SouthpawGuy Posted August 15, 2013 Posted August 15, 2013 As you can see in the pix, the wires from the transformers are all really long and will get trimmed as they're installed. The coloured wires in the baggie are not cut to length. In fact most of the instructions do not provide lengths...you need to figure it out for each one. Quite a hardship. You even have to strip the insulation off the ends before soldering! Ha ! I'd be looking for the pre soldered kit
cobrafast1 Posted August 16, 2013 Posted August 16, 2013 That's a nice project. Reminds me of my Heathkit years building my first Ham Radio station. (Yes, I'm a licensed operator) I've built transmitters, receivers, linear amplifiers, phone patches, monitor scopes and a bunch more. I've even built some homebrew equipment too. Ahhhh, those were the days. I'm glad to see a kit building company out there for the guitar world. Too bad Heathkit and Knight Kit have vanished. Enjoy the build. It's a very rewarding experience.
LK155 Posted August 17, 2013 Author Posted August 17, 2013 OK, time's up! I've logged 17 hours on this project so far, and it's far from done. Made progress today populating the turret board..... Spaghetti junction at some of the terminal strips...... The output transformer has taps for both 5K and 2.5K, and the original design called for using only the 5K. A revision was made to allow switching between the two taps, and documented on the Trinity forum. In order to do this, the 4/8/16 ohm selector switch now has 6 settings instead of just 3, and some mighty tight wiring....... Got sidetracked a couple of times by slight differences between the instruction page I'm trying to follow, and the master 11" X 17" component layout sheet that shows everything. Discovered the big sheet is the one to believe. Also got stalled before I could attach any of the filter capacitors, because I couldn't identify the positive lead. Sounds dumb, but I had to google for a bit to sort this out. I suppose pretty well everybody on the face of the earth knows that arrows on the capacitor point to the negative lead, but I didn't. I do now, though. Also have an issue with the kit containing a .0022 cap instead of .022, so I need to wait for the correct one to arrive before I can finish the board. This is not your old Heathkit build....you know, the ones where the instructions said something like..."Using a 4" precut orange 22 gauge wire from package 3B, attach one end to point FB12, crimp solidly then solder, and attach the other end to lug three of terminal strip# 47D, crimp, but do not solder yet...." For this kit, you pretty well look at the diagrams and figure it out for yourself. More of a challenge, for sure.
H Posted August 17, 2013 Posted August 17, 2013 You're doing well and your soldering is nice and tidy The things you learn on this build will stand you in good stead for the next; it's good to make a mistake or two, or to question the instructions when they make assumptions of your ability. Great thread, keep it up
LK155 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Posted August 19, 2013 Monday morning update...... The board's as finished as it can get. Waiting for one capacitor to arrive. Maybe in today's mail. And the chassis is all set for the board to be installed. There may be hope..................
tulk1 Posted August 19, 2013 Posted August 19, 2013 Lyle, that is going to be one dandy amp. Your soldering skills are impressive. My only concern is, and I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from, it's not going to fit that Mesa cabinet. Not at all. And I don't care about how good it looks in the photos. I'm just trying to help you out ........... Best to start looking now for something else.
LK155 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Posted August 19, 2013 Kenny, I gather you'd like dibs on the Mesa 1x12 cabinet. That's fine with me. My original intention was to mate this amp with a 2x12 (that I don't have), but the Mesa appeared and I figured it was worth a try. I'm also going to try this little amp with the 'mature' CTS 2x10's in my Vibrolux Reverb. Guess I shouldn't be calling it a 'little' amp, cause with a 6L6 (really, anything other than a 6V6), it's supposed to put out about 12 watts. I have briefly tried the Vibrolux into the Mesa, with mixed results. At low volume the Mesa sounds very clean, but when the level goes up, it doesn't seem to project as well as the 2x10, and doesn't have the same bottom end. More experimenting to do.
Steiner Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 I've seen consumer amps that weren't soldered that clean. Mighty fine work there LK155!
SouthpawGuy Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 I've seen consumer amps that weren't soldered that clean. Mighty fine work there LK155! Agree 100%, it's a very good clean build.
