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arrakis 1200-15 console

M

menotti1

Guest
had this console awhile,finally decided to do the install.i know it's not the rolls royce in consoles...i emailed arrakis inquiring about a pre-wired harness,molex to xlr's.$ 895.00, NOW THAT'S STRONG..anyone know a good source for getting cables with xlr's on one end and pigtails on the other(bare wires)??looks like i have a little project.i also noticed in the arrakis manual the claim that they don't have a profit center in customer service.well IMHO $895.00 sure sounds high for cables.if i could find a snake with open ends that would work great.not to mention the snake at arrakis.ha
 
Easiest and cheapest way is what you just suggested. Wander down to the local pro-audio store that handles live sound and buy a snake and chop it. They might carry one that just has pigtails.
 
Exactly... a 16-channel snake can be had for less than $200. You'll probably still have to acquire the molex connectors but it beats spending almost a grand for something not-so-special. Obviously, be prepared to spend a couple hours on the diligent work of loading the molexes-- but to coin an old cliche'... time is money,

Look on the bright side... you'll have 16 male XLR's that you can cannibalise after you're done! You'll also have a nice 16 channel breakout box you can locate anywhere you want for all your input sources :)

-A
 
alan, you sure know how to have fun ha.got that snake on the way along with the AMP connectors and all those pins.that $895.00 Arrakis wanted was a little strong for me.Besides everything is operating smoothly (knock on wood) so this project should'nt take long.i hear these arrakis boards tend to have chip problems,but i don;t need but 7 channels, should have plenty of IC spares.
 
Hosa makes some inexpensive snakes that are very short. You might look into them if the plan is to chop off all but 10-12 feet. There is no point in buying cable that you will eventually put in the dumpster.

I've purchased Molex connectors and pins from Mouser. The prices were reasonable.
 
thanks chuck, that where i got them..44 cents ea.for the molex, .10 cents ea for the pin arrakis wanted 2.48 ea for the molex, .25 ea for the pin.but once again let me quote out of the arrakis manual"
section6-2d Arrakis systems does not believe in operating it's customer service dept.as a profit center and therefore charges AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.Kinda makes me wonder what they do believe in.Hey this board is ok.i do mostly rf and audio processing and i got snickered into this gig,if you know what i mean.kinda like this, hey we've had this board for awhile and while you're hear could you install it??but we'll make it fun...
 
menotti1 said:
thanks chuck, that where i got them..44 cents ea.for the molex, .10 cents ea for the pin arrakis wanted 2.48 ea for the molex, .25 ea for the pin
Click to expand...

Anybody know those Molex part numbers by chance? A friend acquired a 1200 series console and needs to make harnesses. TIA
 
I have one of these consoles in service at one of my weekend stations. Found 3 preamp chips in the mic preamps got zapped once, probably by static. Obsolete chips, but found one audio guy up in Boston that still had a few. That fixed it. Regarding audio cables, I often wind up making my own.
 
rob, the pin pn is 571-3506891. molex plug house pn is 571-3507201...both are mouser part numbers,phone number 800 346 6873 have fun...
 
"i hear these arrakis boards tend to have chip problems,but i don;t need but 7 channels, should have plenty of IC spares."

Yuck! Arrakis... yuck!

I knew of a station that, EVERY time there was a lightning storm in the area, would get their Arrakis console's output chipset eaten. I've seen other stations that have had Arrakis stuff and got smart enough to get rid of it quickly.

Hell... I'd rather put a Mackie in a control room than an Arrakis!

Good luck dude! I feel for ya!
 
install was for a client.4 inch ground strap, may help.My station has the boy dog wheatstone...Most of my clients seem to operate on a tight budget.But i told them the arrakis ain't no cadilac....so far it's weathered several storms with no problem..
 
I had an SC2000 series desk here that had dozens of shorted NE5534 chips. I suspect the power supply may have gone one-sided for a period.

Another colleague told me of one of their desks that after being repaired, still seemed to draw excessive current. Nothing was getting overly warm, but it was still drawing more than a desk should. He never found out why.

My last experience with an Arrakis product was installing a 12000 series desk. I had to sit and solder all those bloody molex pins to Belden single pair cable, which terminated on Krone blocks. Hence every channel had to be wired individually.
 
While not a Wheatstone or Audioarts, the 1200-15 will do the job if installed correctly.

I have two of these: one is running my webcast (and I paid a tidy sum for it) the other I bought on ebay for just over $200 for the high school radio station I'm helping build up. The big, BIG thing these boards absolutely need is to be very, VERY well grounded. My first board was not grounded well from where it was used before and most all chips eventually let go. I shotgunned the entire board and bought a couple of tubes of 'em and replaced them all. Once the board was grounded properly I have yet to have any problems with it. Keep in mind, there are two different production runs of this board. The early boards use the SSM2013, the latter uses SSM2017 (it may be 2018 I just don't have the board or manual in front of me). I know I need to get the schematic of the older version sa that's the one I got for the school.

