Outdoor volume control YES or NO?

[PHANofPHUNK]

Hi folks, it's good to be back!

So, i have a 3 year old outdoor volume control that I believe needs replacing. I fried one 13 year old sony, and sent a 1 year old onkyo into protect mode yesterday.

They were getting so hot they shut down, the sony for good. (RIP) My theory is that the volume control is trashed, and causing the receivers to work extra hard.

This has never been a problem before, I cant barley turn it up with out it shutting down. So, Should I run a line directly to the outdoor speakers, or by a new outdoor VC?

 

[XEagleDriver]

Did it used to work to your satisfaction, or has the amp always been running warm/hot?

Were you using any A/B or A+B speaker connections on the old amps, and do you have speakers connected to both?

What is the impedance of the outdoor speakers, make and model?

How long and where is the wire run to the outdoor speakers?

Is it fairly well protected, subject to the elements, or condition unknown?

XEagleDriver

 

[highfigh]

Hi folks, it's good to be back!

So, i have a 3 year old outdoor volume control that I believe needs replacing. I fried one 13 year old sony, and sent a 1 year old onkyo into protect mode yesterday.

They were getting so hot they shut down, the sony for good. (RIP) My theory is that the volume control is trashed, and causing the receivers to work extra hard.

This has never been a problem before, I cant barley turn it up with out it shutting down. So, Should I run a line directly to the outdoor speakers, or by a new outdoor VC?

Are the speaker wires buried or hung on a trellis/garage/gazebo? If they're buried and you didn't use direct burial wire, you need to use that and put it in plastic conduit. Check the speakers for shorts, too. If they're ported, I can guarantee you have spider nests and all kinds of other insect activity inside the boxes. If the volume control was in a junction box, open it and look inside. If you see any corrosion or other signs of moisture, fix the cause and replace the control with a good one that's made for outdoor use. Using a cheap one is just being cheap, not frugal.

 

[PHANofPHUNK]

xeagledriver,

yes it used to work well, I was using just two channel stero, speaker a, with b shut off, the impedance is 8ohms, Musica (mtx) 75 watt max,

Wire run is about fifty ffeet all together, 16 gauge, BURIED, AND NOT OUTDOOR WIRE, that could be my problem. the vc was mounted under some steps, no direct sunlight, or rain.

speakers are ported but have a grill, I did open up the volume control and there was a bunch of spider nests i it. cleaned it and still didn't seem to have enough power....thinking abut just gettin an IR repeater

 

[Rickster71]

You'll need direct burial wire. (or conduit) I'd use landscape lighting wire. 16AWG is a little small for a 50' run, I'd go with 14 or 12 AWG.

If spiders are getting in, it's not a weather tight box.
I hope this work wasn't professionally done; all the problems you're having are from corners being cut, and less than professional work.

 

[PHANofPHUNK]

I did it all myself, and the box definitely was not air tight.

After doing some research, I decided to eliminate the volume control and use an IR repeater.

 

[highfigh]

I did it all myself, and the box definitely was not air tight.

After doing some research, I decided to eliminate the volume control and use an IR repeater.

If you get an IR repeater, make sure it's not placed where the sun will hit it directly, or reflect to it. For the price, I would just get an outdoor volume control if you only want to adjust the volume. If you want to switch sources, the IR is a good way to go.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I use Niles IR gear for outside and it works great. The IR eye is in the ceiling of the patio and goes to a 2 zone MSU which controls audio and video outside.

I am sure it can get expensive if you purchase it all new but ebay may be your friend on this. I don't think I have over $100-$150 in this system.

If you can get by with a single zone MSU, I have a spare one.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

The eye in the ceiling? Yep, it's cool.

Let me know if you go this direction and you need the MSU.

thats almost unnoticeable!