Hello Geekslutz,
Newbie and hack from Japan here. Was fortunate enough to acquire a Soundcraft Spirit FX16 that was about to be tossed into the garbage some years ago.



The unit had intermittency issues and the PSU (P/N - HB0166) was misplaced. Couldn't find any replacement for the PSU. Thought I'd build a replacement eventually, but some weeks ago, I came across a Yamaha MG166 that looked real similar to the Soundcraft in specs. Checked out the PSU (P/N - PA30). The PSU specs were really close:

Soundcraft HB0166:
Input: 120V AC 60Hz
Output: 18.4V AC - 0V - 18.4V AC 800mA

Yamaha PA30:
Input: 100V AC 50/60Hz
Output: 18.0V AC - 0V - 18.0V AC 1400mA

The Soundcraft has a 4-pin female connector (with pin 2 open) while the Yamaha has a 3-pin. Both use "green" as ground. The Soundcraft U.S. manual says:

Neutral (pin 1): Blue (White - US)
Open (pin 2): n/a
Earth (pin 3): Green and Yellow (Green/Yellow - US)
Live (pin 4): Brown (Black - US)

Unfortunately, the actual wire coloring for the PSU connectors were green, black and red. I'm assuming:

Neutral (pin 1): Red
Open (pin 2): n/a
Earth (pin 3): Green
Live (pin 4): Black

So, the PA30 is a 3-pin female connector as follows:
Neutral (pin 1): Yellow
Earth (pin 2): Green
Live (pin 3): Red

So, as an experiment (since I'm in Japan) I'm figuring Red is hot. It's probably not a big deal, but if the greens stay connected as Earth (ground), then it's probably safe to assume that Red is hot in Japan, and I can connect Red to Black. Still trying to figure out how to post pics, but this PA30 should work as a substitute for the HB0166.

Once, the work is done, the FX16 will be thoroughly cleaned and tested. Already found a couple of cracked solder joints which will be easy to fix. Will test the FX16 using the Yamaha PA30 PSU this coming weekend. Thinking this should be a suitable substitute for the HB0166. Still can't figure out how to post pics, but I'm sharing in hopes that somebody will have some insights. Thanks for reading my post! Your comments are most welcome!

Thanks to the Admins for giving me IMG capabilities. So continuing with my restoration in prep for a Saturday trial run, here's a shot of the main PCB.



Here's the power and Lexicon Effects PCB.



And here's a look at the rear panel plate w/ PCB.



All of the boards were pretty filthy, and needed a thorough cleaning, but aside from a few areas needing extra solder, the unit looks to be in fine shape. Multimeter seems to indicate that intermittency is resolved. Looking forward to a successful trial with the new PSU in a couple of days! Cool!

Those are cool boards from a day gone by. sort of.

Thanks for the comment bitman. Days "almost" gone by, yes...but with the built-in Lexicon digital effects, this isn't quite the relic of ancient-tech... Despite being a hack, I've always loved the old discrete circuit stuff, though...

So, here's the video of my PSU test. I can't really tell any audio sensory difference between the OEM HB0166 and my PA-30 test unit. Of course, it's been years since I heard this table in working condition, so my observations are hardly credible.



Regardless, the PA-30 performs famously and seems to have plenty of headroom. Of course, the FX16 unit's sweet sound still impresses. Very satisfied with the results. Hope this is helpful to anybody who has an FX16 with a lost or broken PSU. Cheers!

Big Booboo! So, a Youtuber was a bit confused with my video above! So, after some review, I realized that I mistakenly address the yellow wire in the PA-30 as "black" and I also have my pin numbers backwards! Yikes! So very sorry for the misleading info! I already deleted the source files for the video; so, I wanted to offer some clarity... just-in-case!



Again, I apologize for the error, and hopes this makes the conversion clearer! Thanks!

Hey, this may seem like a silly question but could I use 2x 18v ac 2A power adaptors, connect the neutral from them together with the neutral pin then, send each Of the lives to the two live pins on the 4pin xlr instead of trying to source a complete power supply? Or is my limited knowledge of electronics completely wrong haha. I just read somewhere that this is what is essentially inside this PSU.

Thanks

Sam

do you have disassemble video?

Hello folks, For those of you living in the US, I just noticed Amazon has a replacement PSU for the Soundcraft Spirit FX16. The same replacement PSU is also available on E-Bay. I have no idea if the replacement PSU actually works, but for what it's worth here's a link...

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-A...f-a2c47c48c32f

Hope this helps.