Trannys/ bits for 5E3 from uk?

[The Captain]

Hi- Im viewing the 5E3 spiel with interest as my modded Valve Jnr head is good, but not great- the fender type sound is what Im after though without doubt. Im considering basics at mo, ie how much/ if I could do/ if I could use my tiddly diy 1x12 cab to squash it all in(!). Im after trying to gather the bits, pilfer some build notes etc to keep costs to min rather than buy a kit- if it makes sense to.
So my 1st 5E3 Qs..

Would anyone know if any 5E3 type transformers are available in uk, new or used?

Is there any kind of build notes/ basic build info, or lists for a newbie?

Any other 'page 1' stuff or ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks and joyeux noel, Captain.

[stokes]

My very first 5E3 build I used the trannies from an old British Hi-Fi amp,I believe it was a Pilot,it was a long time ago so I cant remember the model.It had four EL84 power tubes.I think I paid about $10 for it at the time,the amp is still around,my son uses it with his band in smaller venues.Did some mods to the original 5E3 circuit to get some more headroom out of it but the trannies worked out great,amp sounds real good.Just get a schematic and see what parts you can find,the Fender Amp Field Guide has the schem as well as a useful layout diagram.The whole layout fits comfortably in an 8"X12"X2" chassis,so you can use that as a guide as to weather or not you can fit it into your 1X12 cab.

[Satamax]

/ if I could do/

Well, if you start like this, get a kit imho. It will save you time and money i think. And you'll eventualy get the job done, instead of sitting on a stash of parts not knowing what to do with them.

http://www.hoffmanamps.com/Hoffman/images/5e3.gif

http://www.hoffmanamps.com/Hoffman/5E3parts.htm

https://taweber.powweb.com/store/kits_50a.htm#5E3 (the 5E3 head without cab is cheap)

[The Captain]

Mr. Stokes, a good find that amp for $10! I dont think Id know what to look for mind you, and 4x el84? are not 5e3 amps designed around 2x 6v6 (or is it 6L6 I dont know the difference yet)?

All the kits seem to be in US though, shipping heavy stuff/ duties etc would shoot price up to UK. Im thinking now maybe strip the VJ head out and fill it with 5E3 stuff: can 5E3 bits layouts be altered ok to fit into a smaller chassis? Or are the various bits specifically spaced/ placed?

thanks for those links and help chaps, it seems if there are lists an block diagrams- with some help from here it could be feasible. Capt.

[stokes]

Yes the 5E3 uses 2X6V6's,but the tranny from the Pilot was 4XEL84 into a 4 ohm load so the turns ratio was close enough for 2X6V6 into the 8 ohm load.The VJ is a single ended out put so you wouldnt be able to use the OT from that.Using oddball parts may not give you an exact 5E3 copy but you can get close enough and tweak the circuit to get a good sound.How well it fits into a smaller chassis is up to you and how well you adapt things to fit.I once fit one into a small Webster Chicago PA head by connecting the components directly to the tube sockets and foregoing any boards at all.Took some time to track down layout problems,but in the end it worked out okay.

[The Captain]

So am I right here.. a suitable PT configged for 4x el84s can also be configged for 2 6v6 with a bit of connection jiggery pokery? Does anyone know if any of the 'British' diy PTs could be used for a 5E3, not that I want the brit sound- I dont, but as suitable Ts are poss not easy to get here (such as at www.ampmaker.com) or what specifically am I after for 5E3 transformers?

Cheers Captain.

[stokes]

The PT has other considerations,right now we'll talk about the OT.Most likely with an OT for 4XEL84's or even 2XEL84's you can find a suitable secondary load to get close enough to a pair of 6V6's.You may not get an exact,ideal match,but you have a bit of lattitude here.As for the PT,if the PT is pushing 2 to 4 EL84's with 300 or more volts on the plate in the power section and at least 3 preamp tubes you are probably close enough,note I said close,not exact,if you want to go this route,you have to settle for close to a 5E3,which aint bad.On most of the old British HI-FI units if they had a tube rectifier,usually an EZ81 or 6CA4,these are okay for a 5E3 circuit,I did end up getting an aux.5volt tranny and using a 5V4 rectifier,but you can use the 6CA4.If you do web search for "Hamfests" or "electronic flea markets" in your area, you may find some old units that have good trannies fairly cheap,dont know if they have as many over there as we have here,but if you check "ham radio clubs" also these sites will likely have links to the flea markets.I have found dozens of NOS PT and OT's that were dirt cheap.If you find parts that are "close enough" you will get a nice sounding amp.

