SSL 6000 OP-Amp testing

[Bhang]

Hello all,
I have a SSL 6000e console I'm working on that has been left on, unused for about 2 years. Yup ... though lightning storms, blackouts, brownouts and whatever else-outs. There is a lot wrong with it, but I am slowly making progress in getting it in usable shape. I have cleaned all of the channels and recapped the channels and bus cards. Now I'm having issues with the channel EQ's and Compressors and suspect that many of the op-amps are dying. I see mostly 5534 chips and I have a testers that will tell me if one is dead or not, but it won't tell me if its dying or just not performing properly. Is there an easy way to test these op-amps as there are a ton of them on each channel. Any recommendations on how to approach locating troublesome IC's in a channel?
Thanks
Bhang

[Matt Sartori]

one solution:
buy a few 100s and replace them all. you will save yourself a great deal of headaches....

Matt Sartori.

[jwhmca]

What kind of problems? How are the switches?

[Bhang]

one solution:
buy a few 100s and replace them all. you will save yourself a great deal of headaches....

Matt Sartori.

What do you mean by" buy a few 100s"? Buy a few hundred 5534's?

JWHMCA
What kind of problems? How are the switches?
Many of the eq's aren't working correctly. Various issues with them. With some the volume disappears when engaging the eq, others cause self oscillation even at lower bandwidths and gain settings and still others appear to do nothing at all to the signal. Many of the switches are noisy/ scratchy when engaging/ disengaging various features such as compression or eq. The console has many many issues and I can't really afford to bring in a specialist to fix it. Unless someone wants a free apartment for a week or so in sunny Destin Florida. :-D  We have excellent sugar white beaches. All joking aside, there are many issues and I am trying to figure out what to do next. Switches are one of the more costly repairs, but if it needs to be done I will look into it.

Thanks for your replies

[jwhmca]

Bhang, pm me your facebook or email so we can chat in real time...

ITM, the switches that engage the EQ and DYN can cause all kinds of strange problems. I have rebuilt many 100's of these channel strips and have seen many, many strange problems over the years...

Do you have a scope?

[waltzingbear]

what were the storage conditions while it was not in use?

Florida can give you some potential for damage to switches, humidity, salt air, yeech. I've worked on some boards that were in non controlled environments in FL and they had switch problems, bad.

Alan

[Bhang]

The room conditions were rather good. Air-conditioned studio room with conditioned power. Other conditions, however, were what more than likely caused the major issues. Brown outs and black outs are common here. There are a lot of lightning storms that go through the coast in this area and I can only guess as to what those conditions may have caused.