The m100 that started an addiction

[quickrip]

So a couple years back my wife Jen and I were cruisin through town in san jose to meet someone and I spotted a garage sale with a speaker box in the driveway. I've been into car audio for the majority of my life so I had to check it out cause like I told my wife "ya never know" so she reluctantly lets me pull over to check it out. I see its some old kicker comps. ahh whatever right? Well as I'm about to split I see that there's an amp on the back of the box. I stopped Jen and took another look. Phoenix Gold! Score! At this point all I knew about phoenix gold was it was in the class of equipment that was out of my price range when I was putting systems together. So I knew enough to buy it. I asked the older gentleman what he wanted for the speakers. Btw one of the subs looked as if someone put their foot through it. He said 40 I said 20 and I left with the goods.

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Finally my first high end amp. I know it's not the cleanest but before this my best amps were diamond audio d5's. So, the amp worked great and I was now bitten by the car audio bug. I have a great sony xes setup going now, but pg is where it's at. I'm for sure addicted to the hunt. I've been searching craigslist and ebay over he last 2 years since my m100 find and I have a nice little selection of fun toys.
Ok, back to the m100. I did my research on this cool new discovery found out more about what it was and when it was made. I also found out more about pg and all the great selection of amps that I now needed. lol. So I found in my searching that the m100's I was seeing pics of were different than mine. They all had gold traces all over the board and mine was solid green. So I figured out this was one of the original usa made boards. kinda cool. I've since replaced the caps and have enjoyed hours of great music with it blasting. what an awsome amplifier.

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So the reason I brought this up tonight was I was working on the old beast tonight. I had a problem when I switched on the low pass crossover a couple months back. The speakers popped real bad. Even blew the tweeter protection fuse on my mb quarts. I pulled it apart and took a look at the crossover pot.

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It had a lot of junk on/ around it. I took some contact cleaner to it and some good twisting back and forth and it works like new again. I'll never get rid of this amp. When I'm 75 yrs old this thing will be blasting some led zepplin in my ride and the grand kids will have no idea how cool that really is.

Ben

[Kurten75]

That's a cool story

Some TLC and these amps will keep playing SQ for the next decade or two.
In the 90's I couldn't afford PG - but they were high up my wanted list.
Now - 20years later I'm currently living my second youth and trying to shape my kid to be a PG fan.

[ttocs]

have you tried a piece of paper under the caps to see if they are leaking? On any good PG amp you will want to test this almost anytime you power it up or you risk melting the amp down.

[quickrip]

That's a cool story

Some TLC and these amps will keep playing SQ for the next decade or two.
In the 90's I couldn't afford PG - but they were high up my wanted list.
Now - 20years later I'm currently living my second youth and trying to shape my kid to be a PG fan.

Train em up right. I love it.

have you tried a piece of paper under the caps to see if they are leaking? On any good PG amp you will want to test this almost anytime you power it up or you risk melting the amp down.

Caps have been changed. thanks for checkin. This is a few years back. I just decided to share how I came to the dark side. haha

[Eric D]

That is an excellent story.

I worked for a place that sold PG and still could not afford it. My first PG amp was a ZX450 I bought off eBay around 2003.

[trickyricky]

Looks like some repair work on the 4560 op amp next to the switch...perhaps just a jumper to repair a open trace. I wouldn't bother messing with it if it's working already as it should.

[quickrip]

I have no idea what your referring to Ricky but I'll leave well enough alone for now. Haha

[zeropoint0.5]

Looks like some repair work on the 4560 op amp next to the switch...perhaps just a jumper to repair a open trace. I wouldn't bother messing with it if it's working already as it should.

i have one M100 with exactly the same "jumper" in it, so probably it is something stock for this revision.......


@quickrip, did you already do a checkup for dc offset ??

measure this without speakers/rca connected......

[trickyricky]

Looks like some repair work on the 4560 op amp next to the switch...perhaps just a jumper to repair a open trace. I wouldn't bother messing with it if it's working already as it should.

i have one M100 with exactly the same "jumper" in it, so probably it is something stock for this revision.......


@quickrip, did you already do a checkup for dc offset ??

measure this without speakers/rca connected......

Is your board green as well? Perhaps a revision for the early models? I mentioned it because I would of hated if that piece was just a loose strand inside the amp...waiting to cause serious damage. Thanks for pointing that out of it being a revision.

[quickrip]

@quickrip, did you already do a checkup for dc offset ??

measure this without speakers/rca connected......

Not sure how to do this. Can you explain. I would like to learn how.
Thanks

[zeropoint0.5]

Looks like some repair work on the 4560 op amp next to the switch...perhaps just a jumper to repair a open trace. I wouldn't bother messing with it if it's working already as it should.

i have one M100 with exactly the same "jumper" in it, so probably it is something stock for this revision.......