[The Captain]

That could be a fun project if we have any similar type flea markets, alas Im not sure we do. Our Uk nerds tend to lock all their techy wiry things away and not let you get any mitts on them. Im pretty sure it'd have to be a new set of Ts; one reason being Id not be sure of checking, or fault finding any used ones. Id actually not have the foggyist idea what numbers on one would mean unless it said '5E3 PT'. Ive had a quote for $170 for a pair to post from Us- but of course duties this end throw that idea 'tits up', as we say here. There dont seem to be any 5e3 parts, or even kits from uk companies either, oddly- unless Im mistaken. Thanks for advice Mr. Stokes, rgds Capatin.

[stokes]

You should do a web search just to see.If there are as many ham enthusiasts in the U.K.,which I suspect there are,they likely have clubs just like here.What I have found is that most of the radio guys use solid state now,and they sell off their tube stuff for next to nothing in most cases.I have gotten about 50 to 100 very good NOS tubes at these flea markets,as well as other tube oriented items.Of course I have gotten some not so good tubes as well but the last quad of RCA Black Plate 6L6's I got I paid $20 for.The quad was never used and the guy said he had to get the $20 he paid for them back in the '60's,the boxes looked like they were never even opened and the tubes tested and sound great. It is well worth the effort.As far as being able to identify the trannies you need,if you see an old power amp or hi-fi type amp that is using the tube compliment I described earlier,you are in the ballpark and can most likely use them.Testing and tweaking these things is an excelent learning tool,at less than half the price you are going to pay for new parts.

[Steve Conner]

Hi guys

I live in the UK and am a radio ham too There are a good few big hamfests (though we call them radio rallies) of which the biggest is probably Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire:

http://www.elvastonrally.co.uk/

Use Google to find the others.

I do find transformers quite fiddly to get hold of. Sowter Transformers make all kinds of high quality OTs and PTs, and they aren't exactly cheap, but if you phone them and ask for an "OT to suit a pair of 6V6s for guitar use" they'll know what you mean.

http://www.sowter.co.uk/
Another route is to buy an old amp off eBay and modify it. You should be able to get an old valve PA amp for less than £100. The last amp I bought was a Selmer Treble'n'Bass 50 that was going for £99 in my local guitar shop because it was faulty. (and incredibly ugly too.) The fault turned out to be a loose wire that took 5 minutes to fix. I ended up modding it heavily including a channel switching setup and a conversion from EL34s to 6L6s.

The one before that was a Sansui Q-55 that I was given for free, it eventually became the Ninja Toaster @ http://scopeboy.com/toastpix.html

P.S. I just bought a Fender 300PS OT from an eBay seller in the states for $90. I hope it gets here in one piece and works...

[The Captain]

Great info there, Ive been browsing for 'ham fests' etc and found a local ish one in feb (& many bacon-related sites too); I may be able to get some tubes and stuff from that. Also annoyingly I had an old valve PA head years ago which Ive lost or chucked out- horrid thing it was, but ideal now no doubt! arghh..

Steve/ any uk diy'er- would you have any idea of what duties I could expect to have 2 trannies posted here from Us:- An ebay chap has both OT and PT Mercury Magnetics for a 5e3 type build and quoted me @ $160 posted..

Cheers alot- and seasons greeblings, Captain.

[Steve Conner]

Ahh, import duties! You can often avoid them if you can get the sender to declare a low value like 10 dollars on the customs sticker. But then if it gets lost, you can't claim more than 10 dollars on your insurance

It's been a while since I checked, but I think the import duty is about the same order of magnitude as VAT, so 15-20%. It varies depending on what the goods are. I think $160 is a good price, considering Mercury Magnetics are quite a posh brand.

Maybe my 300PS OT is sitting in customs waiting for someone to pay import duty on it

[The Captain]

I think its 4% (for what I dunno) + 17.5% VAT + £5 Royal mail handling fee? Ive just been quoted $114 for a us made PT and OT as well (not Mercury Magnetics)- but only available as 110v. Bugger. I only remembered this at last min too! Im presuming an OT is the same whether a 110v or 240v PT is used- I guess I can just grab the OT and skimp some duties.

[Steve Conner]

Yes, the OT is the same. Also, I've seen quite a few PTs that are dual voltage, with two sets of windings that can be wired for either 120v or 240v. Some have extra taps to suit any line voltage between 100 and 250v.

[stokes]

If you guys want to pay the duties ordering from the USA check out www.tedweber.com hes got the Deluxe PT with the dual primary for $50 and OT for $20.The volts are going to be a little higher than the Tweed Deluxe,but you can always bring them down with a zener if you gotta have closer to the Tweed specs,personally I prefer the 5E3 clone with a little more volts.