W.T.B. Function or nonfunctional drivers for Pioneer hpm 200 drivers
- Thread starter HPM 200
- Start date
Got all the drivers working
OK for those that care... I'm going to keep and restore these speakers. I decided this after I was able to get all 4 tweeters functional again. Had to remove the screens and clean quite a bit of oxidation off of the aluminum foil contacts. I also had to add about a 1" wide strip of aluminum foil that was folded up into the "wings" that hold the mylar film tight. Overall I was kinda shocked at the simple construction of these tweeters. There really aren't any moving parts, just a film that is stretched over a foam pad.
The midrange was the hardest fix though. Thought I'd share my method here for anyone needing a fix and not scared of some moderately high risk DIY. It had broken leads on the front. These wires come off the voice coil, pass through the dome, exposed loops on the front, and then back under the bezel to the wire terminals. I tried soldering the broken loops about 20x with no luck. Here is what worked:
I pulled the bezel/dome/voice coil off of the magnet assembly by undoing the center screws. I then threaded an uncoated copper wire strand into a sewing needle (pulled from a 8" piece of speaker wire). Poked it through the backside of the dome near the original and left a small loop before returning it back through the outer edge of the surround and then under the bezel over to the terminal. I soldered it to the voice coil where the original wire "ramps" away from the main coil turns and up the former. I had to scrape away varnish and glue very carefully to expose some bare copper wire to solder. I overlapped the new wire with the ramp portion by about 1/4" and hit it very quickly with the solder iron. You need a solid solder connection but can't have much excess solder blobs because it may get suck in the voice coil gap if it's too high profile. It all has to lay very flat against the former. Repeated this for the other side. All that was left was to insulate the wire running between the bezel and motor. The bezel side had a somewhat thick layer of sticky black damping goo so I buried it in this and added a thin strip of tape for added measure. I also added a tiny pad of black glue with a toothpick to the entry and exit holes through the fabric dome (just like the original holes).
Fired it up and it sounds just like the working one from the other side! Got new crossover capacitors coming in the mail soon and have also refoamed two of the four woofers, but these things are already sounding really nice as is! I just have tons of wood restoration to make them look really good again. Maybe then my my wife will let them into the living room haha.
This could have been easier if I had coated copper wire. If you use coated wire just make sure you strip the varnish off about 1/4" on each end otherwise the solder will only attach to the very tip.
PS - I was willing to attempt this in part because I have read that the Dayton midrange dome is a drop-in replacement at about $40 each. That was my backup plan if this didn't work. I think this repair is probably better than any attempt to re-solder broken leads at the loops since that solder joint will always be vibrating and completely unsupported. Doesn't seem like it could ever last too long.
OK for those that care... I'm going to keep and restore these speakers. I decided this after I was able to get all 4 tweeters functional again. Had to remove the screens and clean quite a bit of oxidation off of the aluminum foil contacts. I also had to add about a 1" wide strip of aluminum foil that was folded up into the "wings" that hold the mylar film tight. Overall I was kinda shocked at the simple construction of these tweeters. There really aren't any moving parts, just a film that is stretched over a foam pad.
The midrange was the hardest fix though. Thought I'd share my method here for anyone needing a fix and not scared of some moderately high risk DIY. It had broken leads on the front. These wires come off the voice coil, pass through the dome, exposed loops on the front, and then back under the bezel to the wire terminals. I tried soldering the broken loops about 20x with no luck. Here is what worked:
I pulled the bezel/dome/voice coil off of the magnet assembly by undoing the center screws. I then threaded an uncoated copper wire strand into a sewing needle (pulled from a 8" piece of speaker wire). Poked it through the backside of the dome near the original and left a small loop before returning it back through the outer edge of the surround and then under the bezel over to the terminal. I soldered it to the voice coil where the original wire "ramps" away from the main coil turns and up the former. I had to scrape away varnish and glue very carefully to expose some bare copper wire to solder. I overlapped the new wire with the ramp portion by about 1/4" and hit it very quickly with the solder iron. You need a solid solder connection but can't have much excess solder blobs because it may get suck in the voice coil gap if it's too high profile. It all has to lay very flat against the former. Repeated this for the other side. All that was left was to insulate the wire running between the bezel and motor. The bezel side had a somewhat thick layer of sticky black damping goo so I buried it in this and added a thin strip of tape for added measure. I also added a tiny pad of black glue with a toothpick to the entry and exit holes through the fabric dome (just like the original holes).
Fired it up and it sounds just like the working one from the other side! Got new crossover capacitors coming in the mail soon and have also refoamed two of the four woofers, but these things are already sounding really nice as is! I just have tons of wood restoration to make them look really good again. Maybe then my my wife will let them into the living room haha.
This could have been easier if I had coated copper wire. If you use coated wire just make sure you strip the varnish off about 1/4" on each end otherwise the solder will only attach to the very tip.
PS - I was willing to attempt this in part because I have read that the Dayton midrange dome is a drop-in replacement at about $40 each. That was my backup plan if this didn't work. I think this repair is probably better than any attempt to re-solder broken leads at the loops since that solder joint will always be vibrating and completely unsupported. Doesn't seem like it could ever last too long.
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- Jul 6, 2010
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- Broken beyond repair but highly affable
Wow! That's dedication. I've saved tweeters before, not sure how I did it, was a number of years ago but I was pretty happy because the replacement for one was stolen, turned out by the neighbor kids when packages were left on the step...that no longer happens...those little hellions were doing drugs too I learned.