Craigmoates 35 Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Hello folks, I'm chiming in here to say hello. Had an M240 back in the 80s, purchased new. Pushed a few CVs with it, namely a single 18. Ran passive xovers, always wanted to afford biamp/second unit. This amp had brilliant range, very dynamic. Right when portable CDs were becoming a thing. Being a teenager, we burned it up (rectifier/diodes, fets). Bought the service manual and learned a thing or two, repaired and back to goodness for years more. Eventually stolen. Poking at that old amp inspired me in several ways. From hands-on learning about switching supplies and general electronics design/repair to appreciating what it means to put your name behind a product you create, it was a pivotal experience. Now, 40 years later, picked up a pretty much NOS M240 (Ser#2600, early unit, pulled from a Model-T from what I was told!). Then a truly NOS PMA2150 and PMA2022 (from the factory shutdown in the 90s). The back story is half the fun with these. On the hunt for an M4120. Coming through here to learn and share, yall seem like a good crew! Thanks for the welcoming vibe, Craig Moates 7
Sk1Bum 11,410 Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Hi Craig and welcome to thecarversite.com. Glad you found us. I don't recall much discussion about Carver mobile amps, but we do have some schematics here: https://thecarversite.com/carvermanuals/ Click on the Carver Manuals tab along the bottom of the database window, and then scroll down in the window to Amplifier - Car Stereo , and you can browse what we have available.
xavionics 2,069 Posted July 16 Posted July 16 Welcome to TheCarverSite Craig! Good to see another care stereo buff among us. I haven't had Carver car audio, but I got addicted to the A/D/S stuff in the late '80s. Had a chance to do some work on a M240 a few months ago but had to pass due to our relocating. Looks to be pretty easy to work on - and getting manuals seems to be the tougher part. Have fun and share your journey!
Community Admin AndrewJohn 10,453 Posted July 16 Community Admin Posted July 16 Welcome @Craigmoates. So glad you found us. There's an entire section in Forums on Car Audio - if you haven't found it, it is here: Carver automotive gear - TheCarversite! There is considerably less there on Carver Mobile - due to the nature of it's half-life..., seems this audio gets installed, then destroyed with the end of life of a vehicle it was installed in. That's compared to the lifecycle of home audio gear, which finds its way onto the resaie market via garage sales, eBay, Craigslist..., etc..., and lives on in strength today. BUT, there are some cool restoration threads in the Mobile section I referenced above. One guy did a build with several m240 amps in a VW..., (I asked him once more recently..., he sold the car, and pulled and sold all the amps... - but the build he did was pretty cool! I'm looking forward to your posts on your project! Post lots of pictures!
Craigmoates 35 Posted July 20 Author Posted July 20 Thank you for the welcoming words. Looks like i'm expanding the collection to also include additional units: 1x M240, 2x M4060, M4120, M2120, and M2020. Plenty of refurbish, improvements, and probably some diagnostics/repair on the horizon. I've taken the PMA2150 apart for inspection and recap. Comparing it to the M240/M2120 schematics and layouts, it's similar in some ways but a different animal/design, without the more interesting multi-rail commutation and such. Single sided board, it uses TL494N instead of 3524 for switching. Stranded vs solid core coil. Different op amps (JRC2060/4558D/AN6551, not 4136). Looks like MOSFET (YTPF150) on the PS vs older design (MJE2340/50 sub TIP35/36B, both PS and out), with couple of 2SD817/1047 pairs on the output for the later PMA. The PMA2022 looks ultra basic, didn't even open it yet. Just an integrated TA8220H surrounded by passives and terminals. I'd say not much thought was needed for this particular design. Anyways, interesting enough to get me started! I'll be sure to provide plenty of content in terms of photos and details. 3 1
Sk1Bum 11,410 Posted August 2 Posted August 2 Hey gents, this a great discussion and all, but it should have it's own thread in the proper area: https://thecarversite.com/forum/15-carver-automotive-gear/ This area is for introductions. @Craigmoates, if you will create the thread, I'll move the appropriate posts from this thread to the new one. No worries.
Craigmoates 35 Posted August 3 Author Posted August 3 Good point, thank you! I'll segment things by amp moving forward if that makes best sense. Here is the post for the unit shown: 1
Sk1Bum 11,410 Posted August 3 Posted August 3 15 hours ago, Craigmoates said: Good point, thank you! I'll segment things by amp moving forward if that makes best sense. Here is the post for the unit shown: The posts have been moved to your new thread. Thank you for your cooperation.
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