Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Vox Cambridge 15 and Cambridge 30 reliability upgrades, mods, and tweaks

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Thanks for your reply Enzo. I've heard another one of these Cambridge 15s with a 10" speaker and the result just might surprise you. Yes, it's an entry-level practice amp, but for years I have used it as a grab-and-go amp to get me through rehearsals where space and volume constraints were the rule of the day.

    I do realize this place is full of engineers and techs and that is the very reason I'm attempting to assimilate into the community with a couple of small projects at first. Compared to all of you I am a mere hobbyist on the electronics work bench. As a complement to my daytime career, I am also a professional musician (30+ years) and in registering here I hope to advance what knowledge I do have and make some friends along the way.

    In recent years I have serviced and tweaked my own amps examples of which are rewiring the Fender silverface bias balance to adjustable bias, power supply filter cap and dropping resistor replacements, locating and replacing leaky coupling caps, and adjusting capacitors in the tone stacks in an attempt to achieve specific results. Most of the time these efforts go well, sometimes not so well. I'm comfortable with most of the basics and have a full understanding of the safety procedures one should practice on the bench. I'd love to be able to pose my questions here and receive solid advice from those who have real-world experience with a particular amp.

    In the Cambridge 15, I've upgraded the speaker to a 10" 30-watt alnico (Fender 0994810001) and the single preamp tube to a 1950's GE 7025 since my last post. Based solely on a cursory visual inspection, the only points of concern are a couple of 1 or 2 watt resistors (R66, R67) that are discolored to the point that I cannot determine their values. Thus far, I've been unable to locate a schematic, so I cannot possibly tell if these two resistors are within spec, or not. The amp was working fairly well before I opened it up, but the Sovtek 12AX7A preamp tube measured very weak on my Hickok tube tester and the 8" Celestion Bulldog speaker that was removed from the amp has a voice coil rub, which validates my initial assessment.

    I'd like to make sure the circuit is within spec and then put it back together, so if anyone has a schematic for a Vox Cambridge 15 V9159 I would be most appreciative.

    -Stan

    Comment


    • #17
      In my experience, the biggest issue with most amps that I see is the soldering.
      A reflow of all the solder joints, in my mind, is the best thing that you could possibly do to a working amp.

      Comment


      • #18
        Yes, changing the speaker is by far THE most effective way to change the tone of an amp. You can take even a little pocket transistor amp and plug it into a 4x12, and the result is amazingly large.
        Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by Jazz P Bass View Post
          In my experience, the biggest issue with most amps that I see is the soldering.
          A reflow of all the solder joints, in my mind, is the best thing that you could possibly do to a working amp.
          Yes, I agree, although everything inside this Cambridge 15 seems ship shape. I'd really like to swap out those resistors (R66, R67) and some of the larger electrolytics while I have it open. Both R66 and R67 have heated to the point that the values are indistinguishable by color codes.

          Comment


          • #20
            Can you not measure the resistance of both resistors? (R66 & R67)
            What circuit are they a part of?
            Until someone comes forth with a readable schematic, (or a Vox employee joins the site) that may be your only alternative at the moment.

            Comment


            • #21
              On my Fluke 87, R66 measures 80.3 ohms and R67 measures 77.2 ohms. I am unable to determine the value by the color codes, perhaps you can sort it out by these pictures?



              Comment


              • #22
                Can you get a voltage reading on either end? (to ground)
                If they read something like + & - 27 & 15 volts, those resistors may be 110 ohm 2 watts.

                Comment


                • #23
                  R66 reads 20.9 vdc and R67 reads -20.9 vdc. The color codes have me at a loss, though.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    O/k.
                    What does the other side of the resistor(s) read?
                    I am thinking (if it is even close to the Cambridge 30) that the resistors are part of the 15 volt (+15 & - 15) circuits.
                    Attached Files

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      I am not sure, but my best guess is that it is R67>>> Gold-Black-Yellow-Violet. The Yellow stripe at the start is designating some sort of non-standard tolerance rating. R66 would be Gold-Black-Red(or it's orange)-Violet and switching the red or orange only changes resistance by one ohm. They look like wire wound flame proof drop down resistors. This is just my best guess. Also, did you measure each leg of the resistor to check if it is dropping voltage? Probably 25v caps in this thing? 20-21volts coming into the resistors but is it the same on the other side?
                      When the going gets weird... The weird turn pro!

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Tone Meister View Post
                        R66 reads 20.9 vdc and R67 reads -20.9 vdc. The color codes have me at a loss, though.

                        Both sides of each resistor reads the same

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Tone Meister View Post
                          Both sides of each resistor reads the same
                          Measured to ground?
                          If so then they are not doing anything as far as work goes.
                          So why the 2 watt rating?

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Neither resistor is dropping voltage; specifically, R66 measures 20.9 vdc on each leg and R67 measures -20.9 vdc on each leg

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              CAMBRIDGE 15
                              Replaced R66 and R67 with 72 ohm/5W wirewound resistors, cut the speaker baffle for a 12" speaker, and installed a Fender Vintage alnico speaker (Fender PN: 0994810001). I did not replace the trem bug, but I did replace the Sovtek 12AX7 with a Mazda ECC83.

                              The amp sounds like a different animal altogether. It's a bit louder, but the main difference is in the timbre. The bass is fuller and quite a bit tighter and highs are much much improved. When overdriven, the the tone is much more musical than before. I'd recommend these changes to anyone seeking to squeeze a little more from their 90's Cambridge 15 without upgrading the power transformer.

                              CAMBRIDGE 30
                              Changes to the Cambridge 30 coming soon ...
                              Last edited by Tone Meister; 08-11-2013, 09:54 PM.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Those resistors looked like 72 or 82 ohm to me as well. They seem to be dropping DC voltage for the tube heaters. Perhaps when you were checking the voltage you had the tube out? If so, you wouldn't have seen the voltage drop across them. The drawing JazzP posted for the 30 has similar resistors shown as R94,R95,R114, and R115. In that circuit they come out to 6 watts per side.
                                You may want to check the voltage and see how close to 12V you have at the heaters. If not close you may want to adjust the value (excess heater voltage will reduce tube lifespan and can add noise). Also, if you check the voltage across them you can calculate the wattage they are running at to see how close to 5 watts they are.
                                Originally posted by Enzo
                                I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X