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New Astro city. New power supply and jamma harness

So over the weekend got round to running the cab for an hour. Just getting round to posting voltage findings.

Measured right at the knife edge just before the board I got.

Time/Volts
1:30 4.85~4.87v
1:36 4.96v
1:41 4.98v
1:46 4.99~5.0v
1:51 5.0v
2:03 5.0v~5.01
2:32 5.01v

So after the 1st 30 mins or so it kept steadily climbing until it hit the 5.01v then seemed to stay there for the next 30 mins. I didn't go for more than that hour. But seems to hold at that 5.01v.

Looks like once the caps are warmed up they settle down and don't increase the voltage, feels like I'm working with some old tube electronics..
 
Finally cut the wires on my speakers in the New Astro City, crimped connectors and installed a pair of these:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Aiy...ble-Mediant-Bass-Loudspeaker/32845138621.html

They weren't anywhere near as good as the stock speakers on the NAC. Where they excelled in high end treble to mid definition and clarity, they severly lacked in volume (about 60% of the original speakers) and any sort of thump, boom or bass (not that the original speakers have any of that, it's just that dull boom was missing)... it kind sounded like a Macbook's speakers.

Original speakers re-installed and the hunt continues!
 
That's a shame, not what you'd expect at that price point.
 
Check 1 page back, really satisfied with the LG ones here. The volume decrease is normal, the OG ones are damn loud hence the crackling and stuff.
 
djsheep said:
Finally cut the wires on my speakers in the New Astro City, crimped connectors and installed a pair of these:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Aiy...ble-Mediant-Bass-Loudspeaker/32845138621.html

They weren't anywhere near as good as the stock speakers on the NAC. Where they excelled in high end treble to mid definition and clarity, they severly lacked in volume (about 60% of the original speakers) and any sort of thump, boom or bass (not that the original speakers have any of that, it's just that dull boom was missing)... it kind sounded like a Macbook's speakers.

Original speakers re-installed and the hunt continues!
Click to expand...
Sucks to hear man, after how long you waited for them too.
 
Sp33dFr34k said:
Check 1 page back, really satisfied with the LG ones here. The volume decrease is normal, the OG ones are damn loud hence the crackling and stuff.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the recommendation. I think I'll stick to the original ones and eventually hook up an amp to some proper speakers.

Going to "clearer" and lower volume speakers, I realised part of the charm of playing on the cab (for me at least) is the shitty muffled bassy sound :)

@The Spaniard -- did you think about sending your PSU off to Jomac for a recap? It will fit in a big Australia Post satchel and he doesn't charge too much to do 'em and had mine back in 48 hours flat. My cab (that came from the same place as yours) was doing similar things until one day it just kept blowing fuses. Might be worth the dosh for the peace of mind.
 
Last edited:
djsheep said:
Finally cut the wires on my speakers in the New Astro City, crimped connectors and installed a pair of these:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Aiy...ble-Mediant-Bass-Loudspeaker/32845138621.html

They weren't anywhere near as good as the stock speakers on the NAC. Where they excelled in high end treble to mid definition and clarity, they severly lacked in volume (about 60% of the original speakers) and any sort of thump, boom or bass (not that the original speakers have any of that, it's just that dull boom was missing)... it kind sounded like a Macbook's speakers.

Original speakers re-installed and the hunt continues!
Click to expand...
Did you get the ones of the correct impedance for the NAC, I mean its not like you know anything about speakers or loud music :P not sure if they would of sounded any better with some better amplification but then 15W isn't much to write home about, a potato should be able to drive them
 
Hey @tiff_lee -- :) yep! they were 4ohm. I gotta check on the maximum wattage on the original though because I just noticed these are 15watt speakers I ordered and from memory the ones in the cab are 30watt. I also made sure the +/- was the right way around... was worth it all in the end because now I have the cheapest crimping too from JayCar!
 
djsheep said:
@The Spaniard -- did you think about sending your PSU off to Jomac for a recap? It will fit in a big Australia Post satchel and he doesn't charge too much to do 'em and had mine back in 48 hours flat. My cab (that came from the same place as yours) was doing similar things until one day it just kept blowing fuses. Might be worth the dosh for the peace of mind.
Click to expand...
No I haven't actually. So yours had the exact same symptoms of climbing voltage and then it stabilised?

