New Amp Day - Kinda
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mayfly
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Some more things soldered in place.
Wiring up the input jacks was a bit of an adventure. Apparently in the original amps the hot leads of the jacks were soldered together, and then the wire to the amp soldered to that. At least that's what the instructions say... so that's how I did it! I hope the joint does not crack or something over time.
I'm not sure how I feel about the power switch being on the volume control pot. Even if there is enough dialectic in the insulation it seems kinda like a recipe for 60Hz hum city. I guess we'll see!!
Wiring up the input jacks was a bit of an adventure. Apparently in the original amps the hot leads of the jacks were soldered together, and then the wire to the amp soldered to that. At least that's what the instructions say... so that's how I did it! I hope the joint does not crack or something over time.
I'm not sure how I feel about the power switch being on the volume control pot. Even if there is enough dialectic in the insulation it seems kinda like a recipe for 60Hz hum city. I guess we'll see!!
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mayfly
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Getting there. I ran into the first problem: The power transformer has different windings, and different wire color codes, than the instructions. Shock Face!!
I got through this by downloading the specification on this particular transformer from the manufacturer (who kindly labeled the transformer in the first place). It's all good, but this is the first black mark against the Tube Depot: Extensive documentation does not match a major part.
BTW, the main problem was the primary - did not match the instructions at all. Not a good thing to get wrong
. Also the transformer had a center tap on the heater windings, which is a good thing - but not explained in the instructions.
I got through this by downloading the specification on this particular transformer from the manufacturer (who kindly labeled the transformer in the first place). It's all good, but this is the first black mark against the Tube Depot: Extensive documentation does not match a major part.
BTW, the main problem was the primary - did not match the instructions at all. Not a good thing to get wrong
. Also the transformer had a center tap on the heater windings, which is a good thing - but not explained in the instructions.Attachments
Cagey
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I think maybe once, but couldn't swear to it. Probably hit it making the rounds one evening. Haven't spent a great deal of time in Quebec. But I've spent a lotta time in Ontario, which certainly has its fair share of similar places, and even the raunchier places are generally much cleaner/classier and more service and entertainment oriented than their counterparts here.
It seems like in Canada, that kind of place is more of a legitimate long-term business with real employees who work like they've got a purpose, while here, even though almost as much is legal, those businesses always seem to have this air of being barely functional and on the verge of shutdown. Which, I'm sure many of them are. In some areas, they change hands so often it's like the new owner just shows up and bleeds the area until he gets evicted for any number of reasons, at which point another guys shows up and does the same thing all over again. Lather, rinse, repeat ad infinitum.
It seems like in Canada, that kind of place is more of a legitimate long-term business with real employees who work like they've got a purpose, while here, even though almost as much is legal, those businesses always seem to have this air of being barely functional and on the verge of shutdown. Which, I'm sure many of them are. In some areas, they change hands so often it's like the new owner just shows up and bleeds the area until he gets evicted for any number of reasons, at which point another guys shows up and does the same thing all over again. Lather, rinse, repeat ad infinitum.
mayfly
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Update:
Chassis is all done. I thought it was going to be hard as it's a deep chassis and not very wide, but it wasn't that bad actually. The hardest part was soldering the grounds onto the ground lugs, which are positioned waaay down there - and take gallons of heat to flow properly. If I were to do it again I'd solder onto the lugs without them installed then bolt them on later.
Chassis is all done. I thought it was going to be hard as it's a deep chassis and not very wide, but it wasn't that bad actually. The hardest part was soldering the grounds onto the ground lugs, which are positioned waaay down there - and take gallons of heat to flow properly. If I were to do it again I'd solder onto the lugs without them installed then bolt them on later.
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Cagey
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You've been a busy little bee! That looks great!
Not a bad idea, but it might have been like herding cats trying to keep all those wires, the lug, the soldering iron and some solder feed to occupy the same space in mid-air. Maybe just pulling the tube socket to get it out of your way would have been helpful.
Mayfly said:
Not a bad idea, but it might have been like herding cats trying to keep all those wires, the lug, the soldering iron and some solder feed to occupy the same space in mid-air. Maybe just pulling the tube socket to get it out of your way would have been helpful.
Cagey
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Rgand said:
Funny, I had the same thought. Been a long time since a built an amp, and a raw hosebeast of a tube amp is always attractive. I even went and started browsing around the TubeDepot and Ceriatone sites. But, I finally and uncharacteristically decided I needed another project like I need an additional orifice in my cranium, and went back to browsing guitar porn :laughing7:
That is a nice-looking PCB - I wouldn't feel bad about using it. PCBs get their bad rep from mass-production ones which often make horrible design choices like the jacks / sockets directly on the board, as you mentioned. Those are pretty bad. I built a Weber a while ago (6M45P) though I no longer have it. It was stupid loud and huge, so I sold it on CL earlier this year. It was a fun build, though, and I'd enjoy doing another (smaller) kit.
TZ
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mayfly
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Chassis is installed in the cabinet:
I had to hunt around to find my old 'dim bulb tester' that I used in the Mayfly days. This little rig is used to limit the mains current into a newly constructed device - just in case there are some serious shorts that would cause something to blow up. Back in the day it saved my ass more than once!
With the amp on the tester, first the PSU was brought up and all voltages checked. Then the other tubes were added with bias voltage and B+ voltage checks being done. Mains current was low and everything else was fine, so I tried it with a guitar. Hey - that worked as well.
Time to flip it on full voltage. Yep - sounds like a fender amp!
As predicted there is a bit of 60Hz hum that's even audible with the volume control off. But with 5 throbbing watts of pure power you soon forget about it when you turn it up. :headbang:
I had to hunt around to find my old 'dim bulb tester' that I used in the Mayfly days. This little rig is used to limit the mains current into a newly constructed device - just in case there are some serious shorts that would cause something to blow up. Back in the day it saved my ass more than once!
With the amp on the tester, first the PSU was brought up and all voltages checked. Then the other tubes were added with bias voltage and B+ voltage checks being done. Mains current was low and everything else was fine, so I tried it with a guitar. Hey - that worked as well.
Time to flip it on full voltage. Yep - sounds like a fender amp!
As predicted there is a bit of 60Hz hum that's even audible with the volume control off. But with 5 throbbing watts of pure power you soon forget about it when you turn it up. :headbang:
