18 Watts amp start up issues

[davemojo]

Yes

When the limiter bulb light bright up I counted around 15 secs maybe almost 20 secs should dim out maybe after a while or 20 secs is already a lot and should have dim out only after few secs? See I am afraid with the short on that I damage something, maybe is the 20 secs too short time , I am trying to pretend there is no short hehehehe

[JMPGuitars]

Please read the solder technique thread in my signature, and watch the videos.

Thanks,
Josh

[davemojo]

Please read the solder technique thread in my signature, and watch the videos.

Thanks,
Josh

Yes I red all the links on the signature about a week ago I understand more now, but when I read those the amp was already finished so...

Now there might be unclean solder everywhere in the amp on the sockets lugs but I don't really see solder leak's touching other close lugs, what I am trying to say is that at this point don't think the short is caused by a soldering issue but by a possible wrong wiring I am rechecking everything again one by one all connections

[Bieworm]

Yes

When the limiter bulb light bright up I counted around 15 secs maybe almost 20 secs should dim out maybe after a while or 20 secs is already a lot and should have dim out only after few secs? See I am afraid with the short on that I damage something, maybe is the 20 secs too short time , I am trying to pretend there is no short hehehehe

Is it me or am I missing something? I have no clue why a bulb current limiter should light up when all is well.

[davemojo]

Yes

When the limiter bulb light bright up I counted around 15 secs maybe almost 20 secs should dim out maybe after a while or 20 secs is already a lot and should have dim out only after few secs? See I am afraid with the short on that I damage something, maybe is the 20 secs too short time , I am trying to pretend there is no short hehehehe

Is it me or am I missing something? I have no clue why a bulb current limiter should light up when all is well.

I am not sure if I understand I didn't say all is well, in fact there is a problem, I was just wondering since on YouTube they are sayin it should bright up once you turn on the amp and dim out, but here stays steady bright so yes there is an issue.

I think I found the problem or at least one of them see my next reply

[Bieworm]

I think Josh is advizing all that non specifically. In general your build is not really in line with how we try to perform our builds. Don't be offended please...I'm only trying to help and hand over my observations.
I think you should study the photos of builds from Josh or Craig... look at the way they run their wiring, twisted and alligned, heatshrink at the connections,... I struggle with that too, but I try to do my best following those examples. It's beneficial for tidy looks, easier troubleshooting and less chance for errors.
I built another amp after my first crappy build with all that in mind. When I kinda succeeded in that I rebuilt the first amp entirely

[davemojo]

The issue seems on the heater wire when they go down starting from V5

I am not sure if that is an issue but, the layout picture show the white heater together with the green from PT connected to pin 5 and the green with black to pin 4 socket V5 it continuous the same on V4 but when reaches V3 white goes to pin 4-5 and black to pin 9 this is the same all the way down to V1

In reality I inverted the color done the opposite but I don't think this can cause the short since I just inverted the colors but they are connected to the correct lugs all the way to V1 that's all

[davemojo]

I think Josh is advizing all that non specifically. In general your build is not really in line with how we try to perform our builds. Don't be offended please...I'm only trying to help and hand over my observations.
I think you should study the photos of builds from Josh or Craig... look at the way they run their wiring, twisted and alligned, heatshrink at the connections,... I struggle with that too, but I try to do my best following those examples. It's beneficial for tidy looks, easier troubleshooting and less chance for errors.
I built another amp after my first crappy build with all that in mind. When I kinda succeeded in that I rebuilt the first amp entirely

Nope not offended at all, I got it, so what would you suggest here leave it as it is? I have all parts for the same build, follow Josh layout?. The are some differences what chassis should I use on that one since it seems without Tremolo, in other words I cannot give up until I succeeded

[TriodeLuvr]

This isn't good. None of these connections appear to be properly soldered.

Jack

[davemojo]

@Josh from JMPGuitars and @Bieworm

I agree to leave this Stewmac build aside I will troubleshoot another time
I think the trouble is at V3 socket there is some **** there with soldering and messy lugs too much solder and the socket may be even ruined. However atm let's leave this behind

I can start the new build, but your Modern schematic, actually seems a lot more clean, easy to follow, easy to understand, actually even simpler over all.