I sat there for an hour measuring the voltages and the seem to settle and stop climbing after an hour.
The Spaniard said:
So over the weekend got round to running the cab for an hour. Just getting round to posting voltage findings.

Measured right at the knife edge just before the board I got.

Time/Volts
1:30 4.85~4.87v
1:36 4.96v
1:41 4.98v
1:46 4.99~5.0v
1:51 5.0v
2:03 5.0v~5.01
2:32 5.01v

So after the 1st 30 mins or so it kept steadily climbing until it hit the 5.01v then seemed to stay there for the next 30 mins. I didn't go for more than that hour. But seems to hold at that 5.01v.

Looks like once the caps are warmed up they settle down and don't increase the voltage, feels like I'm working with some old tube electronics..
Click to expand...
I'll probably hold off on that for now and if I get any blown fuses and stuff I'll guess I will send it off.
 
I didn’t have a multimeter or voltmeter at the time but it was acting all screwy with games and glitching out...
 
I am pretty content with the stock NAC speakers for the time being. Sure, they sound muddy, but they're not all that bad. The regular Astro on the other hand sounds like the internal speaker on my Amstrad XT computer back in 1988 -- absolute and utter shite.

For the Aussie's out there, I've found a pretty decent replacement from Jaycar, they're cheap and they have a decent amount of bite and boom to 'em. Best of all, there's no gamble, waiting or tax from Aliexpress. The speakers are shielded which is a plus, but they don't fit the original screw holes, so you just have to use a singular screw to hold them in. They sit very firmly in there using one screw, so it's no real bother.

The site lists them at 15w, but they're actually 30w. The generic Jaycar brand name is "Response". Hope this helps someone. I'll try them in the New Astro City sometime, even though they're 8ohm, it shouldn't be a big issue I don't think.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/shielded-3-inch-15w-8-ohm-full-range-speaker/p/AS3034

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Thanks for the speaker tip, been wanting to change the stock ones in my Astro for ages now.

I save $4 on my trade account too lol. Are they worth the price, as far as dollar to performance ratio is concerned? Drastic improvement over stock speakers?
 
Frank_fjs said:
Thanks for the speaker tip, been wanting to change the stock ones in my Astro for ages now.

I save $4 on my trade account too lol. Are they worth the price, as far as dollar to performance ratio is concerned? Drastic improvement over stock speakers?
Click to expand...
Definitely worth the $40 for sure -- now my cab sounds like a decent set of Logitech powered PC speakers whereas before it was like a iPhone speaker being played in a tin can. Do the upgrade and then get yourself some nice Sega branded paperweights.

Also, Jaycar offer a 7-day refund if you're not satisified, so there's that peace of mind if my ears have gone to shit. Let me know how you go Frank...
 
Will do. Audio plays a big part for me. Sometimes I feel people neglect audio as they put so much energy into the monitor.
 
from fiddling with ignition locks from motorcycles I know that the small pins are spring loaded and are of different length depending on how the key is cut.
Once they are all in the correct position and the key is inserted they would have to sit flush with the barrel.
Then you should be able to insert the barrel into the outer housing
 
PascalP said:
from fiddling with ignition locks from motorcycles I know that the small pins are spring loaded and are of different length depending on how the key is cut.
Once they are all in the correct position and the key is inserted they would have to sit flush with the barrel.
Then you should be able to insert the barrel into the outer housing
Click to expand...
Woops, accidently moved my post to trash while editing! Thanks for that Pascal, I'm going to try again now, it's just the pin in the middle and at the top are stubborn... I nearly did have it back together then it exploded on me... bloody locks!
 
Sp33dFr34k said:
tiff_lee said:
PascalP said:
'from fiddling with ignition locks from motorcycles'
Click to expand...
Yeah righto mate, so that's how you manage to afford your retro gear eh, have many bikes do ya?..... :P
Click to expand...
He worked at a dealer :) Afaik he only has 1, but a very nice one though :)
Click to expand...
This :thumbsup:

Spend 8 years at a dealership, and when folks come in with a non working lock, broken off key or whatever, it might be worth to take it apart instead of selling them a new lock set 8)
 
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