REL Strata III repair issue

frogman,
I would certainly keep everything original 'REL'.  This is an excellent sub and $500 is not much money to invest into your listening experience.

The newer REL products are junk-sourced to china.  The older models were designed/built in the U.K.

I found this great thread.  The Storm and Strata III are supposed to be very similar circuits with the minor difference of additional capacitance.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/198466-anyone-here-own-rel-sorm-iii-sub-2.html

frogman,

an update? boodledude offers sound advice.

Hi frogman,

I read recently about internal vibrations causing stress fractures of PCB traces in subwoofers. The way that REL attached the power supply board at a 90 degree angle supported on only one side, leaving the heavy assembly unsupported on the other makes this a viable diagnosis.

Back in my PCBA days, engineers often used what was called "blue wires" to bypass faulty PCB traces in prototype and early production PCBs, making it possible to complete design verification or to simply consume existing inventory to support customer demand while the PCB manufacturer corrected the issue in future lots.

It boils down to soldering small gauge wire from component leg to component leg thus bypassing the faulty trace internal to the PCB. This should be relatively easy on the REL’s power PCB due to the circuitry simplicity of the PCB, the widespread use of pin-though-hole vs SMT components, and the fact that the PCB is single sided with access lands at the ends of most traces.

A good electronics technician with adequate soldering skills and a schematic should be able to identify the problem traces/solder joints and apply blue wires where necessary.

Dave