Charles Angelich wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:



RJT> Sounds like it was the wrong polarity, is this possible? 

CA> Anything is possible Roy.

Well,  is the unit marked?  If not,  are the two supplies,  the one that
worked and the one that cooked things,  marked?  That should provide some
info,  I'd think.  There being no standard with this stuff I wish they
would make it a point to mark things better.

CA> I was tired and wasn't thinking clearly. My tools never got moved 
CA> here where I am and I'm hard pressed to do hardware operations. I 
CA> do have a multimeter if the battery is up but it never crossed my 
CA> mind to check.

Even just opening the unit up and doing a visual inspection (needs no more
than a screwdriver,  I'd think?) should help some...

CA> I guess it's one of those "live and learn" lessons I used to hate so
CA> much as a kid. I hope there aren't many more that remain. I hate it
CA> so when I do something really really stupid. :-\

Yeah,  I know just what you mean.  The worst ones are the ones that cost
you a lot and that you can't fix.

CA>> Really bummed me out they were nice! I've been brooding since I 
CA>> did this. I can't really be angry with myself since I could've 
CA>> tried the 12v first and never even had a chance to know they 
CA>> worked (which might've been better if I thought they were already 
CA>> broken?). Bummer, bummer, bummer! 

RJT> I can relate. 

CA> I knew the guys here in the TECH echo could and I need all the 
CA> sympathy or empathy I can get. Really brooding over this mistake 
CA> here.

RJT> Fortunately, most of this stuff is in a single chip these days, 
RJT> not like it used to be. Open the bad one up, and see if you can 
RJT> spot something that's obviously cooked. Maybe it's the chip, maybe 
RJT> an electrolytic capacitor or somesuch. Probably not much, as 
RJT> whatever it was that failed took care of the voltage that would've 
RJT> damaged other stuff if the one part hadn't soaked it up... 

CA> Believe it or not my only phillips screwdriver here is a short one
CA> and they buried the screws about 6 or more inches into the speaker
CA> cabinet.

Hmm.  Sometimes I hate it when they do that.

CA> I will need to either buy a long phillips or borrow one for a few 
CA> days but the question is who? I am the mechanic in the family most 
CA> of the others aren't into tools really. :-\ 

Even a cheap one should let you get the unit open,  no?

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