@quickrip, did you already do a checkup for dc offset ??

measure this without speakers/rca connected......

Is your board green as well? Perhaps a revision for the early models? I mentioned it because I would of hated if that piece was just a loose strand inside the amp...waiting to cause serious damage. Thanks for pointing that out of it being a revision.

i emailed you some pics....

[zeropoint0.5]

@quickrip, did you already do a checkup for dc offset ??

measure this without speakers/rca connected......

Not sure how to do this. Can you explain. I would like to learn how.
Thanks

it is simple. just power the amp up, no speakers or rca connected...

put the dmm on 200-300mV measurement and measure the dc on the output of the channels...

between + and - of each channel....

if both channels are lower then 35mV, then the amp is fine.........

measure it when you just powered the amp up and after 20min again......

[quickrip]

Ok I'll check tonight thanks for the help.

[ttocs]

I might be wrong but I thought eric has said that the dc offset really isn't something that you want to mess with unless you know what your doing?

[zeropoint0.5]

I might be wrong but I thought eric has said that the dc offset really isn't something that you want to mess with unless you know what your doing?

it is not to mess with it, it is just a simple test to check if the amp is currently in good condition.......

if it is, fine. if it's not, there might be something caused by a pre driver transistor.....

at least then you know the condition of the amp............

[Eric D]

Never mess with the bias control unless you know what you are doing. If you turn it up too far it will blow the amp.

The only PG amp I know of (as far as old ones go) which has a DC offset control are the ZPA amps. Those you should only mess with the DC offset if you know what you are doing. I am pretty sure you can't harm the amp by turning the offset all the way in either direction though, but I have never tried it to find out...

[quickrip]

Ok Ill just leave it be. It already sounds amazing.

[zeropoint0.5]

Ok Ill just leave it be. It already sounds amazing.

i only posted to MEASURE one time the dc offset on the speakeroutputs....don't adjust anything, just MEASURE

one time with a dmm......... just to know for you're self if the amp is fine or not.......

i never posted anything about the BIAS #is not the dc offset........

[Derekdahms]

My first PG AMP I got was in 92 or 93 , I was dating a girl after high school and her mom( which is my mother in law now ) bought me the MS250 I had been looking at but couldn't afford. I was so grateful for that. After that I bought the M series and also played around with some Orion's , but PG was and is my addiction. As for the MS250, I still have it . My mother in law is lying in bed now with brain cancer she is not expected to make it through the weekend, so I will reinstall this amp , so every time I fire that thing up , it will remind me of her ! Sorry so deep guys , but that little MS250 has a lot of meaning to me !

[zeropoint0.5]

My first PG AMP I got was in 92 or 93 , I was dating a girl after high school and her mom( which is my mother in law now ) bought me the MS250 I had been looking at but couldn't afford. I was so grateful for that. After that I bought the M series and also played around with some Orion's , but PG was and is my addiction. As for the MS250, I still have it . My mother in law is lying in bed now with brain cancer she is not expected to make it through the weekend, so I will reinstall this amp , so every time I fire that thing up , it will remind me of her ! Sorry so deep guys , but that little MS250 has a lot of meaning to me !

My thoughts and prayers are with you and you're family.....currently my dad has a brain desease (progressive nucleair palsy) and is going behind month

after month...... so i really can understand how you feel,even that i don't know you in person.....you have to watch how everything happens and there

is nothing you can do, i really now know what that is like.........


Keep that amp as a symbol to not forget her, as well as other things like family pics ......


but.....here i'm again....to make sure that symbolic amp would stay intact, please don't power it up anymore unless the ps caps and silpads are replaced.....

Keep strong man , and be there for you're girl now.....she needs you..... greetings from Belgium, Europe.... Paul

[STROKD]

great story! Mine was sorta the same, EXCEPT my dad made bank in the 90s, and dropped about 12k on his Porsche in 1992 for the Alpine DigiMax system which was an early 90s version of F1. His car sounded un-damn-real, and well he wanted me to have some tunes too. The place that did it was in Fremont, CA near where the OP lives, they were a PG dealer! (lucky-f'in me!)

The owner joked with my dad after finishing his car and said I needed a PG amp. We were like WTF is Phoenix Gold? He goes on to tell us that it will have 3x the power of the Porsche that we both thought sounded great, and on and on... find out he can get me a limited ed one, the plant only has 2 left, and we better decide. My dad says ok wtf, and buys me a Frank Amp N Stein when I am 14 (STILL WISH WE BOUGHT THE LAST ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!)... for my 15/16th birthday... it sat in the crate until I was 16 and he installed it in my mom's 5.0 Convertible and gave me the keys! (Vanilla Ice style baby!), and well I never looked back... Ive had over 20 at one time, I think Im around 11-14 or something now, with 6 Alpines out of that Porsche, and 6-7 Orion HCCAs... Im an amp junkie, and I dont even own a damn car currently!

