salvaging 808-8A driver

[penguin9]

I inherited a pair of (511?) horns with 808-8A drivers several years ago from an old band mate. One had apparently been stored with the bell of the horn up for some period of time. The throat of the driver was full of leaves, dust, a stick . . . .. Some of the finer debris had filtered through the slotted cap at the back of the throat and gotten on the diaphragm. The back surface of the driver, where the diaphragm seats, was somewhat rusty. Anyway, the problem/questions are: Can the slotted cap be removed from the back of the driver? How can you clean out the slot where the voice coil goes? Can you use steel wool on the back surface of the driver (I did and that is part of the motive for the last problem). Can this driver be rehabilitated? If it can, when I replace the diaphragm should I replace the one in the working driver as well so that they match?

[scott fitlin]

They can be saved! What i would do is send them to Bill at GPA, for service, cleaning and regauassing!

Prices are good, workmanship is great, and youll have your drivers in top condition!

[WV]

Hello scotty,
so will i do, but i mailed Todd and Bill and didn't receive any answer.
I live in germany and it will not be cheap so i would like to know the costs before i ship them.
What can i do?
Thank you
Wolf

[penguin9]

Great to know that they are salvagable. I am planning to pair them with a pair of 416-8Bs. I have N801-8A crossovers that seem to work ok but the terminal posts are shot. I will be posting lots of questions as the project goes along I'm sure.
Thanks

[Steve Burger]

Bill rarely answers emails. You pretty much have to call him. It is pretty reasonable. The choice you have to make is between aluminum (902) and pascalite (909). the last 2 pairs I did I had Bill put Pascalite in so they will handle more power. I really liked the sound and to tell you the truth could not distinguish between them and the aluminum.

[gearjammer]

Do not send them till you talk to him as who knows they could be past the point of no return.
Or just not worth the cost and time.And bill has got some drivers sent to him that were so bad they were useless and not fixable. He showed me a few pairs.

[Steve Burger]

From South Dakota at least the cost of shipping would not be much and he would probably have to inspect them physically himself to determine whether they are fixable. From Germany, that may be a different story perhaps email him some close-up pics and then call him to have him look at the emails. When I said he rarely responds to emails I actually meant that it can take him a little while to get back to you.

[cclark65]

Hey Pengiun9, where abouts in SD do you live? I live about an hour south of Sioux Falls, and if you are close by, I would be willing to go over them with you and provide a diaphragm for testing it out.(but you can't keep it!)