The Great Equalizer: How To Use Fiberscopes To See Inside Your Sound-Mixing Machine To Spot Trouble

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Equalizers are part of a sound-mixing machine in music and sound technology for films. They are highly technical and very sensitive pieces of equipment, and as such they can break down easily. Rather than spend days taking your equalizers apart, you can literally "scope" out the problem with fiberscopes. Then you can take apart only the panels and pieces of machine that need to be taken apart for repairs. Here is how to use a fiberscope to accomplish this task.

Open a Larger Access Panel 

If you have a good idea what might be wrong with your equalizers, then open an access panel for the fiberscope. The scope itself is so small that it will easily thread through and in between even the smallest areas inside your sound machine. As you maneuver the scope into the areas inside that you want to check for problems, the tiny camera on the end will send images back over the fiber optic band inside the scope and to the screen, which is housed in a case. Once you find the trouble spot in your equalizers, you can leave the end of the scope in place until you have taken enough components out of the machine to get to that area.

Fixing the Problem Areas Using the Scope

When the electrical components that you are trying to fix are really tiny, the scope can magnify them for you while you do repairs. As you gently remove and substitute these tinier parts, the camera on the scope will help you to see if you are doing it correctly. Then, when you have completed the repairs on the problem areas of your equalizers, you can withdraw the scope and begin reattaching the components that you removed earlier.

Double-Checking Your Reassembly with the Scope

Since you will probably have to rent a fiberscope to do this project, you may just want to keep it until everything has been reassembled. Then you can use the scope to double-check the work you have done to make sure that everything is securely reattached. After drawing the scope back out, test your equalizers and your sound machine to make sure it is finally working properly. If it is, you can place the access panel back on. If not, you may need to access other parts of the machine that you think may be the source of your troubles. All told, you may need the scope for at least a day, so plan ahead and clear your calendar just for this project.


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