Speaker cable
Go to Lowes, no affln., and get some bulk speaker cable or lamp cord cable, both in the same area of big rolls of electrical wire. Speaker cable has a larger diameter copper wire and both are sold at Lowes. Go to Radio Shack and get some on quarter inch mono jacks for the Pa outputs if it doesn't have posts you can attach bare wire. Plug in the quarter inch jacks to the PA and connect the bare wires to the cabinets, keeping the plus and minus sides of the speaker wire straight so you connect the positive to the positive on the Pa outputs and the cabs, and similarly with the minus - this keeps the speaker cones moving together in and out in synchronization.
If you hook up the positive side of the speaker wire, usually marked with a white stripe or raised ribs to the positive side on the PA output but to the negative side on the cabinet; THEN correctly hook up the other cabinet wth plus to plus, minus to minus, the speakers on each cabinet will be moving in and out opposite to each other - meaning when one moves in the other moves out (the paper cone moves in and out pushing air) and this out of synchronization state of being causes the speakers to have an effect that actually somewhat "cancels" the overall perceived at our ears, sound overall. This same principle holds true for home stereos as well.
Make sure that your speaker wires are not just connected, but that the two wires are connected properly to the amp output and the speaker input, in that the wire with the stripe or rib is connected to the plus or minus on BOTH the amp and the speaker and this is done for both speakers.
Don't just randomly connect the wire ends to the terminals on the cab or solder them onto quarter inch plugs without making sure each of the wires goes to the same plus or minus terminal on each end.
It is definitely possible that there is a fuse broken to the horns. You can check to see if there is a signal going to the horns by using your multimeter set to DC voltage, with the PA turned on and the cabinets connected to the PA, and see if you have any voltage going thru the wires to the horn. Check this on the spade jacks or where the wires attach to the horn. See where the wires from the horn go: do they go directly to the main speakers, etc,? Follow these horn wires all the way and you will eventually find voltage and the place where the conducting of the voltage stops, at a fuse, breaker, or other object, even disconnected wires. Don't assume anything - trace the circuit until you find voltage.
What if you find voltage at the horns? Not likely, but don't assume anything and start at the beginning - the horn speaker wire terminals on the horns.
First check with you multimeter for voltage to the main speakers at the speaker spade connectors where the wires connect to the speaker. Whatever this voltage is should be the same voltage at the horns.
If you do not have voltage at the horns you can follow the wires back toward the main speakers and try to discover where you suddenly have power in the wires and examine why the power all the sudden stops in between. Is it a fuse or some loose connection or disconnected wire? Some people don't like the hiss that sometimes comes from tweeter horns and they disconnect the wires to them.
Sometimes inside the cabinet there will be a speaker "crossover" that tells the wire which frequencies to let pass thru to the horn. The crossover could be destroyed or disconnected or might even have an adjustment on it to tell the wire which frequencies to send over, or even an on off switch like the tweeters on some bass amps.
Being ElectroVoice, I think you said, I would think these would be VERY good PA cabinets and very possibly have advanced wiring schemes within them, including speaker protection, fuses, a crossover, possibly an adjustable crossover or on off switch to the horn or a way to disconnect the horns.
The horns may very well be disconnected purposely by some previous owner or something like that.
Trace the wires from the horn that are not getting voltage with the PA TURNED ON, and try to locate where you suddenly have voltage. In this simple following of the wire back toward the PA you will be able to locate where the voltage stops and see what the culprit is.
Hope this long comment is okay, but I learned the hard way, long ago, how to trace back electrical problems by trying to find where all the sudden there is voltage in the wires, and lo and behold that's right where the problem is and you can usually easily correct the problem.
Since both cabinets are doing the same thing, I would think that both have the exact same problem. Very possibly the horns are turned off or the wires to them are disconnected.
Hopefully there is not a blown horn that caused the owner to disconnect both horns, but with ElectroVoice I would think the horns will be VERY durable and last a lifetime because they are probably very well protected by a circuit inside the cabinet.
Hope his helps.
Last edited by Duffy; August 29th, 2010 at 06:32 AM.
Duffy Bolduc
South Williamsport, Pa.
"Now all the things that use to mean so much to me has got me old before my time." G. Allman, "Old Before My Time", Hittin' the Note.
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Originally Posted by Spudman