Some pics of my budget 5e3

[pezed]

Heres a few pics of my 5e3 as it sits. I am still doing debugging trying to get rid of ground loops, so ignore the messy wiring.
I welded the chassis myself out of some scrap sheet metal I found in the dumpster. I laid out the turret board in autocad and made it using supplies from turretboards.com.
The transformers, tubes, and orange drops are from a 1950's zenith phono amp I found on ebay. Unfortunately the zenith output transformer shot blue sparks and lost its smoke after about 20 minutes of initial playing, so i have temporarily connected up a marshall 18 watt output tranny until my replacement TF110 OT arrives.
Including the replacement transformer I believe i might be up to $100 in parts now.
Sounds great so far but I need to finalize some voltage adjustments before building a cabinet for it!

[JJGross]

Looks like fun. I'm about to start a 5C1 Champ build myself using parts salvaged from a 1947 Sparton floor model phono/SW/hi-fi. It even had all the correct tubes for the Champ build so I'm hoping the transformer will be a perfect match, even more than up to the task since it was running more than the Champ will be.

That circuit board looks really nice, all the components really pop visually off the black.
I might have to get one of those for mine!

Cheers

[black_labb]

big pt for such a small amp, looks good.

much nicer looking wiring, than mine.

[pezed]

I think it was just the tiny output tranny i had on there that made the power transformer look huge. its really about normal sized for a 5e3 maybe smaller? I know the heyboer 18watt power tranny i have weighs about twice as much!
i received my TF110 output transformer from triode electronics and installed it, and i found a 12ay7 tube finally in my junkboxes for the first preamp, and wow! What a difference the transformer and 12ay7 made. The amp sounds completly different now, the notes seem to drip out of this thing and it pulls feedback anytime i hold a note, and its not even that loud! the 12ay7 is definately the secret to the 5e3's tone i believe. With a 12ax7 in the first preamp it sounds completly different, grainy/gritty sounding. with the 12ay7 its very mellow and smooth.
here is a pic with the new transformer installed. (ignore the missing input jacks, im waiting on some shoulder washers to isolate them from the chassis to get rid of an annoying ground loop hum it has!)
Next i will start on a cabinet and get a faceplate made!

[pezed]

5e3 build log

Heres a little page i threw together to document some of the details of my 5e3 a little better. Hope you all enjoy!

http://www.pezed.net/5e3/

[Steve Conner]

Looks very nice

[black_labb]

nice looking build, and well documented too.

[sportster4eva]

Nice Job man! I like the handmade chassis!

[AG Amps]

Nice job on the chassis. That had to be the hardest part.