The first board I got already made up with molex to XLR's. I'm going to have to roll my own harness for the school, but that's not a big deal. As long as it's installed properly it should work fine for a long time.

I got a Pacific Recorders BMX-14 donated to the school but being so old I really don't trust it - the Arrakis board is 20 years younger than the Series 1 BMX.
 
First of all - thanks, menotti1 for the AMP connector info. Order's in with Mouser.

Bill DeFelice said:
While not a Wheatstone or Audioarts, the 1200-15 will do the job if installed correctly.
Click to expand...

Bill - have you had any experience with the 1200-5S consoles? Is it safe to assume that all the 1200-series consoles have the same issues (grounding, etc.)?

Bill DeFelice said:
Keep in mind, there are two different production runs of this board. The early boards use the SSM2013, the latter uses SSM2017 (it may be 2018 I just don't have the board or manual in front of me). I know I need to get the schematic of the older version sa that's the one I got for the school.
Click to expand...

It's probably the 2018 - the 2017 is a mic preamp (and maybe that's also used in the board?).
 
Bill DeFelice said:
While not a Wheatstone or Audioarts, the 1200-15 will do the job if installed correctly.

I have two of these: one is running my webcast (and I paid a tidy sum for it) the other I bought on ebay for just over $200 for the high school radio station I'm helping build up. The big, BIG thing these boards absolutely need is to be very, VERY well grounded. My first board was not grounded well from where it was used before and most all chips eventually let go. I shotgunned the entire board and bought a couple of tubes of 'em and replaced them all. Once the board was grounded properly I have yet to have any problems with it. Keep in mind, there are two different production runs of this board. The early boards use the SSM2013, the latter uses SSM2017 (it may be 2018 I just don't have the board or manual in front of me). I know I need to get the schematic of the older version sa that's the one I got for the school.

The first board I got already made up with molex to XLR's. I'm going to have to roll my own harness for the school, but that's not a big deal. As long as it's installed properly it should work fine for a long time.

I got a Pacific Recorders BMX-14 donated to the school but being so old I really don't trust it - the Arrakis board is 20 years younger than the Series 1 BMX.
Click to expand...

That BMX will run circles around the Araknifobia stuff. Seriously, parts will still be sourceable for the BMX via Newark for years and years. PRandE built the best damn console ever made and you've got one. Give it a few switches and some love and you won't be sorry you did.
 
If it's a BMX I, be careful with the mechanical parts. They're rugged, but there ain't no spares, and very few of the I series were made. But, it is and will continue to be had and shoulders above anything anybody else has built in terms of reliability and sound. Pop a slice out of it and out of the Arrakis, and comjpare the quality of components and the build quality.
 
Rob Stutson said:
Bill - have you had any experience with the 1200-5S consoles? Is it safe to assume that all the 1200-series consoles have the same issues (grounding, etc.)?
Click to expand...

I would be pretty sure. The only difference between the 5, 10 and 15 are the number of input cards in there. Each card handles 5 inputs, the first card usually has the inputs for microphones as well as a couple of line inputs, the remaining cards are usually line-only inputs. The console I personally own has two mic inputs and the used one I got for the school has three - perfect for board-op'ing small in-studio talk shows without needing an extra mic mixer.

Rob Stutson said:
It's probably the 2018 - the 2017 is a mic preamp (and maybe that's also used in the board?).
Click to expand...

I think some versions use the 2017 for the mic preamp as well, not sure if it's the same across both production runs. The newer VCAs are the 2018s.
 
littlejohn said:
If it's a BMX I, be careful with the mechanical parts. They're rugged, but there ain't no spares, and very few of the I series were made. But, it is and will continue to be had and shoulders above anything anybody else has built in terms of reliability and sound. Pop a slice out of it and out of the Arrakis, and comjpare the quality of components and the build quality.
Click to expand...

While you are right between the difference between the BMX and the Arrakis as far as quality, but if a kid accidently does something to ruin it it will be much harder trying to get parts for the BMX ... even if I can find another board to salvage. I know of a firm that restores these boards and they wanted $150 for a volume control pot for the monitor card - $150 isn't chump-change for a school district. I was lucky that a local engineer had a spare and donated it to us. While the board works great I have reservations about cutting a drop-through hole in a big bucks furniture system to have this thing crap out a year later and having to replace it, and that's not even touching upon getting the countertop fixed. It's a nice board but not for my application. I hope to find a second board that's a little newer for their production room.
 
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