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AR 17s


dna

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I bought a pair (ser. #s are sequential) at Hickam AFB Base Exchange in late 1978. I still have them even though my dogs ripped the foam and cones out years ago. Long story short a few weeks ago I sanded them with a Milwaukee orbital sander and 320 paper, put tung oil on them and they look just about new. The walnut had taken some abuse but anyone would buy them as they are now. I remember AR describes the enclosures as hand rubbed oiled walnut. I searched for new 8" drivers, using the 20001 P/N. I have ONE that needs to be re-coned again as I tried and screwed it up, it buzzes when played. Anyway I would sure like to find a schematic for the crossovers. I see one on Ebay but it doesn't look the the one picture on this page on Ebay.

Any light any one can shed on this for me would be appreciated very much! The pic on the top is onEebay right now and the bottom I found on in our forum here.

AR 17 Crossover 10.jpg

AR 17.jpg

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Hey dna

That 13-year-old post of mine brought back memories. I did give those speakers to a friend and he's still enjoying them.

You don't need a schematic. Just look at your crossover and see what caps are there. Replace those. And as AR55 pointed out, if you bought them in 1978 they are ADD series, like the ones I worked on. Newer "AR17" speakers are not real ARs. Do a search and you'll see some black ported things that may or may not be ok but they're not acoustic suspension speakers. I suspect that's what the crossover on ebay is. btw, that crossover has 2 yellow film capacitors and they should not be replaced. The black 6uF cap with red ends OTOH should most definitely be replaced.

Regarding the woofers, do you really mean re-coned or just re-foamed. I've never tackled a re-cone job but re-foaming is a simple task. If yours buzzes my guess is you did not shim the voice coil.

Ask any questions here and please post pictures of any problem areas. 

Kent

 

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Here

Here's the pics of my AR 17 stuff. I still have a set of AR 58s as well. The original AR 17 woofers were tossed in to the trash back in 2001, after (back in 1982-3) my dogs ripped the cones out. Back to 2001; thinking I could buy new ones from AR, (thus avoiding shoddy re-cone & foam job; boy, was I in for a surprise!) The people I called that said they had AR  (genuine) replacements, they didn't have genuine replacements at all, what they had were a direct fit dimension wise but not performance wise. They are still using this advert pitch I am sure you all know of whom I speak! So, now I have 1210037-2As installed in the cabs and these 2 spares, one of which needs to be re-foamed along with the AR 25 8" woofer which is (I'm told) the same model # as originally used in the ADD editions of the AR 17 (P/N 200000-1); I am also told that P/N 200029 was used in the ADD AR 17. Some say I could use them as well and the 200037 (from the AR 18) with good results.Aas it turns out these original P/Ns are either not out there (on Ebay) or those that are selling them (on Ebay) want more $$$ than I am willing to pay. If anyone knows of another resource for genuine AR drivers I would certainly shop there as well.

There was a seller on Ebay that offered an AR 17 woofer with a poly cone in it (it was smaller than 8" diameter), it also didn't have the 200001-1 P/N on it either, I bought it before I realized what it was; I and contacted the guy and he allowed me to cancel my order.

I have an odd ball AR speaker here for sale or trade P/N 1210122-0A. Pls. PM me if interested.

 

IMG_20200508_171939418_BURST000_COVER_TOP.jpg

IMG_20200508_171947678.jpg

IMG_20200508_171956532.jpg

 

 

IMG_20200508_172138297.jpg

IMG_20200508_172114019.jpg

IMG_20200508_172031715_BURST000_COVER_TOP.jpg

IMG_20200508_172035962.jpg

IMG_20200508_172138297.jpg

IMG_20200508_171957866_BURST001.jpg

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On 5/7/2020 at 6:24 PM, AR55 said:

If you bought your AR-17's in 1978, they are the ADD series version and have simpler lower crossover.  The resistor should be fine.  The 6uF capacitor should be probably be replaced. 

