A while back, I posted about ClearCom’s MT1 and what a wonderful device it is for tying touring systems to house systems without any buzz hassles. Kevin McCoy replied, noting that according to ClearCom the MT1 provides termination for both systems, so to avoid double-termination issues, you need to turn off termination on both systems’ base stations. Of course, this makes it a huge PITA for both the touring guy and the house guy. Since I’d never run into issues with the MT1 I had on tour last season causing double-termination, I suggested that somebody had probably removed the terminating resistor from the MT1, but I never had a chance to open it up and investigate.
Then, the other day, I got an e-mail from fellow audio tech Gary Trenda, who told me that it is in fact quite easy to bypass or remove this resistor. Gary was kind enough to let me share the following instructions with you:
Take a look at the MT-1 circuit board. In the middle of the board between
the phoenix connector and the transformers you’ll see 2 resistors and a
diode. This configuration is mirrored on the other side of the
transformers.
In each set of components, the middle resistor is the terminating resistor.
On the MT-1’s I looked at, the terminating resistors are the only blue
resistors on the circuit board. When you remove them, you’ll be able to see
labels underneath on the circuit board. They should read R4 and R24.
Rather than completely remove the resistors, I’ll usually de-solder only one
leg and hinge the resistor up. I find that the leg away from the large
capacitor is easiest to de-solder and disconnect. I do it this way because
it leaves the resistor on the circuit board in case I need to re-connect it
later.
(Bonus points to anybody with access to an MT1 who wants to send me pictures of the mod to post!)
Lots of updates in the works,
Andy