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I love the 5e3. Just not mine! Please help.

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  • #46
    Chuck: post #39 has the new readings with good meter and tubes installed.
    JohnRose81: The weird reading on the fuse holder seems to be what eschertron described, your outlet is not properly grounded, or 2 prong wiring rather than 3 prong. So that is not a fault of the amp.

    Edit: the power tubes seem to be running quite hot, which should probably be corrected, but I don't think it would account for a huge volume drop.
    Originally posted by Enzo
    I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


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    • #47
      Wired for 2 prong and not 3? And the 70v AC to the fuse isn't correct? And what's the difference between 2 and 3 prong wiring. I did it just like the schematic that's posted at the top. Hmm, I'll have to find a 3 prong schematic. Here are some pics...
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      • #48
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        • #49
          Have you verified the input jacks are wired correctly? Check post #14 in this thread: http://music-electronics-forum.com/t12667/#post99573

          Usually a good suspect when one channel isn't working.

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          • #50
            Originally posted by JohnRose81 View Post
            Wired for 2 prong and not 3? And the 70v AC to the fuse isn't correct? And what's the difference between 2 and 3 prong wiring. I did it just like the schematic that's posted at the top.
            From the pictures and the schematic, you are wired for 3 prong. So either your AC cord is bad, or your house wiring does not have the 3rd prong safety ground connected.
            With the amp unplugged, measure resistance from the round pin on the AC plug to chassis. If it measures around 0 ohms, the amp is good and the problem is in your house wiring.
            This is a bit of a sidetrack issue here, it does not affect the sound problem with the amp, it only explains why you are measuring 70V on the fuse holder instead of 120V. It is strictly a safety issue. If the AC cord measures ok, the house wiring issue is something to talk to an electrician about.
            Originally posted by Enzo
            I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


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            • #51
              I checked the wall outlet and it's 120. So it must be my grounds. I may have messed up on my grounds. I wanted it to be secure since I'm afraid of shocking myself. So I put ring wire connectors at the ends of my grounds. I then drilled holes in my chassis and bolted down those wires with screws made for grounding. Some I doubled up per drilled hole. So there are two wires going to a hole. I also may not have put the ring wire connectors on correctly. You can see the pics (should be visible).

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              • #52
                Where did you put your probes when you checked the wall outlet?
                Try this: black probe to round pin, red probe to small slot, should read 120VAC. Then black probe to round pin, red probe to larger slot, should read around 0VAC. If you get other readings, the problem is in the house wiring, not the amp.
                Originally posted by Enzo
                I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


                Comment


                • #53
                  You're so smart. Wall outlet on the bottom wouldn't spit a reading. Just bounced around. Top one gave me 123 ac volts. Plugged amp in that one, now I get 123 ac volts through the fuse. Do that's nice. Still have medium volume and little bass. I should make a video.

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                  • #54
                    Here is a video of the amp being played -

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                    • #55
                      Just noticed, there is a orange and green wire coming from the OT that doesn't connect to anything. Well according to the schematic, what do I do with them?

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                      • #56
                        Those are likely to be secondary taps for different speaker impedances. Intended to be used with an impedance switch for an amps output. If your amp doesn't have an impedance switch they should just be cut flush (no wire protruding from the insulation) and shrink tubed shut to insulate them. They should be kept away from any preamp leads.

                        What were your amp and guitar settings for the video???
                        "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                        "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                        "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                        You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

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                        • #57
                          So my normal channel volume pot is bad. Would that be the total problem?

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                          • #58
                            The normal channel volume pot would only affect the normal channel.
                            Looking over your voltages, I don't see any major issues. It is unfortunate you got caught up in measurement problems that had nothing to do with the amp (meter and outlet issues). It is quite an accomplishment that you didn't get frustrated and give up, many novices would have.
                            So now that you have solved the volume pot issue, the remaining issues are low volume and lack of bass.
                            Have you tried another speaker? If not that is the first thing to do (or try this speaker with another amp).
                            Originally posted by Enzo
                            I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Thank you G. I'm building this amp for a few reasons: save $2k and not buying boutique or original. I'm learning about caps and resistors. I'm building something. I'm learning about amps. I really want to be great with fender brown faces, tweeds, black faces, and silver faces. I'm great at working on guitars (electrics) and basses. But I know nothing of amp psychology. How can I be a musician and know nothing about amps.

                              As for your suggestion, I have a brand new speaker that I tried but nothing. I was fooling with the wires on the normal channel volume knob and saw some extra solder and was trying to get it off when the pin on the pot started to wiggle pretty good. Anyway, now the whole amp doesn't work. I'm sure it wasn't the volume pot, but I'm sure it had something to do with the wires and/or the caps/resistors it was attached to. How does one check the integrity of their solders? I'm going to test all points. And in goin to buy a new 1m volume pot. Ha!

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                              • #60
                                Those pots can't take prolonged iron contact. I can see a lot of new builder indications in your work. You'll get better and faster. The most important things IME to make the job easier is to:

                                1) Use good solder with a flux core.
                                2) Use a good iron. A soldering station with temp control.
                                3) Make sure you have access figured out before committing. Not having good access can mean prolonged iron contact and failed pots or cold joints.
                                4) Have the joint set up with leads and wire in place. Apply the iron and then press the solder to the spot where the iron tip meets the work. Feed solder until the whole joint is wet and get out.

                                It's possible that you dislodged a lead or lost contact somewhere when you were moving wires around. You may want to "re flow" much of the amp. This is a cold solder joint image taken from your photos.
                                Attached Files
                                "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                                "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                                "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                                You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

                                Comment

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