The story… Harris Flexstar HDX-100 FM+HD exciter… Started making offensive static and distortion noises. GatesAir told me to pop the lid and reseat ribbon cables.
Only the usual Harris Broadcast cost engineering was visible within.
Molexia: a condition affecting Molex and similar tin plated connectors. Over time the tin oxidizes causing high impedance and can even cause utter meltdown on high current connectors …. Like this one pictured!!
The easiest diagnosis and temporary cure for Molexia is reseating the connector several times. Try DeOxit too.
The “XLR board”, audio is digitized on here then passed to the signal processor. Want to know what’s on the signal processor? Here you go:
Looks like the Death Star in there. Not to be confused with the actual Harris Deathstar (DexStar) which was the previous generation HD exciter.
The digital signal cables, these are actually… Sort of durable feeling, in the same sense that old 80 wire ATA (PATA) cables were (don’t breathe on it too hard).
Interestingly, operating the exciter with covers removed makes the touch screen on my phone malfunction from a disturbingly long distance away.
Well, I think it’s working again…. At least long enough for me to drive away from the tower at which point it’ll probably take a poop 😉
Engineer’s luck.