I have an 89 Sabers Hilt on the bench suffering with warbly sound.
As we know, China has often used the 5 V pad to drive LEDs, usually without incident. But on this build they’ve made it so the 5 volt pad is actually driving four SMD LEDs, which to me instinctively feels a bit optimistic.
I’ve checked the voltage at the 5v pad and while the LEDs are lit - which they do when sound starts, then they stay on for a few seconds after it stops - and it’s consistent at 5.24 V. So it isn’t dropping or anything. But I guess volts is only half the story.
So my question is could using the 5 V pad like this be the cause of the warbling? Just thought I’d sound you guys out before I start opening things up and rewiring.
Hmmm - curiosity got the better of me and I opened it up and disconnected those LEDs. Unfortunately it’s made no difference to the warbling. Tried a new SD card too, but no change.
That only leaves possible culprits being a power issue somewhere in the build (I’ve known slow motion type sound problems to accompany power issues - not sure if this is the same) or, from reading other threads, a more sinister clock thing with the Proffie.
THe 5v pad has enough juice to drive a few LEDs, but, if those LEDs cause feedback, or any other types of noise, that noise may come out of the speaker, which is of course not what you want.
However, there are plenty of other things that can cause weird noises, like:
bad speaker
battery problems
clock circuit problems
bad SD cards
random weird stuff
I recommend posting a video that includes the noise. Sometimes it’s possible to identify the problem based on how it sounds.
If that doesn’t help, I would try a different SD card, a different speaker, a different battery, and finally, a different proffieboard.
… and if that doesn’t help, then you have gremlins in your saber.
Battery is fully charged and have tried more than one - no change.
Tried disconnecting those LEDs from 5 volt pad - no change.
It doesn’t feel to me like it’s the speaker, but I guess that would be the next thing to try. But I have a hunch a new Proffie will be the solution - it has the ZZ mark, but it was installed by 89 Sabers and we can’t be sure it’s a legit Grade A Proffie.
Anyway this is what it sounds like - obviously most noticable with music. You don’t need a trained ear to know it definitely ain’t right! LOL!
That’s a new one for me.
It definitely sounds like the sound is speeding up and slowing down repeatedly, which means that there is some speed weirdness going on somewhere. There really are only two things that can do that, and one is the clock circuit on the board itself. Usually when it goes wrong, that is not how it sounds though.
The other option is the speed matching inside the amplifier. I don’t actually know how complicated that is so, I don’t know if it has the capability of sounding like this, but it is at least theoretically possible.
I would give the board a good clean with IPA, and make sure nothing is touching the clock circuit. If that doesn’t help, replacing the board is easier than figuring out what is actually wrong.
Maybe a stupid suggestion but could it be how the sound file is (“damaged”)? Have you tried playing the same sound file from the SD-card plugged in your computer ?
Is it one of the rare 89Sabers with a bluetooth module?
I had an issue with the speaker making a funky repeating noise a bit like that in one of my builds and traced it back to the bluetooth module. Once I disconnected the bluetooth module, it was fine and I called it “done.” I never went back to figure out the specifics…
No, no Bluetooth. There’s a crystal chamber wired in parallel with the blade. but that’s all.
Unfortunately I’m out of ammo, so I’ll be swapping out the board later this week.
