I tried this grounding set up on a 5F1 and it works like a champ!

[mort]

In the few other projects I've done, it seems like I've always had to change something about the grounding scheme in order to weed out extra noise. On this build for a friend of mine, I decided to make a sort of 'flying ground' to tie everything to. It worked out great. The amp is VERY quiet, with only a little bit of audible wash when fully cranked.

Also, feel free to talk about grounding schemes you have used and your problems/successes.

[boojo35]

Your work is incredibly tidy. I love your grounding scheme. What did you use for the copper wire? I was feeling good about my first build and its neatness til I opened your thread. LOL. Nice work.

[guitician]

#12 gauge solid copper wire? I remember having a piece of really thick cable and I would use the strands to do stuff like that.

[mort]

Your work is incredibly tidy. I love your grounding scheme. What did you use for the copper wire? I was feeling good about my first build and its neatness til I opened your thread. LOL. Nice work.

Why, thank you very much kind sir

Yeah, it's #12 solid buss wire. I thought it would be the same wire that would come in standard romex when I ordered it from Weber, but it seems stiffer so maybe it's not.

My first build started out looking like a rat's nest so I yanked it all out and started over. This one is my 4th, so I'm getting more methodical as I go along. Some of the guys on here are sick with neatness. One day I hope to do as clean a job as they do!

[boojo35]

It is interesting to me that your heater wires are lifted up so far off the sockets when so many stress that they should be run tight to the chassis to combat stray capacitance and hum. What say you? I imagine this being your 4th build that you are having success with that arrangement.

[Justin Thomas]

Hey Boojo,

60s Ampegs and a 69 Gibson Thor are the only ones I've see that run the heater wires on the floor of the chassis. I'm sure there are others. Fender had always done the opposite. I built an amp with the heaters "on the floor," and changed it to Fender style. It was less noisy that way. I believe it's most important to keep the AC heaters as far away as possible from any signal carrying wire. However you can do it with satisfactory results is right.

Judtin

[mort]

Yep, I just keep them away from any signal leads. I like this formation because its easy to draw the filament leads in toward the center of the tube socket and go straight up with them, while the signal leads point out and go down. This also leaves plenty of room for the soldering iron to get in there. It's easy for things to get crowded and every little bit of free space helps.

[jbow]

Thank you for posting this. I have a 5F1 build that has a pretty loud hum with nothing plugged in. Same when I plug a guitar in. I tried a silver face champ in the same place using the same outlet and it is quiet as a mouse an twice as loud. I am using a New Sensor PT and OT in this 5F1. I am pretty sure I an idea where the hum is coming from. I grounded the A/C line to one lug of the PT and everything else to another lug. Also I didn't twist the heater lines from the 6V6 to the 12AX7. I am going to remove the grounds and everything closer to its component, if I can find a piece of solid wire tomorrow (I think I have some household wiring in the garage) I will try the bus you have there. I am also going to add a 25 μf 50v cap to the 1.5k cathode resistor. Also I noticed that I burned the insulation on the power line from the PT to the fuse, will tape that up. I hope it fixes everything. I realize this post is old, not that old... but it is helpful to me!
Thank you for posting it!
Julien