650. I think JH mentioned in the past, that these were a bit expensive for what they are? | ||
| John Minutaglio (Jsm610) Senior Member Username: Jsm610 Post Number: 170 Registered: 04-2004 Posted From: 66.135.163.170 |
I saw that Craig sells them. I'm thinking a new transformer is around $30... So $650 sounds steep. Plus I'm not even sure that the transformer is the problem. The guitar worked fine last nite for about 40 minutes... It was getting hot so I stopped playing... More troubleshooting to come. There must be someone who has worked on these or has had someone work on one? | ||
| Peter McCormack (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 3532 Registered: 04-2003 Posted From: 142.166.105.220 |
John: Are the lights always on while playing? As you are making a bit of a modification to the electrics of this guitar, why not put in a switch (push/pull) that will turn the light circuit on or off. This guitar is cool looking, lights or not. | ||
| John Minutaglio (Jsm610) Senior Member Username: Jsm610 Post Number: 171 Registered: 04-2004 Posted From: 66.135.163.170 |
Peter: The lights can be on or off. The 'extra knob', when turned all the way 'off' cuts the lights. I haven't figured out if it also cuts the heat... More playing needed! I had thought the heat was from the bulbs, but it comes from a metal 'thing' that is under the pickups, you can feel it through the back... This would be a good guitar for a winter show.  My new theory is that the guitar works fine if the transformer 'warms up' for say 10-15 minutes. Does this make any sense? Do transformers 'warm up'? | ||
| paul wilczynski (Jingle_jangle) Senior Member Username: Jingle_jangle Post Number: 1992 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 63.193.9.8 |
Transformers do indeed warm up, but this should not affect performance in any noticeable way, either positively or negatively. There is not a lot to go wrong with a transformer unless it is subjected to overloads. Overheating will destroy the lacquer or epoxy coating on the winding wire and cause a short, which can be intermittent but not too often is. We don't know if this Archer transformer is even the correct replacement. I'd start there. BTW, I heated up pretty well when I saw that $650.00 price tag. This is not rocket science. Seems to be a case of "what the traffic will bear". Perhaps Craig can comment on this if he reads this. | ||
| Peter McCormack (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 3533 Registered: 04-2003 Posted From: 142.166.105.220 |
Well you know what they say Paul, "Transformers, more than meets the eye." |
