Ampeg SVT-CL/AV Tech Flex replacing Clear Vinyl 'garden hose' harness sleeving

[nevetslab]

One of the standard mod's I make on SVT-CL's and -AV's is getting rid of that awful stiff clear vinyl garden hose sleeving Ampeg uses, and replace it with Tech Flex. The hardest part is slitting the clear vinyl housing without cutting your fingers or the wires within. Tech Flex also needs to be thermally cut, so it doesn't fray (unwravel from the end cuts)....and you gotta work quickly to shove a tapered round thing in to 'flare' the ends (allowing the largest connector to pass thru the opening) while the plastic is cooling. The result is being able to position the preamp relative to the chassis when open on the bench during service, without the 'garden hoses' dictating where the preamp ends up.



I've attached a tech note from Tech Flex regarding the cutting & service process of their innovative sleeving:

PreventFraying of TechFlex tubing.pdf

I've been using Tech Flex Flexo PET series P/N PTN0.50....0.5" size nominal...expands to allow passing the cable ends thru, once you've cut the sleeving to length. It's heat range is up to 275 deg F/125 deg C. I've never had any thermal problems with it in proximity to the cluster of 6550's/KT88's in the chassis when all put back together. I do, of course, dress the cable form out of direct contact with the power tubes.

I've installed this sleeving on all the amps in our rental inventory, as well as other client's SVT's that come in for service. Having it down to a routine, it takes me about 1/2 hr to remove the garden hoses, cut & flare the ends of the Tech Flex, slide the cables into the sleeving and then do final positioning, and adding spot ties to secure the cleeving. The photos show cable ties, though I normally use lacing tape, as it grips far better. Having produced loads of custom power/audio cables for the Meyer stage monitor & house systems that we have in our rehearsal studios, I have a bench hot-knife to work with.....but I also have a hot knife attachment for a Weller Soldering Gun that also works well for the cutting task.

[Enzo]

Consider some split loom tubing. Easy to cut to length, and already slit so it slaps right on the wire bundle.
Panduit Nylon Slit Corrugated Loom Tubing

There is also the spiral stuff, I cannot recall the name. it looks sorta like the coil cord on a telephone handset. It is a flat plastic strip preformed into a helix. And you cut it to length, then wrap it around the wire bundle, just as you might wrap that phone cord around a pencil.

Oh, duh, it is called spiral cable wrap.
Spiral Wrap – Cable Wrap with a Custom Fit

[drewl]

Seems like alot of work for nothing.

I have tons of various size shrink tubing the field crews always throw away.

[J M Fahey]

One of the standard mod's I make on SVT-CL's and -AV's is getting rid of that awful stiff clear vinyl garden hose sleeving Ampeg uses,

WHY would you do that?
It does its job very well the way Ampeg designers intended, what's the point of "fixing" something that is not broken?

The hardest part is slitting the clear vinyl housing without cutting your fingers or the wires within.

[TimmyP1955]

The vinyl is rather a PITA, but not enough to warrant the hassle of changing it. However if it were my own amp, I might do it :-)

[g1]

I can see how if you had to maintain a rental fleet of these beasts, on a routine basis, you wouldn't want to mess with that stiff stuff all the time. Especially if it dictates how you can arrange the sub-assemblies on your bench.
It only has to prevent one outburst with the sledge and it's all paid for.