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FR SERIES AMPLIFIERS

FR SERIES AMPLIFIERS

Appendix A: Service Information

•  Is the signal source turned up? Make sure 

the signal level from the mixing console (or 
whatever device immediately precedes the 
amplifier) is high enough to produce sound in 
the amplifier. The SIG LEDs should be blinking 
to indicate that signal is present.

•  If the speakers are wired for BRIDGE mode, 

make sure the AMP MODE switch is set to 
BRIDGE.

•  If the amplifier has gotten extremely hot, the 

thermal protection circuit may have activated. 
Allow the amplifier to cool down and normal 
operation should resume.

•  Are there fuses in the speakers, or in-line fuses 

in the speaker wire? Check to see if they’re 
blown.

Distorted Sound

•  The power amplifier is clipping. The signal level 

is exceeding the limits of your system and you 
must reduce the level from your mixer or signal 
source.

•  Ensure that no equipment in the signal chain 

is being over driven. For example: input(s) or 
summing bus in the mixing console, equalizers 
etc.

•  Is the input connector plugged completely 

into the jack? Check the speaker connections 
and verify that all connections are tight and 
that there are no stray strands of wire shorting 
across the speaker terminals.

•  If possible, listen to the signal source with 

headphones plugged into the console. If it 
sounds bad there, the problem is not in the 
amplifier.

•  Loudspeakers not working properly.

Partial Sound (frequency band missing)

•  Incorrect EQ settings in the electronic equip-

ment. Ensure all EQ settings and filters on the 
mixing console or preamplifier and on other 
equipment are set for normal operation. Ensure 
level controls on electronic crossovers and as-
sociated amplifiers are correctly set and that all 
cables and connections for such equipment are 
connected and working properly.

•  Loudspeaker not working properly. Swap with a 

good one.

•  Is the LED next to the POWER switch illumi-

nated? If not, make sure the AC outlet is live.

•  The fuses inside the amplifier may have blown. 

These are not a user-serviceable. See next page 
about service.

Warranty Service

Details concerning Warranty Service are spelled out 

in the Warranty section on page 19.

If you think your amplifier has a problem, please 

do everything you can to confirm it before calling for 
service. Doing so might save you from the deprivation of 
your amplifier.

These may sound obvious to you, but here are some 

things you can check. Read on:

Troubleshooting

No Power

•  Our favorite question: Is it plugged in?
•  Make sure the power cord is securely seated in 

the IEC socket  and plugged all the way into the 
AC outlet.

•  Make sure the AC outlet is live (check with a 

tester or lamp).

•  Make sure the front panel POWER switch is in 

the ON position.

•  Has the BREAKER switch popped?
•  Is anything on the front panel illuminated? If 

not, make sure the AC outlet is live.

•  Are all the lights out in your town? If so, 

contact your local power company to get power 
restored.

•  If nothing is illuminated, and you are certain 

that the AC outlet is live, it will be necessary to 
have your amplifier serviced. 

There are no user 

serviceable parts inside.

 Refer to “Repair” on the 

next page to find out how to proceed.

No Sound or Low Output

•  Loudspeaker cables or connectors are not wired 

correctly or they are faulty. Check all cabling, 
referring to these instructions for the correct 
connections. The best way to check a suspect 
cable is to swap it with a known good cable. 
Read the loudspeaker’s input panel to verify 
correct cable connections.

•  Loudspeaker is not working. Connect the 

loudspeaker cable to a known good loudspeaker 
leaving all equipment set to the same levels. 
If the problem disappears, the loudspeaker is 
probably not working correctly.

•  Are the channel Level controls turned up? 

Slowly turn them up and see if you hear any-
thing.

Summary of Contents for FR

Page 1: ...OWNER S MANUAL TWO CHANNEL POWER AMPLIFIERS FR 800 FR 1400 and FR 2500 FR Series ...

Page 2: ...ptibility to noise induced hearing loss but nearly everyone will lose some hearing if exposed to sufficiently intense noise for a period of time The U S Government s Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA has specified the permissible noise level exposures shown in the following chart According to OSHA any exposure in excess of these permissible limits could result in some hearing loss...

