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Want To Buy: Gates Sta-level limiter

F

Flundran

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a Gates Sta-level limiter. It does not have to be in mint or even working condition, If it's broken I'll fix it. :) Shoot me a PM with what you've got.

Regards
Flundran
 
Flundran: You're welcome!
D: I've seen those and they are supposed to be really good.
Not to threadjack, but I was talking with a guy and he told me that when they moved thier new station in with thier other station they hauled off 5 commercial dumpster loads of old equipment off to the dump. He said it was all that old tube stuff! It was all working and I asked if a Sta-Level was part of that stuff and he said "I think so". I wish I would have been there to haul it off for them! ;D
 
Years back, I was working with a friend on a 1kw AM, installing a new transmitter, new control lines, new sample lines, etc. The buidling we were in was WW2 vintage and, at one time, was the back-up site for this AM. My buddy was cleaning out the buidling to make room for new equipment and threw out a Sta-Level, Gates SA-39, and the holy grail of broadcast-grade vari-mu's, a Federal AM-864U. I remember at the time looking at the junk pile and thinking "someday, I bet those are going to be worth something..." ???
-D
 
D and John,

For a while a was working at swedish radio (SR) and I heard similar stories like these... Mostly about common brands in swedish radio, such as Studer, NTP, Tore Seem and Nagra.

If that Sta-level goes for more than I can afford, I will probably build my own Sta-level from scratch. A tricky part to find seems to be the chassis. I was on the phone earlier today with a local sheet-metal worker, and he may be able to help me out.

/Rikard
 
So maybe we'll should be looking forward to the "Rickard" Sta-Level!
Remember the "Level Devil"?
I'm no engineer, but if memory serves me, that was the later version of the Sta-Level with some added features in a much bigger box.
Rickard, please let us know how it turns out if you decide to build your own.
I thought this was really funny. The other day I saw a post on Ebay for a homemade Urei 1176. The guy said he didn't know if it worked because someone in his family wouldn't let him plug something he made into the wall outlet. He said he's sure it works and if not to contact some DIY website and they could help. I believe he has about a $650 buy it now price on it.
 
Check out the Prodigy Forums (link below). That site is chock-full of professionals who build their own pre's, comps, EQ, limiters, etc. At any given time on their Black Market forum, you can buy chassis's and faceplates for home-build classic processors. A few of the guys also make their home-brew PCB's for projects available to the others. Shop around on that site and you will get a ton of info.
-D

http://www.prodigy-pro.com/forum/index.php?sid=b21b5b84170725bc94ae7e82eb559247
 
SkinnyJohnny said:
So maybe we'll should be looking forward to the "Rickard" Sta-Level!
Remember the "Level Devil"?
Click to expand...

I've seen it on pictures but I've never used it. The name alone make me wanna try it on rock vocals!

SkinnyJohnny said:
Rickard, please let us know how it turns out if you decide to build your own.
Click to expand...

Absolutely!

SkinnyJohnny said:
I thought this was really funny. The other day I saw a post on Ebay for a homemade Urei 1176. The guy said he didn't know if it worked because someone in his family wouldn't let him plug something he made into the wall outlet. He said he's sure it works and if not to contact some DIY website and they could help. I believe he has about a $650 buy it now price on it.
Click to expand...

Lol! I think his price is a bit steep for a compressor that no one has ever powered up... The 1176 is actually a well documented buildningproject in the DIY-community though. The man behind Gyraf Audio made a new PCB layout for easy to find parts and has even buildning instructions for it on their site. I built a dual channel version of it recently, it turned out pretty cool.

http://www.motorplus.se/bilder/Fohlin_1176.jpg

It's still missing some engraving on the frontpanel.. It's got Lundahl in/out transformers and sound really nice.

/Rikard
 
By the way, the Sta-Level in that EBAY auction apparently does not have a 6386 tube in it. Make sure you allow for that as those tubes are borderline unobtanium these days with prime examples going for big bucks. A pair recently sold for $290 on EBAY. :eek:
-D
 
dtube1 said:
... and the holy grail of broadcast-grade vari-mu's, a Federal AM-864U. I remember at the time looking at the junk pile and thinking "someday, I bet those are going to be worth something..." ???
Click to expand...

