Restoring an original '80s DS-5

[matbard]

Hello all (again...),


I'm trying to put the original blue box DS-5 that came with my Series I in his original state. First of all, I'd like to know if everything inside seems legit, without alteration:












The power cord is quite fried, it seems soldered on the track's 230V primary pins (it has already been swapped to European specs) and insulated with electrical tape, so maybe is an user mod and I'm going to replace it. I would like to have an IEC C14 receptacle as in the DS-5 of today, but I think the job it's outside my skills... however, I would like to have the box returned as per factory specs. Does someone have an original, untouched vintage DS-5 to get some info?


Thank you in advance,


- Matteo

[edwardofhuncote]

It just happens that I have the original DS-5 to a Series bass made within just a few numbers of yours Matteo, so probably the DS-5 units are pretty close as well. I will dig it out and post some pictures of its insides. Hopefully it'll be helpful. Let me see if I can find that thing...

[FC Bass]

There are some pics of the modified DS-5 that came with my '79 bass in this topic: http://alembic.com/club/messages/394/225640.html?1457532587

When I got it, the only mod was an on/off switch. I think the parts are original. (except for my extra input mod)

[edwardofhuncote]

Here ya' go... hope this helps. As far as I know, it has never been modified.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Matteo,

That DS-5 looks mostly original except the transformer has been changed.  As you can see by edwardofhuncote's pics the original Stancor power transformer had its primary input at the rear and secondary output at the front.  There was also a small thermal-type fuse on one leg of the AC line between the strain relief and the power transformer.

When your transformer was swapped out the person doing the work removed the strain relief and pulled the cord further into the box in an effort to reach the front inputs of the new transformer.  You can clearly see the "kink" in the wire where it originally passed through the strain relief.  It seems however that they still needed to extend the wire nearest the edge of the case so now you have a taped up solder joint.  What I can't tell exactly is if there is a component in that line as it curves around the front of the box?  Maybe they included a thermal fuse?

The packaging was so tight in these original boxes that there was no room for an IEC connector.  I've not looked at any recent DS-5s to see how they managed to make that happen but it certainly would be handy!

Jimmy J

[matbard]

There was also a small thermal-type fuse on one leg of the AC line between the strain relief and the power transformer.
 
When your transformer was swapped What I can't tell exactly is if there is a component in that line as it curves around the front of the box?  Maybe they included a thermal fuse?

Hello Jimmy!
 
I don’t think there is a thermal fuse, however I will remove the black tape and see what’s under. The blue line you pointed is only another piece of tape, I guess:

[Artgeckko]

Hey -
Just for giggles and reference, and since I had it nearby, I thought I would take a look inside...

[FC Bass]

Same here, not really helpful for the old one. But for completion, this is what a new one looks like:

[matbard]

I found the fuse: it's inside that black shrinking tube and seems to be a regular one than a thermal type



I see new DS-5s come with a regular fuse too... Is it safe to put one of those instead of the original 1/2A? Those seems to be unobtanium now...

[FC Bass]

Looks like the new one also has 1/2 A?

[JimmyJ]

Hey Flip, thanks for showing us the newer model.  Caps have shrunk and the bridge rectifier is on the little board which has made room for the IEC power entry / fuse AND voltage selector.  Nice!

Matteo, it's good to have a fuse in there and it probably could be any style you could find rated at 1/2 amp.  It looks like the transformer they used was meant to be mounted on a pc board as there's an extra center tap "pin" visible on the primary input.  The person who modified it likely soldered those larger wires to the transformer's pin-style lugs before putting it in place and then made the rest of the connections.  I'm guessing it works just fine even though it looks a bit rough.  You shouldn't need to do anything to it unless you want to.  And since you have the original large caps your options are limited.

Jimmy J

[matbard]

I re-assembled and tested the unit: the box outputs exactly +17,63V and -17,63V so it works as intended