Nighthawk DOWN!! Nighthawk DOWN!!

kgturner · « **on:** 18 Sep 2010, 02:26 pm »

OMFG!!! I had the most incredible failure last night. I'm still in disbelief of what happened. I was playing several records last night. I noticed some of the records were somewhat static-y, but nothing extreme. After the first side of my last record finished, I return the tonearm, lifted the record up off the platter and *POP*!

I see a HUGE spark of static electricity shoot from the record to my Nighthawk F-117 which is housed under by turntable. The red LED light switch went out instantly. I turned everything off and pull the Nighthawk out from under the table, only to smell the all-too-familiar acrid stench of burnt electronics.

Checking everything out this morning, the LED light comes on, but no sound comes out of my system. I've hooked my turntable up to my receiver's phono input and verified that it still work. I've tested my preamp's inputs and they still work. It appears that the "lightning bolt" of static killed the Nighthawk, but nothing else was harmed.

I'm gonna try to give Ray a call later today or Monday to see what I can do. Not sure if this type of thing is covered under the warranty or not. Has anybody ever seen anything like this before? How do I reduce static build up on my LP's so this never happens again? Thanks for any insight or experiences you can provide.

Kevin T

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Sep 2010, 05:46 pm »

WOW! That's a real bummer!

Did you have your ground cable hooked up properly?

srb · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Sep 2010, 05:59 pm »

You may want to consider a thin electrically conductive fiber mat on your platter. Although some are said to be able to dissipate the static charge within themselves, it would be even more ideal if there is an actual ground contact between the mat and the spindle and/or platter.

Steve

kgturner · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Sep 2010, 06:40 pm »

Yeah, I had the ground cable connected. It goes from the connection block on the back of my
VPI underneath the table to the Nighthawk. Might have to look into the mat srb mentioned, but I don't know who makes something like that.

Kevin T

Sonny · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Sep 2010, 06:51 pm »

That Sucks! Sorry to hear!

neobop · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 Sep 2010, 01:51 am »

It was probably a bad ground connection in the Nighthawk - a loose wire or something. Good thing it's under warranty. Many smaller manufacturers like Ray would stand behind their products anyway, even if you had no warranty.

I doubt if you need to take any extraordinary preventative measures. That's assuming everything works normally into your receiver. The charge built up because of the malfunction. It might have startled you, but that's about it?

Did I ever tell about the time when I got zapped with 50,000 V ?

LOL, another time perhaps.
neo

AudioSoul · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Sep 2010, 02:11 am »

Does the Nighthawk have a internal fuse? I would check that before anything..........

kgturner · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Sep 2010, 02:53 am »

Nope. No internal fuse. Ray thinks the battery exploded. I haven't opened it up, but something's rattling around in there.

Kevin T

JDUBS · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Sep 2010, 03:17 am »

Quote from: kgturner on 18 Sep 2010, 02:26 pm

OMFG!!!

Were you watching Gossip Girl when this occured? Last time I saw "OMFG" was on that show...which my wife made me watch, I swear!

-Jim

kgturner · « **Reply #9 on:** 19 Sep 2010, 06:32 am »

No. I was watching Jersey Shore and gel-ing my hair back in a blowout. I was also shuffling my feet rapidly against the rug while wearing wool socks.

Kevin T

95Dyna · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 Sep 2010, 06:18 pm »

Quote from: kgturner on 18 Sep 2010, 06:40 pm

Yeah, I had the ground cable connected. It goes from the connection block on the back of my
VPI underneath the table to the Nighthawk. Might have to look into the mat srb mentioned, but I don't know who makes something like that.

Kevin T

Hi Kevin,

I'm set up exactly as you are with the Nighthawk sitting under the front of my VPI Classic and the cables running under the table to the connecting block on the back. The platter is bare as recommended by the VPI manual. I'm using the Benz Wood SL. FWIW I haven't had any unusal events such as you have described since installing the Nighthawk in May.