I had experience with several AM-864/Us back in the '70s (they frequently showed up as military surplus donations to high schools and colleges) but I never cared for the sound of them. The stock audio transformers were marginal -- a popular mod was to substitute UTC A-series to broaden the frequency response -- but even after doing that, these units seemed to impart an unnatural, distorted quality to the audio.

Out of frustration, I gutted my high school's AM-864 chassis (with the exception of the power supply) and built the Sta Level circuit in its place. BIG improvement.

Is there anyone here who actually liked the sound of the stock AM-864/U?
 
Play Freebird said:
Is there anyone here who actually liked the sound of the stock AM-864/U?
Click to expand...

My guess is that precious few, if any, broadcast guys liked those beasts. But, the current market for those - as well as Sta-Levels, LA-2, LA-3, 1176, Volumax, etc. - is in the recording community. The fact of the matter is, those old limiters sound incredible on certain sources. I recently sold a couple, dead, Gates SA-39's for $1k. The buyer runs a recording studio and has a real fondness for old broadcast processors.

FWIW, if anyone has a Urei or JBL-branded compressor/limiter (LA-2, LA-3, LA-4, etc), I'd be interested. Current condition doesn't matter. I love optical compressors and I enjoy restoring them.
-D
 
Ooo, the Modu-Limiter. With the assymetric output. We had a God format on a daytimer with a Collins plate modulated radio - the combination ruled.
 
Wow, $1,250.00 for a Sta-Level missing the 6386 tube, and an 0B2,12AT7 and a 6V6...though the last 3 are easy to find. The real interesting limiter was the RCA Powermax......no tubes just a bias suppy and some diodes and iron.

Lane
 
Hello all,

I just wanted to follow up this thread wich I started last fall. I began to build my own Sta-level, with Lundahl in/out transformers and an original 6386 RCA tube. I finished it about 3 weeks ago, and it turned out great! My version includes 7 different release settings and a "triple position" with a really fast attack. So far I have mostly used the DOUBLE position, it's very musical on most sources including vocals. Very transparent compression. Here's a pic:

http://www.motorplus.se/bilder/gates/front2.jpg

By the way, if anyone here has a Federal 864 limiter you'd want to sell, let me know. It does not have to be in good condition. Other broadcast tube limiters may be of interest too, let me know what you've got.

/Flundran
 
Flundran said:
Hello all,

I just wanted to follow up this thread wich I started last fall. I began to build my own Sta-level, with Lundahl in/out transformers and an original 6386 RCA tube. I finished it about 3 weeks ago, and it turned out great!

/Flundran
Click to expand...

Nice work! I'm sure it sounds good with those Lundahl transformers.

Would you be interested in a close-up photo of the gain reduction meter on my late-vintage Sta-Level? This might assist you in making a replica to put in place of the Triplett meter face.
 
Play Freebird said:
Flundran said:
Hello all,

I just wanted to follow up this thread wich I started last fall. I began to build my own Sta-level, with Lundahl in/out transformers and an original 6386 RCA tube. I finished it about 3 weeks ago, and it turned out great!

/Flundran
Click to expand...

Nice work! I'm sure it sounds good with those Lundahl transformers.

Would you be interested in a close-up photo of the gain reduction meter on my late-vintage Sta-Level? This might assist you in making a replica to put in place of the Triplett meter face.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind words! PM'd ;)
 
dtube1 said:
Play Freebird said:
Is there anyone here who actually liked the sound of the stock AM-864/U?
Click to expand...

My guess is that precious few, if any, broadcast guys liked those beasts. But, the current market for those - as well as Sta-Levels, LA-2, LA-3, 1176, Volumax, etc. - is in the recording community. The fact of the matter is, those old limiters sound incredible on certain sources. I recently sold a couple, dead, Gates SA-39's for $1k. The buyer runs a recording studio and has a real fondness for old broadcast processors.

FWIW, if anyone has a Urei or JBL-branded compressor/limiter (LA-2, LA-3, LA-4, etc), I'd be interested. Current condition doesn't matter. I love optical compressors and I enjoy restoring them.
-D
Click to expand...
My first AM on-air experience involved a tube type Gates Yard, an SA-39 & a tube type Gates AM transmitter in 1972. WOW....it was so clean & smooth sounding. Sounded better (on the air monitor) than the FM's of the day.
 
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