Anyway, I still have ole Frankie AND THE CAR WHICH IS ALL ZPAd AND FOCAL NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Ill never sell it (or the car) since it was the amp that started my addiction and was from my dad when I was young. Means a lot to me. Hes still around luckily, but we have sorta grown up a little and are into home audio more now... you think car audio is expensive! LMFAO! home stuff is 10-30 times the price for quality gear!

[STROKD]

My first PG AMP I got was in 92 or 93 , I was dating a girl after high school and her mom( which is my mother in law now ) bought me the MS250 I had been looking at but couldn't afford. I was so grateful for that. After that I bought the M series and also played around with some Orion's , but PG was and is my addiction. As for the MS250, I still have it . My mother in law is lying in bed now with brain cancer she is not expected to make it through the weekend, so I will reinstall this amp , so every time I fire that thing up , it will remind me of her ! Sorry so deep guys , but that little MS250 has a lot of meaning to me !

thoughts and prayers man, so awesome of a non family member to do that for you, i know how that could have felt...

you live in Meridian? just down the road from my parents summer home. They have a place in Eagle right off that long road that goes through Meridian off 84... just after you go downtown. think its called red leaf or something? anyway man, sad to hear about your mother in law, as you said remember her the best u can with that amp!!!

[oilworker]

I have never seen an M series with an all green board. That is awesome. Also a great story.

Derekdahms, sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. That is a sad but good story also. It is crazy how this equipment becomes so personal.

Here is my story. I worked for a shop that was a huge PG dealer. It was 1998 and I had just graduated high school. I had already worked for a few shops while in school but this was my first full time job. I wanted PG so bad but couldn't afford it. A customer came in around 1999 and was selling all of his old gear to build a new system. He had an Outlaw and I wanted it more than anything in the world. My friend who worked sales was cool enough to buy it and held it til I saved enough money to get it from him. I was so happy. I put it in my car running Kicker components up front and 2 IDQ 12s. About a month later, someone busted my window out and stole the amp. I was devastated. I remembered the serial number and every time I saw an Outlaw for sale I would check the number. I had lots of equipment over the years but never forgot about my old Outlaw. Now fast forward to August of 2013, a childhood friend came over to show me a car he just bought. A twin turbo G8. We had a common interest in fast cars and car audio. His grandma lived 2 doors down from my parents so we were friends since children. We got on the subject of car audio as he saw amps and speakers all over my garage. I told him about the one amp I wish I still had. About 2 months later he called me up. I figured he was calling to tell me the dyno results of the G8 because he took it that week. Instead he told me he has an amp that he thinks was mine. I figure it was something I sold then he bought. He says he went to help his mom clean out her storage and she said I will never use this so you can have it. It was a big amp wrapped in a towel. His mom and dad were also into custom cars and hot rods so it was no surprise that she had cool stuff like that. He opened the towel to find this Outlaw. Remembering my story, he asks her where she got it. She tells him she bought it from her brother a long time ago. Her brother (his uncle) still lived 2 doors down from my parents and was always in and out of jail for drugs, theft, etc. He figures that his uncle stole it from me and sold it to his mom. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I said before you say anything else, mine was #1148. He said this is it. He asked me where I was at. I told him I was driving home from work. He says well stop by and pick it up. I couldn't get there fast enough. I offered him money for a reward for his honesty as most people these days wouldn't do something like that. He says his scumbag uncle stole it and it belonged to me and I needed to have it back. Since getting it back, it re-ignited my PG addiction. I now have 6 Outlaws and many other PG amps, speakers, etc.
Sorry such a long story, I still can't believe I got my original Outlaw back after being stolen for 14 years!

[STROKD]

Oilworker, that is an incredible story, makes sense it was stolen since he lived near you...

I got lucky as hell one time, had a huge pg sticker on my back window, came home from a trip and my trunk was open in front of my house... i ran to the car thinkin someone stole my Frankenstein amp, and low and behold, everything was there and still hooked up. Have no idea to this day how the trunk was popped for the week no one was home and nothing was missing... had foglights stolen at least 3 times off that car, and someone tried to take my rims. I guess ghetto kids didnt know wtf the stereo was, didnt say Rockford on it so it wasnt worth stealing... lmfao.

[Derekdahms]

Awesome stories ! That's a crazy one Oilworker . Mother in law passed away peacefully last Sunday ! She was a great lady and will miss her dearly . Thanks for the thoughts and prayers ! Caps were replaced on the MS250 . it's ready to roll. I wish I had back some of my stolen M -series amps also , nothing worse than a thief in my opinion ! I'll bet there is some more interesting stories out there !