Leave the Voyager powered up for longer life???

[Sunsinger]

Hi Folks

I have collected and used analog synths for many years, and have had many oscillator/filter chips age out. I pose the question to any EE folks or any with the experience.
Will your voyager have a longer life if you leave it powered on???

The theory is this... The power up and down cycle does 2 things.
1) the power on surge hits the circuit and is hard on all of the components.
2) chips and other components are temprature stabile and each time they warm up and cool down, crystallization occurs and this is what prematurely ages chips.

Some supporting facts for this.

In the news it was reported, (in 2003) that a 40 watt lightbulb, in a New York Firehouse, had been left on continuosly lasted for 90+ years before burning out.

I have had my Genelec 1030A and speakers powered on continuosly for the past 10 years. With the exception of moving and power outages. No difference in the sound or performance. I've also done this with a pair of Genelec 1029s for five years. I imagine that they will easily last another 20 or more.

Any input would be appreciated.

Sunsinger

[OysterRock]

This has been discussed before, I'm sure resident senior EE MC could answer your questions better than me. But...

Short answer, turn your Voyager OFF when not in use. It is not a lightbulb, speaker or computer. In a device like this, prolonged heat is its worst enemy. Check out this thread:

http://www.moogmusic.com/forum/viewtopi ... light=heat

You really should turn off your speakers, too. They may have worked for 10 years, but heat is still the worst thing for them.

[Sunsinger]

Hey OysterRock...

I had been under the impression that the power cyclings were killing an Oberheim OBXa that I owned. It seemed that every time I powered up, something else went wrong with it. Guess 25 years is just a long time for a peice of complex electronics to function perfectly. We just hope that they will work forever.

An electrical engineer I know suggested that the Amps used to power speakers seemed to function for years beyond their normal life expectancy when the power was on most of the time.

Its interesting, the old wives tales out there. They seem to have a life of their own.

Thanks for the info and the link. There were some well founded arguments in there. And your right. The Voyager is not a lightbulb.

In the future, I'll power down, unplug, and cover up.

Sunsinger

[OysterRock]

Hey OysterRock...
I had been under the impression that the power cyclings were killing an Oberheim OBXa that I owned...
Sunsinger

There could really be anything wrong with your OBXa, keep in mind that electronics aren't built to last forever. 25 years is a long time for an electrical device, especially if it has been used a lot.

An electrical engineer I know suggested that the Amps used to power speakers seemed to function for years beyond their normal life expectancy when the power was on most of the time.
Sunsinger

I'm no expert on the subject, I'm still an EE student with much to learn, but maybe your friend was talking about tube amps. Powering up and down is rather stressful to circuits with vacuum tubes, it is better to leave those on (in standby mode, if possible). Don't leave it on ALL the time, but if you are going to do a day of recording, leave it on all day instead of turning it on and off.