Could you suggest where can I get the right chassis that best suite that build since my one seem not matching it, looks like I could still use it but I would leave some holes since your schematic is using 5 tube sockets, and the knobs are just Volume and Tone all the other knobs for volume treble bass are not needed.

Long story short I need to find the right chassis, can you help? Do I have to build it myself that would be too much

[Bieworm]

While not adviseable it shouldn't be a problem switching heater wires. The filaments aren't polarized. Look at fenders ..they use the same green wires for both sides and they are often switched from tube to tube.

And yes.. if it were me I'd try to make a fresh and clean build..slowly and detailed. And with the acquired experience go back to the first build...

[Bieworm]

I always buy blank chassis. It's fun to start from scratch.
But if you are not equipped or into metal work it's not adviseable.
Check the chassis offerings at tubetown germany. They have lots of different types at very fair prices.
My last blank was only 17€

Which amp are you going to build? I'll help you look

[davemojo]

I always buy blank chassis. It's fun to start from scratch.
But if you are not equipped or into metal work it's not adviseable.
Check the chassis offerings at tubetown germany. They have lots of different types at very fair prices.
My last blank was only 17€

Which amp are you going to build? I'll help you look

Yes must be this one you got

https://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/tt-ch ... -x-65.html

What about the faceplate this is going to be all custom, drilling and cutting the metal can be done no problem on that, but the faceplate how can I put the gold Marshall style front and rear plate, can that be customized too?

[davemojo]

I always buy blank chassis. It's fun to start from scratch.
But if you are not equipped or into metal work it's not adviseable.
Check the chassis offerings at tubetown germany. They have lots of different types at very fair prices.
My last blank was only 17€

Which amp are you going to build? I'll help you look

I want to build the amp based on Josh schematic

JMPGuitars_18_Watt_Lite_2b_Layout.pdf

[Bieworm]

I always buy blank chassis. It's fun to start from scratch.
But if you are not equipped or into metal work it's not adviseable.
Check the chassis offerings at tubetown germany. They have lots of different types at very fair prices.
My last blank was only 17€

Which amp are you going to build? I'll help you look

Yes must be this one you got

https://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/tt-ch ... -x-65.html

What about the faceplate this is going to be all custom, drilling and cutting the metal can be done no problem on that, but the faceplate how can I put the gold Marshall style front and rear plate, can that be customized too?

Yes that was the one I used to buy. But they were like 14€ a year ago.
This is the one from my last build. I'm only buying these from now on. But I'm building bigger amps with larger circuits nowadays
https://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/tt-ch ... -x-65.html
This is the finished chassis

20210325_202152.jpg

You can buy custom faceplates there for like 20 -30€.. I make mine myself, but they're prototypes. I'm looking for a 3D printer with lasercut functions... but the prices..aaahhh

[davemojo]

I always buy blank chassis. It's fun to start from scratch.
But if you are not equipped or into metal work it's not adviseable.
Check the chassis offerings at tubetown germany. They have lots of different types at very fair prices.
My last blank was only 17€

Which amp are you going to build? I'll help you look

Yes must be this one you got

https://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/tt-ch ... -x-65.html

What about the faceplate this is going to be all custom, drilling and cutting the metal can be done no problem on that, but the faceplate how can I put the gold Marshall style front and rear plate, can that be customized too?

Yes that was the one I used to buy. But they were like 14€ a year ago.
This is the one from my last build. I'm only buying these from now on. But I'm building bigger amps with larger circuits nowadays
https://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/tt-ch ... -x-65.html
This is the finished chassis 20210325_202152.jpg
You can buy custom faceplates there for like 20 -30€.. I make mine myself, but they're prototypes. I'm looking for a 3D printer with lasercut functions... but the prices..aaahhh

Thanks 2 questions and I leave you alone lol

1) I can't see the cutout hole for the PT on that one but in general for the holes you use the drill bit isn't? but what about the bigger cutout for example the PT has usually that nearly square hole what tool do you use for cutting that?

