Can anyone understand the connections done on the pots in my AR-3a ?

[yoram611]

Hi guys,

I just bought a pair of AR-3a and I wanted to check the pots in the crossover but looking at the connections on it it seems like someone before me replaced some components and the wires connections to the pots look different then original, I dont understand electronics so I enclose some pictures hope someone can help me understand what was done and if I should leave it as is or make any changes ?

Thank you in advance

Yoram

[Aadams]

On 10/26/2019 at 11:04 AM, yoram611 said:

hope someone can help me understand what was done and if I should leave it as is or make any changes ?

I think a previous owner tried to bypass the pots and I think it is the incorrect way to do it.  You definitely have extra wires but we can't see where they go.  I recommend using a plastic bag and temporarily remove as much fiberglass as necessary to get photos showing a comprehensive view of what has been done.  Are both speakers this way?  If you have mechanical aptitude there is enough info at this site to help successfully replace pots with Lpads. 

Adams

[yoram611]

Hi Adams,

Thank you so much for your reply , I thought as you have that someone tried to bypass the pots, but I thought its so easy just to connect the crossover wires directly to the drivers, but here everything is connected to the pots and I don't understand what they have done, so far I have opened only only one speaker, have not yet opened the other one, I am trying to understand what was done before I open the other, by the way if you noticed the 2 clear wires were cut off and were left about 5cm (2 inches) long just hang there connected to nothing.

Anyhow, thank you again

Yoram

[ra.ra]

On 10/26/2019 at 11:04 AM, yoram611 said:

I just bought a pair of AR-3a ... hope someone can help me understand what was done and if I should leave it as is or make any changes ?

Hi Yoram, welcome to CSP. There are so many wires shown in your pics that it's difficult to see what is going on. You do not need to be an electronics wizard to work on these speakers, but you will need to backtrack a bit to begin to understand exactly what needs attention in order to get these speakers re-assembled properly. While you have not yet commented on their current performance, it does seem that with the exception of excess wiring, all of the other bits (caps, coils and pots) appear to be original components.

First things first: before you do anything further, you should take the time to read the invaluable AR-3a restoration manual that is found on this site. Some portions will not be applicable to your particular pair of speakers, but nonetheless you should review the entire document. Much of what you need to know can be found on page 10, which shows a crossover pic with the exact same caps as yours, but more importantly, a full wiring schematic for the entire speaker circuitry. Start there, and then feel free to ask for help - - this site is full of people with much experience restoring 3a's.

My suspicion is that, to some extent, eventually you will need to take these apart and re-build them. I would not advise eliminating (or "bypassing") the rotary controls (but they might require replacement) and it's even quite possible that your capacitors will not require replacement - - who knows yet?

So.... read up....dig in....and ask questions. And be sure to take pics along the way for your own documentation.