noise all over the place.

[najo49]

I have alot of bottlehead gear but this is the worst . Both of the whispers make noise and sometimes do not work all together. Its has a noise like a tube in one channel but I have changed tubes I have many to no avail. This is an extended foreplay. My guess is I need new volume pots, and wade into the thing , all voltages seem normal. I am guessing its a mje 350 or 2907 but taking those off the board is difficult to say the least. Any thoughts? Jan O.

[Paul Birkeland]

Start by checking the voltages against the manual.  Checking the I and O pads of each PC board will tell you that everything is operational electrically (I on the center board should be 175+ V, O should be 150V, I on the outside boards on one side should be 150, I on the other 0V, both O pads on the outside boards should be between 55 and 70V.

-PB

(If all the voltages seem OK, you may just have worn switch contacts)

[najo49]

paul, sorry I was not more clear.  All the voltages are correct.  And I have replaced the whisper pots once already. So what would be the options here ,a 100k pair of  p ots of my choice. Or what does bottlehead offer that would not wear out so quickly. After a yr,that is. Since I just got my lowthers i find I might not need or want a pre amp. But I have 12ft interconnects to my amps. that is not ideal, I know. And I just opted for a new Eros phono pre amp,so I can not afford the Bee pre. Which would be my choice ,money not considered. I guess I will search the ne for a stepped attenuators ,there are some cheap one from china. Let me know what you think. Jan

[Paul Birkeland]

Hello Jan,

You can use a single 100K stereo pot to replace both controls (the one Foreplay III that I have around is wired like this).

You can also use our Submissive stepped attenuator kit with the Extended Foreplay III.  The switch quality in this kit is out of this world. 

You could also retain the input padding resistors and go with a pair of 25K mono pots, but from my experience, level matching is a little bit of a pain in the butt.

You could also roll the dice and look for a pair of 15K-25K mono stepped attenuators. 

I do feel your pain with the original rotary switches, there were far fewer available choices when they were selected.

-PB

[Natural Sound]

For what its worth I replaced the whispers and selector switch on my FPIII a couple of years ago. Prior to that I was having problems with noise like you describe. I went with Goldpoint. They aren

[najo49]

Thanks to both of you. But i did discover my boards are not right either. Here is the deal, all lights except the one on the TOP of the left hand board. as you look at the bottom from the front the top pair is out .. Here are the voltages.all DC
1. 67 V.
2. 73V
7.212

9. 207 V
10. 202 V
12. 150 V
15.150 V
21. 150 V
22. 67 V
31. 67 V
32. 150 V
35 35 mV  . So I need to fix this before I fix the pots. Thanks for the input on that both of you. What do you get from the voltages Paul?

[Paul Birkeland]

Hello Jan,

Can you measure the "I", "O" and "G" pads on each board?

Some of the numbers in your last post look like what they are supposed to be, can you highlight which ones are off?  (In specific, you have voltages for terminals 1-10, which are power supply strips?

-PB

[najo49]

Thanks Paul, I have now fixed the LEDs that were out and all my voltages are spot on. So now I will replace the pots in one of the ways you suggest. I think now with new volume pots I will be happy with the fp 3 extended!Thank you for all the suggestions you made and were posted. Bottlehead forum is with out equal!!Jan Olsen