2) The custom plate on Tube-Town are they blank no holes which means you drill the holes accordingly but obviously there is nothing written on the plate such volume or tone, input correct? how this works, hope you get what I mean

[Bieworm]

The transformers I use are mounted on the bottom, so there are no square holes needed. But on my imperial clone I had to cut a square hole for the classictone transformer. I drilled the 4 corners and sawed the hole a little too small.. and filed the hole nice and square.

For the specifics of them faceplates it's best to contact tube town by phone or e-mail. I'm not informed enough... maybe Google this for discussion fora on this topic?

[JMPGuitars]

@Josh from JMPGuitars and @Bieworm

I agree to leave this Stewmac build aside I will troubleshoot another time
I think the trouble is at V3 socket there is some **** there with soldering and messy lugs too much solder and the socket may be even ruined. However atm let's leave this behind

I can start the new build, but your Modern schematic, actually seems a lot more clean, easy to follow, easy to understand, actually even simpler over all.

Could you suggest where can I get the right chassis that best suite that build since my one seem not matching it, looks like I could still use it but I would leave some holes since your schematic is using 5 tube sockets, and the knobs are just Volume and Tone all the other knobs for volume treble bass are not needed.

Long story short I need to find the right chassis, can you help? Do I have to build it myself that would be too much

Bieworm can tell you where to source the chassis in your neck of the woods.

But before you build your next amp, you should troubleshoot this one for the learning process. Take a look at the photo TriodeLuvr posted. It very clearly shows that you need to watch the soldering videos, and practice soldering more before even thinking about starting another build.

I've been soldering stuff for 30 years. I still watch those videos occasionally, and I still practice. I started another thread because I recently started getting more serious about SMD soldering, and I got stuff to practice doing that. I ordered 3 more practice boards and other tools to continue practicing.

The greatest tool in your arsenal is patience. You need to be patient enough to learn and understand the proper techniques, and patient enough to practice them too.

Consider your current amp practice for the next one. Fix it up as nice as you can. Don't even worry or think about powering it up right now. Inspect every single solder joint and see what you can do to improve them. After you put the time into this one, the next one will come out great.

Thanks,
Josh

[TriodeLuvr]

This build would be a lot easier with the right wire. It should be tinned, not bare copper. I also personally prefer solid 20 or 22 gauge for miniature sockets.

Jack

[davemojo]

@Josh from JMPGuitars and @Bieworm

I agree to leave this Stewmac build aside I will troubleshoot another time
I think the trouble is at V3 socket there is some **** there with soldering and messy lugs too much solder and the socket may be even ruined. However atm let's leave this behind

I can start the new build, but your Modern schematic, actually seems a lot more clean, easy to follow, easy to understand, actually even simpler over all.

Could you suggest where can I get the right chassis that best suite that build since my one seem not matching it, looks like I could still use it but I would leave some holes since your schematic is using 5 tube sockets, and the knobs are just Volume and Tone all the other knobs for volume treble bass are not needed.

Long story short I need to find the right chassis, can you help? Do I have to build it myself that would be too much

Bieworm can tell you where to source the chassis in your neck of the woods.

But before you build your next amp, you should troubleshoot this one for the learning process. Take a look at the photo TriodeLuvr posted. It very clearly shows that you need to watch the soldering videos, and practice soldering more before even thinking about starting another build.

I've been soldering stuff for 30 years. I still watch those videos occasionally, and I still practice. I started another thread because I recently started getting more serious about SMD soldering, and I got stuff to practice doing that. I ordered 3 more practice boards and other tools to continue practicing.

The greatest tool in your arsenal is patience. You need to be patient enough to learn and understand the proper techniques, and patient enough to practice them too.

Consider your current amp practice for the next one. Fix it up as nice as you can. Don't even worry or think about powering it up right now. Inspect every single solder joint and see what you can do to improve them. After you put the time into this one, the next one will come out great.

Thanks,
Josh

I will definitely fix this one, I got a little discouraged . I agree on patient and will look at the soldering video again and again. I will remove few parts that I already know are not ok and restart over on those parts example is the 2 green wires but also the mess at socket V3 there is a short in there for sure.

However I will first go through the entire steps looking at the layout I got and check all the soldering.