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LPB, inc.

E

edarmsttrong

Just curious if anyone has info on LPB, inc.

I have an ancient LPB transmitter that I'm having trouble finding replacement parts for.

This thing is older than me, and isn't feeling so well.

Any help is very much appreciated!
 
STAY AWAY FROM LPB.

They refuse to support anything old. Had an older low power AM with manual and they refused to sell crystals. "We don't have anyone here who can sell you parts but we can sell you a new unit"

I wasn't asking for service, just support. No one there with an idea of which crystal to sell me? Another fly by night operator of what used to be a good company.
 
LPB was a decent company in the day, but after Ed Devecka sold the company the new owners ran it into the toilet.

I was glad that Dave Strode, a former LPB employee who provided me with great tech support in the past, left to rescue the Dynamax line of consoles instead of letting it go down with the wreck of LPB.
 
Just a sidenote: I'd call International Crystal or Classic in Oklahoma City to see if they can get a crystal for you, if you haven't found a solution yet. Both places keep a LOT of data on crystal stuff so they might be able to help you even though LPB sucks and won't help you at all it seems.

BTW, its generally pretty hard to sell someone a NEW UNIT when they have to buy one someday when you treat them like dirt with their current unit. When someone pulls that crap on me, I'll go to great lengths to seek out their competitor and buy new from them, and then call the idiots and tell them what I just did. There is no excuse for customer no-service.
 
Its too bad that LPB went down hill; they were an excellent manufacturer of low-powered broadcast equipment; their audio consoles were very durable and well constructed. Does anyone know if the signature series consoles got picked up by any other company?

I've got an AM-30 and need parts for it and just can't seem to find them anywhere. if anyone knows where i can find parts for the transmitter please let me know.
 
I'm thinking that analog audio consoles with balanced ins and outs are like buggy whips. The buyers with the money won't buy them because they don't fit in with their IP wiring, and they're too expensive for the little guy.
Many users today don't even need a 12-channel mixer. Perhaps that is why there has been so much consolidation in audio console manufacturing.

The LPB Signature product would be very expensive to duplicate today, with the lever switches, individual plug-in modules, heavy metal cabinet, etc.

I still own a couple of the Signatures, in storage, and no, nobody can have them...
 
Bill Wolfenbarger said:
I'm thinking that analog audio consoles with balanced ins and outs are like buggy whips.
Click to expand...
Well, don't forget that there are still tremendous numbers of Mackies, Yamahas and Allen & Heaths, etc. sold in the prosumer market, which includes lots of radio stations. Plus, on the broadcast low end...Arrakis, Radio Systems and Audioarts still make analog boards, perhaps a lot of 'em. Not everyone needs digital when these old school items can sound so nice. I've owned a couple of the very cheap Arrakis boards...and they're perfectly fine for what they are, BTW.
 
I think there's still a place for analog boards in smaller stations that don't have the budget or need for IP wiring. An 8 or 12-channel analog AudioArts board works quite nice.
 
Why must we all have digital consoles? Have you taken time to actually do the research on the specs of a properly functioning ANALOG console? The truth is, unless you're digital from A-Z, having a digital console is like wetting one's self in a dark suit. It can give a warm, fuzzy feeling but no one even notices. :) The biggest atrocity to audio IMHO is some form of digital comression crud like mp2 or mp3, etc. It's all over our air on stations nationwide, and hurts the audio much more than any analog console could ever hope to color the audio.
 
What you all say about the use of analog consoles is certainly true. I use analog myself. My only point was that manufacturers need a certain volume to be able to produce a product, and the demand for analog has decreased, and there has been consolidation in the business due to that. When I described analog consoles as buggy whips, I was referring to these facts.

My plant is not set up for digital, it is unlikely that I will ever move five studios to another location and therefore it would not be cost-effective to make the transition to digital.
 
I have had many LPB consoles in my tenure in this field (38 yrs). Very good consoles, RF does not seem to bother these very much. Easy to get parts. It is a shame that the company has fallen. I currently have 2 Digital and 2 Analog consoles. The Analog are R-60 audioarts. A couple of years ago, I retrofitted them with Burr Brown op amps and could not believe the change. I would prefer the R-60 over the digital any day. If you have to do digital just put a good quality A to D converter on the output. Wheatstone (Audioarts) makes some of the best consoles out there, bar none.
 
Here's the website for International Crystals. I got one for a 1330 kHz LPB unit some time back
for a local station..

http://www.icfmg.com
 
Oops! Thanks, Wyatt!
 
LPB consoles had input and output transformers. Work much better in tough environments.
 
Yup. I've put in several Audio Arts 55e consoles in the past few years. I have been asked about if they should go digital, and after cost vs benefits are discussed, it's a clear decision that that an excellent analog is they way they rather go.
 
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