Bill

Gopher · « **Reply #11 on:** 21 Sep 2010, 04:59 pm »

Yeesh! That crazy. Ray is great though. His customer service is top notch as is his generosity.

I suspect he will take care of you. He stands by his products.

kgturner · « **Reply #12 on:** 21 Sep 2010, 05:02 pm »

I shipped it out to him yesterday and he should receive it tomorrow. He and I spoke Saturday afternoon and he said he thinks he'll be able to get a 1 day turnaround time on the unit, assuming it was the battery failure like he thinks. This has definitely been my weirdest vinyl experience to date. Never seen what amounted to a lightning bolt of static electricity before!

Kevin T

Gopher · « **Reply #13 on:** 21 Sep 2010, 05:12 pm »

Can't argue with a 1 day turnaround. Maybe you should be concerned about your cartridge... that can't be good for it.

kgturner · « **Reply #14 on:** 21 Sep 2010, 05:23 pm »

I hooked up my VPI to the phono stage of my Denon receiver and nothing sounded out of the ordinary. I double checked the inputs on my Supratek pre as well and everything seemed fine. That'd be a super bummer if the static damaged my cart as I just got it back from Soundsmith last week after a re-tip (after receiving it damaged from an A'gon seller!!).

I guess I won't really know for sure until I receive the Nighthawk back. In the meantime, I purchased one of Mapleshade's grounded fine steel wire record brushes as all I've been doing thus far is dry brushing with a Hunt brush until I can save up for an RCM. Hopefully the Mapleshade will knock out the excess static. It's got a 30-day money back guarantee so it's worth a try.

Kevin T

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 Sep 2010, 10:12 pm »

Hmmm. The battery was my biggest concern regarding the Nighthawk. Hope this is an extremely rare event for all us Nighthawk owners.

kgturner · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Sep 2010, 11:46 pm »

Man am I jonesin' to get the Nighthawk back. I've got my VPI hooked up to my Denon receiver because the vinyl I ordered last week arrived today and I couldn't bear to shelve it until I get the Nighthawk back. The phono stage in the Denon is definitely not up to extracting all there is from my LOMC Dynavector DV-20X.

Kevin T

BobM · « **Reply #17 on:** 22 Sep 2010, 12:33 am »

Bummer, I did this to a friend's rig a year or two ago. We were readjusting his cartridge set up. I was listening to the balance on his microfiber couch. I got up to make an adjustment, touched the arm and SPARKLE - CRACK - POP. Big blue spark from the stylis to the record.

Well, it turned out I fried one channel on the cartridge, a Grado sonata. He contacted Grado and they said it shouldn't have resulted in a failure. They sent him a new/rebuilt replacement. Nice service from Grado here. Hope you can be as lucky.

kgturner · « **Reply #18 on:** 30 Sep 2010, 04:34 pm »

Just got off the phone with Ray and apparently the damage is more severe than expected. All the caps are fried. I guess I was naive in hoping that the static explosion would be covered by warranty. So, now I'm looking at a minimum of $150 repair. Not sure what the bill will be if the Nighthawk is a total loss. I guess if I can afford to get the Nighthawk repaired, I'll move it from directly underneath my Scoutmater. I'm crossing my fingers.

Kevin T

neobop · « **Reply #19 on:** 30 Sep 2010, 06:01 pm »

Do you have a written warranty? If so, maybe you should read it. It wasn't really hit by lightning. A static discharge can happen during a normal record playing session. Maybe a self-contained battery powered phono pre is more susceptible?

It's disappointing to read this turn of events. I'd expect Samuels to stand behind his product and fix it for free. Doesn't he make phono stages that go for $4K? Maybe he's not as big as Grado, but a Sonata costs almost as much as a Nighthawk. A cartridge is normally much more susceptible to this sort of thing.

"He contacted Grado and they said it shouldn't have resulted in a failure. They sent him a new/rebuilt replacement."
neo