Help powering up (Uk)

[The Captain]

I was wondering if anyone, preferably central England wayish, could help me with checking/ 1st time powering up of a new 5E3 build?? I've gone over thoughrally (3x) that all wiring is correct, cap polarity, solders etc: I think it much more sensible to have an experienced hand at this juncture. MJWB has kindly said he may be able to help, but a 200m round trip is quite a stretch for the Uk!

Thanks, Captain.

[stokes]

Cap'n,why not just make a simple light bulb limiter and power it up yourself?Maybe $10 in parts and your filter caps will be formed as well.All it involves is wiring a 100watt light socket in series with an outlet.Plug your amp into the outlet and turn the amp on,if the bulb doesnt glow full bright constantly you are good to go.

[The Captain]

Id really not be sure of how Id wire such a thing- no point playing with lethal voltages if Im at all not sure. I guess I covered all the build info thoughrally with much build info out there: I didn't plan for no simple to understand check procedures info tho, unless there's a kit page available online I haven't seen.
Thanks all the same, best to wait for help tho I think. Capt.

[stokes]

It is a very easy to make and extremely useful piece of test equipment.I'll explain how it is done here in the states with 120v supply.You need 2 female ac outlets and a plug to plug into your main ac outlet.I used a common wall outlet that is commonly connected in parallel,I just cut the connectors between them so they are now independent of each other.To start the hookup lets randomly number the connections from your main ac outlet or plug- lets call the white wire #1,the black wire #2 and the ground- grnd.#1 gets connected to one lug of the first outlet the other leg of that outlet gets connected to the #1 leg of the second outlet #2 of your power cord gets connected to the free lug on the second outlet,the grnd wire gets connected to ground on both outlets.You now have 2 outlets wired in series with a plug that goes to your mains supply.All you do now is plug a 100watt light (I used a small desk lamp with a 100watt bulb) into one of your newly wired outlets and the amp into the other.When you power up the amp the bulb will glow bright for a moment while the caps charge up and then quickly dim,if the bulb does not dim and continues to glow you know there is a short in the amp,but since the amps current is limited by the bulb there is no harm and the amp can be trouble shot in this mode.For instance you can pull the power tubes and if the bulb dims,you know the problem is in the output section,replace one tube,if the bulb does not glow bright you have narrowed the problem to the other tubes circuit.

[stokes]

Captain,I have a diagram showing how to make this limiter,but not being very computer savvy,I cant attach it to this response.I have it scanned on my computer,if you or someone can tell me how I'd be glad to show it to you,the image would show you how simple this is to make.

[Steve Conner]

If you scroll down below the box where you type your reply, you'll see a button that says "Manage Attachments". Click that and it should open another window.

At the top of this window, you'll see a section that says "Upload file from your computer". Click the button marked "Browse" here. The usual dialog box for selecting files should appear.

In this dialog, find the file you want to attach, select it and click Open. The dialog should disappear and you'll be back to the window that opened previously, with the file name filled in.

Click the upload button. Once it's done uploading, click the "Close this window" button at the bottom. You can now submit your post as usual, and the file should be attached to it.

Captain: If you didn't want to play with lethal voltages, why in the world did you build a tube amp? ;-) The light bulb limiter described by Stokes is a very handy tool, and you should probably try it.

[The Captain]

Thanks if you could attatch those instructions Im fairly sure Id be able to get the beastie up and singing.

Steve I built a tube amp for the same reason you did and have learnt a great deal too: It didn't necesarily have to be myself that tested it anyway unless I can find/ pillage a kit's page; Im only fairly sure of what/ where Id measure tho sure which parts are the HV. So unless toatlly sure (especially what readings are 'ok') Im just being over-cautious as it were for the mo. Ill get there with patience. Thanks for the advice chaps.

[stokes]

Okay,thanks Steve,I hope it works.Captain,once you are sure you have no shorts with the limiter,the bulb will glow dim,just plug your amp in to the main power and try it out.Plugging into the limiter is good for forming your caps,too.I prefer to use a variac,but this is better than not forming them first.

[stokes]

Hey,it worked!Thanks Steve.Cap'n.you can also do away with the second outlet and just wire in a light bulb socket in its place and plug the amp into the single outlet and the plug into your main outlet.

[RickyD]

Captain-

Check out an old post from Bruce Collins in this 5E3 forum. The thread started by MarkL8 on 09-25-2006. Very helpful and right on topic.

Don't blame you for being nervous...you won't have a problem because you are taking the warnings seriously. Just keep one hand in your pocket.

Regards,
Rick

[stokes]

So whats the verdict,Cap'n?Have you decided to give it a try?You certainly have more patience than me,I would have just plugged it in by now,and let the fuse blow,thats what it is there for anyway,right?Let us know how you make out.I tell you there is no greater feeling of accomplishment than hitting that first note and actually having a note come out,but even when I've had that dissapointing flash of light,and we've all done it,it just made me more determined.Dont get me wrong,there's nothing wrong with being cautious,in fact it is rule #1,just wire up that limiter,and you'll be okay.Best of luck to you.

[The Captain]

I started to build the limiter and will finish it in due course- cheers for the effort of posting it, Im sure others will make good use of it too. I gave a call to a forum member for wiring issues (Us has white and black, here brown/ blue- thought it best i get those right!) and he actually helped me with the MM checks.. so that.. its born! woohoo! and although its got some nasty hums (only with certain input/ pot useage-? I'll address these in due course) for the mo I was stonked at how it sounds - absolutely bloody marvellous! real fender noises, better than my old silverface twin by a mile (tube tired old dog it was mind you); I got voltages of 385v ish so a better 5Y3 on the list soon, but hey it works (and Im alive too, which is nice ). A big cheers to Mr. Stokes and MJWB in particular, and others who've helped me out.. stonking stuff! rgds Captain.

[stokes]

Well,now you got a problem...you are hooked!Glad to hear you got it running,and now the fun really begins,tracking down the hum first,then a mod here and there,then another amp,and another and...All the best,enjoy it.

[The Captain]

Too right- mind you Im sitting back with a large whisky and doing bugger all for now- quite a long road so it was to get finished: hum is tracked to preamp area, so I'll cross that one in a good while; actually saying that Im making a flight case wheely base thing, & black suede to replace the pants tolex £4 job(!) is next, so you are quite right there Mr. Stokes. Captain.