Trouble Posted August 22, 2013 Posted August 22, 2013 I've seen consumer amps that weren't soldered that clean. Mighty fine work there LK155! I recently changed the tube socket's in my 70's Vibro Champ and the solder work (from Fender) in there was horrible. Not so here that's really impressive work, and looks like your getting pretty close to firing it up!
LK155 Posted August 22, 2013 Author Posted August 22, 2013 Thanks, guys. Appreciate the comments. Likely another couple of sessions to finish it off, then a final once-over and voltage checks. Getting antsy. Damn thing better not go up in smoke! More pix to come in a day or so.
H Posted August 22, 2013 Posted August 22, 2013 Do you have a lightbulb limiter? If not, look into making one before you consider your first power up.
SouthpawGuy Posted August 22, 2013 Posted August 22, 2013 Do you have a lightbulb limiter? If not, look into making one before you consider your first power up. I think I remember one of those being mentioned before ? What exactly does it do ?
H Posted August 22, 2013 Posted August 22, 2013 I think I remember one of those being mentioned before ? What exactly does it do ? It limits how much current can be drawn by the power transformer in the event of a short circuit or other catastrophic failure. The lightbulb blows before the transformer does. Great for that first start up after a new build or major component change. It's a sort of cheap, non-adjustable variac. And yes, I know that's an oxymoron.
SouthpawGuy Posted August 22, 2013 Posted August 22, 2013 It limits how much current can be drawn by the power transformer in the event of a short circuit or other catastrophic failure. The lightbulb blows before the transformer does. Great for that first start up after a new build or major component change. It's a sort of cheap, non-adjustable variac. And yes, I know that's an oxymoron. Got that, I think. So it's like a fuse then, but it lights up if all is ok and blows if it's not.
H Posted August 22, 2013 Posted August 22, 2013 Got that, I think. So it's like a fuse then, but it lights up if all is ok and blows if it's not.Exactly It'll be fine until tungsten filament lightbulbs cost more than amp transformers
TalismanRich Posted August 22, 2013 Posted August 22, 2013 Exactly It'll be fine until tungsten filament lightbulbs cost more than amp transformers Never fear. I've got a whole cabinet of NOS tungsten bulbs. I find that the 100W Sylvanias are a tad "warmer" than the 40W Walmart brand. However they cost much more..... How many should I put you down for? I can get you special pricing on a 4 pack.... $40 each or 4 for $125!!!!
LK155 Posted August 22, 2013 Author Posted August 22, 2013 Here's its current state. Board in place, the first few connections made to the chassis components. Twenty or so more connections and it's done!
Steiner Posted August 23, 2013 Posted August 23, 2013 What are you waiting for? And, why do you have a map of the London "tubes" resting on the table?
H Posted August 23, 2013 Posted August 23, 2013 Never fear. I've got a whole cabinet of NOS tungsten bulbs. I find that the 100W Sylvanias are a tad "warmer" than the 40W Walmart brand. However they cost much more..... How many should I put you down for? I can get you special pricing on a 4 pack.... $40 each or 4 for $125!!!! Lol In twenty years there'll be forums with this conversation happening for real!!
SouthpawGuy Posted August 23, 2013 Posted August 23, 2013 Here's its current state. Board in place, the first few connections made to the chassis components. Twenty or so more connections and it's done! Impressive !
LK155 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Posted August 23, 2013 It's done. I'm through messin' with it. Logged 30 hours on this sucker. So much for the mythical 16-hour build. Checked everything by eye against the drawing, found nothing wrong. Checked every end of every wire and component to make sure I didn't miss soldering anything. No issues. Rigged up a dim-wit (or dim-bulb, or numb-nuts, whatever) thingee with the light bulb and made sure the first power up went through that. No drama, no smoke, no sparks, no flames. Cue the Hallelujah chorus. So far so good. Followed some, but not many, of the instructions about checking voltages. They assume a great deal more technical expertise than I can offer. Powered down, put the tubes in, and powered up again. All is good. Figured if I got this far and it hasn't blown up, it's likely OK. This, fortunately, turned out to be true. It does make noise. Guitar-like noises. Nice, clean, tweedy guitar-like noises. But play with the switches and crank the knobs some, and this thing's got some attitude. I'll need a couple of days playing around with it before recording some sound clips. Final build pix.....
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