@ 50 Volts... Bi Polar of course?

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On 5/7/2020 at 8:42 PM, JKent said:

Hey dna

That 13-year-old post of mine brought back memories. I did give those speakers to a friend and he's still enjoying them.

You don't need a schematic. Just look at your crossover and see what caps are there. Replace those. And as AR55 pointed out, if you bought them in 1978 they are ADD series, like the ones I worked on. Newer "AR17" speakers are not real ARs. Do a search and you'll see some black ported things that may or may not be ok but they're not acoustic suspension speakers. I suspect that's what the crossover on ebay is. btw, that crossover has 2 yellow film capacitors and they should not be replaced. The black 6uF cap with red ends OTOH should most definitely be replaced.

Regarding the woofers, do you really mean re-coned or just re-foamed. I've never tackled a re-cone job but re-foaming is a simple task. If yours buzzes my guess is you did not shim the voice coil.

Ask any questions here and please post pictures of any problem areas. 

Kent

 

"OTOH"? Please forgive my ignorance... ADD? does that mean anything? My dogs ((at the time) ripped the cones and the foam out right down to the voice coils. They did a job on the foam grilles too! When I attempted to re-foam the driver(s)  I used those curved wire brushes that are a lot like a tooth brush  (I'm a mechanic by trade and training though I am OFFICIALLY RETIRED as of March 30 2020!) to hold the cone away from the frame while I applied solvent to the cone and then attach the foam; I'm not sure that was the best thing to use but it's what I had on hand at the time. If this is what you mean  when you say "shim the cone"....... I'll add pics of my re-coning efforts tomorrow.... I forgot to take the pics!

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51 minutes ago, JKent said:

Use film. Film caps will be 100 to 250v or more.

I just got 2 sets of caps for my AR 58s, I forgot the voltage was 50, I got 100s... they are BP and VENT brands. Def. electrolytics... should I have got something different?

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Electrolytics are fine. Originally the speakers had electrolytics and some. notably Ken Kantor (of AR, NHT) recommend them. Electrolytics are inexpensive but they have a finite lifespan (20, 30 years. Sometimes more). Film caps cost more but last virtually forever.

For capacitors you should use the stated capacitance (mfd or uF or microfarads) +/- 10% although back in the day the accepted tolerance was -25% / + 75%!!!

Voltage rating can be equal to the originals or higher. It's fine to replace a 50v speaker cap with a 600v one.

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11 hours ago, dna said:

"OTOH"? Please forgive my ignorance... ADD? does that mean anything? My dogs ((at the time) ripped the cones and the foam out right down to the voice coils. They did a job on the foam grilles too! When I attempted to re-foam the driver(s)  I used those curved wire brushes that are a lot like a tooth brush  (I'm a mechanic by trade and training though I am OFFICIALLY RETIRED as of March 30 2020!) to hold the cone away from the frame while I applied solvent to the cone and then attach the foam; I'm not sure that was the best thing to use but it's what I had on hand at the time. If this is what you mean  when you say
shim the cone"....... I'll add pics of my re-coning efforts tomorrow....

Sorry. Internet slang. OTOH = On the other hand. ADD was what AR called that series of speakers. Dunno what it means. Attention Deficit Disorder? 

I have never re-coned a speaker, so you're ahead of me but several others here have. By shim the VC (voice coil) what I meant was this: Cut off the dust cap and install thin celluloid shims, supplied by the seller of the foam or cone kit, all around the voice coil to maintain a consistant gap while the glue sets. Afterward, install a new dust cap. I'm sure there are YouTube videos and will search when I get a chance.

I'll answer your PM through PM.

Kent

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On 5/10/2020 at 12:10 PM, JKent said:

Sorry. Internet slang. OTOH = On the other hand. ADD was what AR called that series of speakers. Dunno what it means. Attention Deficit Disorder? 

ADD = Advanced Development Division. Truth in Listening

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