Is my 5E3 sick ?

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Hebaton
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Hebaton »

Thanks all of you. I'll see if I can ship this somewhere. THere is no one "Local" at a good 100 miles around where I am.
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Hebaton »

FOr the Heck of it I removed the chassis from the cabinet and looked at the OT.
It is a Webber W041318 rated 25 watts

IS this corect ? COUld it be that It'S just a really cheap OT ?
I can source here ( in Canada ) a Hammond 1750EP said to be accurate with paper core...They also offer aversion with Bobbin core...

THose cost 4 times what the Weber costs...
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by lavrgs »

A bit late but here are the typical voltages
EDIT found a voltage chart
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Hebaton »

lavrgs wrote:
Mon 07/12/21 9:48 am
A bit late but here are the typical voltages
EDIT found a voltage chart
O.K. now something is not right.
I went again with this chart and I now get 245v at V2 pin 1
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by lavrgs »

Check grounds...and look for bad connections
Fill out the entire chart - I noticed that I missed the 17V on V2 pin 7
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Hebaton »

Just want to let all of you know I found a bad solder joint that was responsable for unstable voltage at V2 pin 1
and also decided to go with a different speaker. ThIs thing will never sound as good as some others of the type unless I go further... really considering the Hammond 1750 EP Output tranny.

Thanks to all
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by JMPGuitars »

Hebaton wrote:
Thu 07/15/21 1:16 pm
Just want to let all of you know I found a bad solder joint that was responsable for unstable voltage at V2 pin 1
and also decided to go with a different speaker. ThIs thing will never sound as good as some others of the type unless I go further... really considering the Hammond 1750 EP Output tranny.

Thanks to all
Before you replace anything as big as a transformer, make sure the rest of the amp is healthy. There was one bad joint, and from what I saw of the photos, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more. It's not terrible, but it's certainly not professional quality work. Put in the time to clean it up, and you should be happy...well, as happy as a 5E3 can make you. ;)
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Bieworm »

I agree with Josh. If the Weber OT is not totally underspec'd or out of spec, which likely isn't the case, you'll have to be a very experienced 5E3 guy to even hear the difference with a hammond OT. Guys with that amount of OCD are also very meticulous in the build quality.
Stop worrying about the transformers and check the human/builder factor in your build. Replacing an output transformer in an existing build is not as easy as putting one in while building a new amp. Certainly not in f#@nder type amps.
Find the problems in the soldering and lead dress first...👍👍
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Hebaton »

JMPGuitars wrote:
Thu 07/15/21 3:20 pm
Hebaton wrote:
Thu 07/15/21 1:16 pm
Just want to let all of you know I found a bad solder joint that was responsable for unstable voltage at V2 pin 1
and also decided to go with a different speaker. ThIs thing will never sound as good as some others of the type unless I go further... really considering the Hammond 1750 EP Output tranny.

Thanks to all
Before you replace anything as big as a transformer, make sure the rest of the amp is healthy. There was one bad joint, and from what I saw of the photos, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more. It's not terrible, but it's certainly not professional quality work. Put in the time to clean it up, and you should be happy...well, as happy as a 5E3 can make you. ;)
I am curious wat makes you say this is not professional work. To my inexperienced eyes, it looks well executed. Would you care to specify a little ?
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by JMPGuitars »

Hebaton wrote:
Sat 07/17/21 3:40 pm
I am curious wat makes you say this is not professional work. To my inexperienced eyes, it looks well executed. Would you care to specify a little ?
Sure. Take a close look at the solder connections. Especially on the tubes. Look at the eyelets. Now go read the solder technique thread in my signature and watch the linked videos.

The solder joints have zero mechanical connections.

Most of the solder joints don't have great coverage, and those that do are convex.

Solder joints should be smooth, and relatively shiny. They should be concave. They should have mechanical connections. Most of what I see in there is dull, clumpy, dimply, convex, etc... etc...

Also, I would get rid of that ground bus on the back of the pots. All that's doing is creating a ground loop, and negating the shielding of the pots. That's assuming the pots aren't isolated from the chassis, and they certainly don't look like they are.

The lead dress isn't impressive.

The ground lugs are on the transformer, and transformer bolts should ONLY be used for...mounting transformers.

All ground connections should serve no purpose besides being a ground connection. It looks like your power ground is also connected to a transformer lug. That's also a big no-no. It should have its own chassis connection close to where the power cable enters the chassis.

I could keep going, but I won't. Besides that I'd ditch that cord and put an IEC socket there instead.

I'm not saying you should redo the whole amp (unless you want to). But cleaning up the solder joints is the first step towards making it usable.

Thanks,
Josh

PS. Considering that terrible ground bus on the pots, and that it's also connected to the power amp ground, you should also read the "modern ground schemes" thread in my signature.
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by JMPGuitars »

20210530_075250.jpg
20210530_075242.jpg
I was a little lazy with the arrows, but that should give you an idea.

Thanks,
Josh
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Hebaton
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Hebaton »

THank you Josh,

I'll look into all you covered ,and, maybe i will redo the entire build !

Claude
Last edited by Hebaton on Sun 07/18/21 7:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Bieworm »

When I look at fender type builds I wonder why people keep using those flimsy cardboard eyelet stuff. And to make matters worse they are always mount with 2, max 3 skinny bolts. That board can move all over the place. Bending like crazy. Nearly all of the trouble I've seen on those kind of amps are loose solder joint related. I wonder why 😃
The thick turretboards with multiple solid bolt mountings seem more reliable to me , from a mechanical engineer's POV.
I think the ability of parts to move, even just a little bit is asking for long term problems. Combine that with NO mechanical connections of the wiring and you're creating possible widowmakers without even knowing it.
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Hebaton
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Hebaton »

JMPGuitars wrote:
Sat 07/17/21 5:23 pm
20210530_075250.jpg

20210530_075242.jpg

I was a little lazy with the arrows, but that should give you an idea.

Thanks,
Josh
Not sure my Pm.s are getting to recipients. They stay in "outbox" nerver show in "sent messages "
Is this typical ?
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by JMPGuitars »

Hebaton wrote:
Sun 07/18/21 8:46 am
Not sure my Pm.s are getting to recipients. They stay in "outbox" nerver show in "sent messages "
Is this typical ?
That's how they work until they're received, then they switch boxes.

Thanks,
Josh
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Re: Is my 5E3 sick ?

Post by Doxie man »

Just another suggestion……never use a transformer bolt for a ground connection. Thermal expansion WILL CERTAINLY cause them to loosen over time. Always make ground connections to the actual chassis using a through bolt connection that utilizes a locking nut AND some sort of anti vibration solution like blue lock tight. The grounding circuit is the most important circuit in an electrical devise. It’s definitely the one thing you want to get right. 👍
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