Page 3: ... 2 VENTILATION 8 3 OLLEDs 8 4 SIGLEDs 8 5 LEVELCONTROLS 8 RearPanelFeatures 9 6 XLRINPUTS 9 7 1 4 INPUTS 9 8 SUBSONICFILTER 9 9 CLIPLIMIT 9 10 AMPMODE 9 11 FANVENTS 10 12 SPEAKEROUTPUTS 10 13 BREAKER 10 14 POWERCORDSOCKET 10 GeneralPrecautions 11 ACPOWERREQUIREMENTS 11 THERMALCONSIDERATIONS 11 RACKMOUNTING 11 MAINTENANCE 11 AppendixA ServiceInformation 12 WarrantyService 12 Troubleshooting 12 Repa...

Page 4: ...nsporting FEATURES FR 800 800 watts continuous 4 ohms bridged FR 1400 1400 watts continuous 4 ohms bridged FR 2500 2500 watts continuous 4 ohms bridged Ultra low noise low distortion design Switchable low cut filter 30 Hz on both chan nels Switchable limiter on both channels 1 4 TRS and XLR line input jacks Speakon outputs and binding posts for left right and bridged mono Detented rotary gain cont...

Page 5: ...r the binding posts or the Speakon connectors The binding post connectors are wired as fol lows Red hot speaker terminal Black cold speaker terminal The Speakon connectors are wired as follows 1 hot speaker terminal 1 cold speaker terminal 5 In BRIDGE mode if using the binding post outputs CH 1 red post hot speaker terminal CH 2 red post cold speaker terminal Do not use the black terminals If usin...

Page 6: ...T MAIN OUT AMP MODE SWITCH STEREO Passive Speakers Mackie C300s TO SPEAKERS OPTIONAL CONNECTION USING BINDING POSTS FROM MIXING CONSOLE MONO OUT AMP MODE SWITCH MONO Passive Speakers Mackie C300s TO SPEAKERS OPTIONAL CONNECTION USING BINDING POSTS FROM MIXING CONSOLE MAIN OUT AMP MODE SWITCH BRIDGE Passive Speaker Mackie C300 TO SPEAKER OPTIONAL CONNECTION USING BINDING POSTS ...

Page 7: ...o Pin 1 COLD COLD AMPLIFIER END SPEAKER END HOT CHANNEL A CHANNEL B 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 COLD FROM THRU OUTPUT TO SECOND SPEAKER INPUT FROM THRU OUTPUT TO SECOND SPEAKER INPUT TO FIRST SPEAKER INPUT HOT CHANNEL B 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 FROM MIXING CONSOLE LEFT AND RIGHT MAIN OUT AMP MODE SWITCH STEREO Passive Speakers Mackie C300s AMP MODE SWITCH STEREO Passive Speakers Mackie C300s RUNNING STEREO SPEAKERS WI...

Page 8: ...en a signal is present after the Level con trols at the output stage of the power amplifier If the Level controls are turned all the way down fully coun terclockwise these indicators will not light 5 LEVELCONTROLS These two knobs control the levels of Channels 1 and 2 The knobs are detented to make it easy to set both controls to the same level Usually these controls are set all the way up You mig...

Page 9: ...ch protects your loudspeakers from the effects of clipping It is designed to be virtually transparent meaning you probably won t even notice any audible difference when the switch is turned on We recommend that you leave this switch on at all times However if you are working at quiet levels or you have already placed a compressor limiter in the signal path you can leave the CLIP LIMIT switch off 1...

Page 10: ...breaker to pop such as a mains voltage surge occurring at the same time as a peak amplifier output Turn the POWER switch off and push the BREAKER button in to reset the circuit breaker Turn the POWER switch back on and the amplifier should resume normal operation If the circuit breaker pops again something probably isn t right Make sure that the total impedance of the speakers connected to the out...

