5F6A filter cap relocating?

[Jonny toetags]

I'm going to be tackling a couple 5F6A's and was wondering if anyone successfully relocated the filter caps inside the chassis?
I seem to recall some pics of a build where they were stacked 'vertically' with terminal strips.
I'm only asking because of the extra cost of the doghouse (with shipping & us/can conversion, I'm looking at close to 50$ each)
My other option is mounting them as usual but with no cover

[Justin Thomas]

Are these builds from scratch, or repairs? There's lots of ways to tackle it, just get creative with the spacing. Hoffman puts them alongsode the pots on the inside; others mount them on the eyelet board, near where the circuitry they are filtering. So you have a cap, a fewninches of circuitry, a cap, a few more inches of circuitry, a cap, etc. Check photos of some of the smaller tweeds for inspiration - Champ, Princeton, etc.

I don't think mounting them in the usual fashion without a cover of any kind is really an option, if you value your customers' lives and your livelihood... I made the mistake once of forgetting to put the cap pan back on, then I swapped a tube. ZAP! It sucks. Lesson learned. NO EXPOSED CAPS!!!

And modern lyrics are quite a bit smaller than days of yore. Should be able to cram them in.

Justin

[loudthud]

The Weber layout mounts the caps on a small board inside the chassis. The grounding is poor and the amps likely have a buzzy hum.

Link: http://www.tedweber.com/media/kits/5f6a_layout.jpg

[Jonny toetags]

Are these builds from scratch, or repairs? There's lots of ways to tackle it, just get creative with the spacing. Hoffman puts them alongsode the pots on the inside, others mount them on the eyelet board, near where the circuitry they are filtering. So you have a cap, a fewninches of circuitry, a cap, a few more inches of circuitry, a cap, etc. Check photos of some of the smaller tweeds for inspiration - Champ, Princeton, etc.

I don't think mounting them in the usual fashion without a cover of any kind is really an option, if you value your customers' lives and your livelihood... I made the mistake once of forgettingntonput the cap pan back on, then I swapped a tube. ZAP! It sucks. Lesson learned. NO EXPOSED CAPS!!!

Justin

Thanks Justin...yeah, scratch builds.
I agree about the no exposed caps.

[Justin Thomas]

Here's a link to the Hoffman page; scroll down a bit to look at the 5F1, 5F2, 5E3, and also the Blues Junior conversion. Of course, you'd have to be making your own boards ot use this stylr layout for a Bassman. I drill my own turret boards, so I can stick whatever I want on it. I'm all about adaptation. My last build needed some supplemental filtering, so I had to cram in two on a mini-board. Ended up at a wrong angle, but grounding is good and it's quiet. If I can find a photo of the caps mounted along the pots on the inside, I'll try & post that too.

http://el34world.com/schematics.htm#..._5F6A_Bassman_

Also - 65Amps and Marshall have mounted can caps on the inside with a clamp. Another option if you have room.

And I always find tracing the wiring on doghouses rather "fun," at best... I like having all the innards on the inside.

Justin

[Chuck H]

For that matter... I'd design my own board to use radial caps. Axial caps good to 450+ volts of decent quality are limited to just a few choices now. I predict that someday, maybe soon, we'll all be retrofitting radials into the older axial designed layouts. Get a jump on the game and build with radials now. It'll make cap replacement easier when you have to service that circuit ten or fifteen years from now.

[Jonny toetags]

For that matter... I'd design my own board to use radial caps. Axial caps good to 450+ volts of decent quality are limited to just a few choices now. I predict that someday, maybe soon, we'll all be retrofitting radials into the older axial designed layouts. Get a jump on the game and build with radials now. It'll make cap replacement easier when you have to service that circuit ten or fifteen years from now.

That's not a bad idea.
So instead of say four F&T 22uF's, I could use a JJ 40/20/20/20 radial cap since 2 of the 22uF's are wired in parallel?

[Enzo]

Chuck likes the radials, and that is fine. I like the axials in something like this because they lie flat, no worry on altitude.

The schematic shows four 20uf and an 8uf. Since the one is doubled, there is absolutely no reason to replace two sections with two caps, just get a 40uf cap and be done with it. 8uf is not a standard value, not in decades, but 10uf is, so I would not spend extra money looking for an 8uf just to be retro.

Not speaking for Chuck, but I THINK he means using radial individual caps, not the can cap. yes, the can cap has radial leads, but we don't usually refer to it as such. I have nothing against a modern multisection can cap like that, just making the distinction. In fact your 40/20/20/20 would take care of that 8uf if you let 20uf handle the spot. I stuck such a can cap in a Champ-ish amp I built, I had room under the chassis. But you can also mount it top side of the chassis with a clearance hole under it like any other can cap. If you have the space on the chassis.