[rwest1389]

Well I'll start off with a caution, this story is pretty strange and kinda gross.

I bought an Alien-DAC off a head-fi'er who built it. It worked great for a long time, and then suddenly one day, the music stopped. I tested the headphones and amp, they were fine, so I knew it was the DAC. I opened up the hammond case, and what I saw was not what I expected, and very disturbing. The inside was absolutely FILLED with ants. Lots of tiny ants and some huge ones too. I think I saw a few eggs. Why they chose to make a colony in my DAC, I have no idea. After shaking them out and then torching them with lysol and a lighter, I inspected the damage. I saw that the wires connecting the plug and chip lost connection to the chip at a spot labeled "OL." I had luvdullhill check it out (I didn't tell him how the chip got messed up). He said the wires were shaky at the plug and at the chip, and redid them for me. However, the DAC still does not work, even though the solder points look great to me (although I'm no expert, only done a couple soldering projects).

My question is, could ants have caused some kind of permanent damage other than dislodging a connection (I think the ants came in around the jack, so that might have caused the connection to break)? Or do you think that it is just the solder points that are still faulty (luvdunhill admitted to not having a right supplies for soldering such a small job). I could post some picture of the solder points if that would help.

I wasn't sure where to post this problem, but figured DIYers would be most knowledgeable. Any ideas would be great, thanks.

*note: I'm no expert in DIY so bear with me if I don't have the right terminology.

 

[The Actual]

Wow, little ants and big ants teaming up to destroy our audio equipment!

That is a crazy story, I wish I could offer some real advice. Thank you for sharing and good luck.

 

[dbfreak]

Some species of ants are attracted to low voltages. Clean up all contacts with a contact cleaner and check for good connections and that the caps haven't been compromised (nibbled through). Locate the source of the ants (the location that they enter your dwelling and treat with Drax or boric acid). I can see no way ants could permanently destroy the electronics unless pheromone's are corrosive or they create short circuits by bridging terminals while marching in line.

 

[AndrewB]

Fireants in TX

Quote:

In addition to mammals, fire ants like electricity. They eat through cable insulation on power lines and congregate on metal conductors, causing shorts in electrical lines, junction boxes, traffic and street lights, and air conditioners. What Cheryl Hill-Burrier, manager of Lockhart Airport, fears most is losing her radio system to the ants. "They love the wire that goes to my radio. I don't know why, but they do," she said, pointing to the cable behind her desk and a large dark brown pile of dead ants on the carpet. She had to pull out the pesticide spray that morning. "I worry about that. I am the tower to the pilots."

Weird critters, hope yours aren't fire ants.

 

[spookygonk]

Maybe the ants are the 'snake oil' or 'pixie dust' that make this Alien-DAC perform so well.

 

[heatmizer]

Ants really like the magic smoke that power all electrical devices. They must have eaten all of it.

 

[kipman725]

how bizzare.. I recomend checking all traces for breaks and cleaning with alchol.

 

[Mos3s]

I have special weekly rates..pm me for more info......

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mos3s /img/forum/go_quote.gif <img>http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4152/giantanteatergc6.gif</img> I have special weekly rates..pm me for more info......

If it was southern fire ants, they probably chewed through the silicon.

 

[dgbiker1]

I could see an ant shorting a couple contacts on the chip, so you wouldn't notice any visible damage. Kind of a weird behavior being attracted to electricity....

 

[ben7337]

I find it weird that they managed to survive in there. I can on'y imagine ants sneaking out at night and raiding your house only to return to their cozy little electric home or something.

 

[Seaside]

That's bizzar story you got there.

Any close-up photos, so that we can see what went wrong?

 

[icantusefizz]

I cant believe nobody has made an "alient ant farm" joke yet.....maybe it was too easy... maybe they just needed more than one hit..

 

[DolbyR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by icantusefizz /img/forum/go_quote.gif I cant believe nobody has made an "alient ant farm" joke yet.....maybe it was too easy... maybe they just needed more than one hit..

I was just gonna say now he has his own alien ant farm. But you was faster

 

[spookygonk]

Tell you what, these ants did appreciate good sound quality.