Deluxe Reverb Reissue project, wiring

[johnwilliamhunter]

Hi all,

I am going to replace the circuit boards in my deluxe reveb reissue with the old style eyelet boards. I'm after some advice on wiring the power transformer and mains cable.

There are 7 cables on the primary of the export power transformer, on the drri they all connect onto the circuit board, in different configurations for 100, 230 or 240 volts.

When wired for 240V, 3 wires don't connect to anything and 2 are connected together.

Is it ok to just cut the three wires I don't need and tape them off? And the two that connect together, would it be ok to just solder them together and cover them with some insulator? or better to connect them on a terminal block? And is it better to make these wires shorter?

And for the mains power cord, is it ok to ground it on the closest power transformer bolt, run the active wire to the power switch, then to the fuse, then to the power transformer, and run the neutral wire straight to the power transformer? (again is it better to keep these wires short? solder them or use a terminal block?)

Is there any benefit, safety? to putting the switch and fuse on the active line? On the 60s fender BFDR schematic they have the fuse on the neutral and the switch on the active. That would be neater then I'd have a connection point to join the neutral and transformer. On the DRRI they have a DPST switch, fuse on active and some thermal component on neutral.

Any advice is apprecited,

thanks, John.

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

My opinion is to bring the mains hot wire into a fuse first, then to the on-off switch and then to the PT primary.
Your power cord neutral wire can being wired right with the other PT wire with some shrink tubing over it.
The ground wire from the power cord should be the longest of the three wires and connected to a firm ground point of the chassis such as the power transformer bolt... but use that bolt and nut for the power cord's earth ground and nothing else.

[PRNDL]

Is it ok to just cut the three wires I don't need and tape them off? And the two that connect together, would it be ok to just solder them together and cover them with some insulator? or better to connect them on a terminal block? And is it better to make these wires shorter?

First thing is to chill out - these are minor issues, and there are hundreds of them.

Yes to everything -- it's your amp and you can do what you want.

Bruce has made some great safety recommendations.

Shrink wrap is fantastic for covering clipped wires.

You can clip the unused wires, although some leave them in case they sell the amp to someone in a foreign country. They try to tuck them neatly away, often with a tie wrap or two.

Sometimes it helps to look at other peoples chassis for ideas.

[Enzo]

Are you going to discard the old board? If so, consider sawing off the corner area of the board where the mains circuits reside. Mount it to the chassis on a standoff. And keep it.

[johnwilliamhunter]

Thanks for the replies, that's a good help, I guess it's not too important then, heh i'll try to chill. Good idea about the circuit board too, I'll have a look and see if I think I can fit the end in neatly.

My other worry about wiring is the grounding, although it might not be that important again. I'm planning to do it close to the Fender version. Here's my idea.

Power cable ground to the bottom left PT bolt.
Heater centre tap (resistors) and Diode Board ground to the top left PT bolt.
First filter caps and PT secondary centre tap to the top right PT bolt.
Bias pot can ground to the back of itself I guess.
Output and Reverb transformers grounded to the jacks at the back.
Main board grounds, secondary filter cap ground, input jacks and pots all grounded to a buss wire soldered to the back of the pots. Close enough to Fenders brass plate method I guess. Is there an easier way?
And Power tube cathodes? better to wire them to a power transformer bolt or the chassis close to the tube sockets like fender did?

Apart from that I think I can follow fenders layout for the rest of the wiring.