PCI MAX 3000+ v2 high pitch tone

Post by **pcs** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:09 am

This cap can be soldered to another location on the PCB so RDS board can be used, the beauty of this fix is that it doesn't require soldering.

We have extremely cold weather with winds and snow here as well

Cjaiceman · Post by **Cjaiceman** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 9:35 am

I had a 100uF/25v laying around, and it does reduce the tone, but it does not get rid of it. I will try a 470uF when I get a chance to go out.

Post by **pcs** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 1:01 pm

There is another fix, but it requires soldering iron. All you have to do is remove one component from the board.
If you think you're up to it I will send you a pdf explaining which component to remove.

To recap for everyone:
- This tone only appears on maybe 5% of all boards and it only appears at low power rating (around 20%)
- If you don't hear this tone do not apply any fix, it is a waste of time
- If you never run your card at anything but close to 100% do not apply any fix, it is a waste of time
- All boards starting yesterday have this fix so this will no longer be an issue

Cjaiceman · Post by **Cjaiceman** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 5:29 pm

I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, I would be interested in looking at that PDF if you got one. Send it to Cjaiceman 'at' gmail 'dot' com

AnotherBrian · Post by **AnotherBrian** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:57 am

I thought it was the ringing in my ears, until I stumbled on this thread. The high pitch noise is very irritating. I've installed a 470uf cap but I put it on the back of the board. Since I have the PCIMAX3000 in a PCI slot it will work for now, but if I was to mount it in a case it probably wouldn't be the preferred method. I can still hear the pitch. If I use low power and certain frequencies the pitch is still annoying, and I still consider this board defective although it is "listenable" at the moment if I turn the power to 50% and use certain frequencies where the pitch is lower volume. I use 91.7.

While I had it out of the PC I also installed a bit of a heat sink, since I need to turn up the power to lower the pitch. I don't really want to turn the power up more than 20% though because of the laws around these parts, and I'm in a big city. I could have also installed a fan but the heat sink material and paste was lying around so the price was right, and I don't have a spare fan sitting around. The heat sink material is from some scrap temp indicators I had lying around.

The overall fix consist's of:
installing the 470uf capacitor
finding a frequency where the pitch was the least noticeable
installing a heat sink
turning the power output up to 50%

I don't recommend soldering the cap to the back of the board though, Marko has a better method I'm sure. I did thins before he stated there was another solution and PDF available.

I use Winamp with AudioStocker and SqrSoft Advanced Crossfading for endless music throughout the house. Amazing sound! (except for the high pitch, I can only hear that on my real stereo, not the clock radio)

Here's what it looks like in the PC

Here's the link if the pic doesn't show here
http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vTxNtwtDM2Y/Ty4Kn ... 25255D.jpg

Cjaiceman · Post by **Cjaiceman** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:28 am

AnotherBrian, I have found that 91.7 and 93.9 and pretty clean. 87.9, 97.7 and 104.7 are pretty bad. Those are the only frequencies that I can test in the area, but some are better than others.

Post by **pcs** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 4:09 pm

http://www.pcs-electronics.com/software ... oneFix.pdf

Here you go, remove this component and it should be all good. Let me know how it works.

Cjaiceman · Post by **Cjaiceman** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 8:13 pm

Good news everyone! (And you just realized you read that in the professors voice)

That fix works 100%. I performed the fix (without adding the 470uF capacitor) and every frequency I tested is clean.

I also have not seen any ill side effects...
-Power output remains unchanged
-Audio quality is just as good as ever.

Post by **pcs** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:19 pm

Sounds good

AnotherBrian · Post by **AnotherBrian** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:48 am

I removed the capacitor I installed. I also removed that tiny little component. What is that thing anyway? Electronics have come a long way since I toyed with it in high school!

After I re-installed the card and fired it up I found that the high pitch noise is completely gone and the sound is incredible. This is one great piece of engineering for a home FM station. Now my wife really hates the music I listen too!! Great!

Thanks for the support!

Post by **pcs** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:05 pm

Glad to hear it

All cards now ship without this cap so no modifications are needed for new purchases.

PCS-Electronics

PCI MAX 3000+ v2 high pitch tone

My fix

Fixed!