Page 11: ...ion If the amplifier should overheat a thermal switch turns off the power amplifier allowing the heatsink to cool down Once the amplifier has cooled to a safe operating temperature the thermal switch resets and reactivates the amplifier If this should occur identify the cause of the problem and take corrective action For example Provide better ventilation Install a fan in the rack to move more air...

Page 12: ...rly Loudspeaker not working properly Swap with a good one Is the LED next to the POWER switch illumi nated If not make sure the AC outlet is live The fuses inside the amplifier may have blown These are not a user serviceable See next page about service Warranty Service Details concerning Warranty Service are spelled out in the Warranty section on page 19 If you think your amplifier has a problem p...

Page 13: ...o equip ment into the same AC circuit so they share a common ground Repair Service for Mackie products is available at a factory authorized service center Service for Mackie products living outside the United States can be obtained through local dealers or distributors If your amplifier needs service follow these instructions 1 Review the preceding troubleshooting suggestions Please 2 Call Tech Su...

Page 14: ...ric WG Metric Wire Gauge Note that smaller AWG numbers larger 2 2 3 1 1 SHIELD COLD HOT SHIELD COLD HOT 3 SHIELD COLD HOT 3 2 1 SLEEVE TIP SLEEVE TIP RING RING TIP SLEEVE RING SLEEVE TIP TIP SLEEVE TIP SLEEVE Minimum AWG 4 ohm 8 ohm 18 10 ft 25 ft 16 25 50 14 25 75 12 50 125 10 100 200 Min Metric WG 4 ohm 8 ohm 12 3 m 8 m 14 8 15 16 8 25 20 15 40 25 30 60 COLD HOT 1 1 1 1 2 2 Use a high quality 3 ...

Page 15: ...ies equals 8 ohms 4 4 8 PARALLEL Parallel means that the positive amp output con nects to the positive terminals of all the speakers and the negative amp output connects to the negative terminals of all the speakers If one speaker opens in a parallel configuration the others will still work but the load will change That lets you breathe a little easier the show will go on except that you may have ...

Page 16: ...d The technical writer reserves the right to go downstairs and get a bag of popcorn shoot the breeze and exchange tech writer jokes with his buddies around the water cooler Betty darling I will always love you I m leaving now to go and rethink my life get some lunch and a brake cable for the old Chevette All I can hope for is that your new Beau is as reliable and dependable as these amplifiers 200...

Page 17: ...2 3 CHANNEL A LEVEL CHANNEL B LEVEL SUBSONIC FILTER ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON PROTECTION DC OFFSET OVER TEMP SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT LIMIT OFF CLIP LIMITER OL POWER AMPLIFIER VDC VDC CHANNEL A SPEAKER OUT BRIDGED SPEAKER OUT 1 1 2 2 POWER AMPLIFIER VDC VDC CHANNEL B SPEAKER OUT OL SIG SIG VDC CHANNEL A TOROIDAL POWER TRANSFORMER BREAKER FUSE FUSE TEMP SENSOR ON HEATSINK FAN VARIABLE SPEED CONTROL HI D...

Page 18: ...representative MondaythroughFriday from7AMto5PMPSTat 1 800 898 3211 Afterhours visitwww mackie comandclickSupport oremailusat techmail mackie com 19 0 483 mm 15 7 399 mm FR 800 WEIGHT 43 6 lbs 19 8 kg FR 1400 WEIGHT 48 5 lbs 22 kg FR 2500 WEIGHT 56 2 lbs 25 5 kg 3 5 89 mm Dimensions ...

Page 19: ... of the LOUD Technologies factory authorized service centers and deemed eligible for repair or replacement under the terms of this warranty will be repaired or replaced within thirty days of receipt LOUD Technologies and its authorized service centers may use refurbished parts for repair or replacement of any product Products returned to LOUD Technologies that do not meet the terms of this Warrant...

Page 20: ... Road NE Woodinville WA 98072 USA United States and Canada 800 898 3211 Europe Asia Central and South America 425 487 4333 Middle East and Africa 31 20 654 4000 Fax 425 487 4337 www mackie com E mail sales mackie com ...

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