Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

This was a first... ever make this mistake?

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

  • This was a first... ever make this mistake?

    So, I've had my share of dumb-ass moments before, but this one was a new one.
    You ever get done with the work you know needs to get done on a job to get it ready for final testing, and realize you did this when you went to plug it in?



    Click image for larger version

Name:	Cut the wrong end copy.jpg
Views:	320
Size:	1.31 MB
ID:	910838


    Yeah, I have no excuse. For smaller diameter replacement power chords that we use for amps that need it, we use IEC cables and cut of the IEC molding off the end. Strip off a length of the outer jacket to expose the 3 conductors.
    bing-bang-boom, you get the idea... Done it hundreds of times. But this day, the damnedest thing happened; I had that NEMA 3-prong pluge end right in front of my face and cut it off like I knew what I was doing. Didn't give it a second thought and went on and rewired the entire mains wiring for modern, best practices. So after all that was done (and some other standard maintenance work), I grabbed the cord to plug it in and power up, and I saw this. ^^

    I very clearly remember immediately thinking "NOOOOOOOOO!!"

    It was such a drag because I totally nailed every thing else. I mean, it was one of those times when the wiring goes so smooth. All the cuts are right, solder goes on like a breeze, and it looks great. And I gotta' install another friggin 3-cond AC cord again.
    Luckily, after the practice round, it went really quickly and my boss was a good sport about it. (but that's probably because I was there a few years ago when he did the same thing )

    I think I was distracted by the condition the '66-67 deluxe I was working on. It was so remarkable, it was like the entire amp was NOS. When I went to pull the chassis, I got the indication that it had never been opened or disassembled since the day it was all put together. It was newly acquired by a regular customer who brought it in recently for service. I've less than a handful of amps might be in this class. Where to they store these for 60 years, the moon?
    Anyways, I love what I do, but as far as being star struck at an amp, the thrill is gone in a lot of ways. Sure I like Fenders. I like a lot of amps.
    So, when one comes in that is quite rare, in special condition, it's a great experience to work on it.



    If I have a 50% chance of guessing the right answer, I guess wrong 80% of the time.

  • #2
    Yeah.
    It's a hard row when you get distracted.
    been there .
    Done that.

    Comment


    • #3
      Oh, this actually reminded me of a good one which happened a week or two into starting my professional career as a tech.

      I had just completed a pretty standard repair and service on a Marshall head. Have no recollection of what model, year, or why it needed service at all any more. But what I do remember is that the amp was fixed, everything tested out all good and played great. Big win as far as I was concerned. All that needed to be done was put the chassis back into the head, button 'er up, and move onto the next one.
      So I grab the head cabinet, put it on my bench; put the chassis back in; ...and it just would NOT @#$%&-ing get in there right! I'm kind of getting pissed about it. I mean, I just took the thing out 40minutes ago. I know it goes in there.
      But it's not friggin' lining up, and me and this Marshall are on a collision course.
      Just then my boss walks by and casually glances over and says "you have it in backwards" as he passes by, and I look down....

      Click image for larger version

Name:	The New Face Of Marshalls.jpg
Views:	368
Size:	1.37 MB
ID:	910841

      and good thing he did, because I was probably about 30 from breaking it.
      If I have a 50% chance of guessing the right answer, I guess wrong 80% of the time.

      Comment


      • #4
        It is just our creative ways of soldering up a guitar cord without putting the plug shell on first.
        Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Enzo View Post
          It is just our creative ways of soldering up a guitar cord without putting the plug shell on first.
          I did that once on site in Nice sud de la France. I carefully soldered on a 50W connector with the customer looking over my shoulder "beaucoupe de petite connections electronique" he said. I thought I'd done a great job until I looked down and saw I'd forgotten to thread the shell on, merde!

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Enzo View Post
            It is just our creative ways of soldering up a guitar cord without putting the plug shell on first.

            Originally posted by Dave H View Post

            I did that once on site in Nice sud de la France.
            I do that at least once a cable
            If I have a 50% chance of guessing the right answer, I guess wrong 80% of the time.

            Comment


            • #7
              One of mine: Dynaco super transformer for Engl Savage with an unforeseen problem.


              . Click image for larger version  Name:	Dynaco.jpg Views:	0 Size:	97.4 KB ID:	910854
              Last edited by Pedro Vecino; 08-08-2020, 11:38 AM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Distractions really can screw you up. That is why I blame all of my mistakes on my kids, who always seem to come into my work area right when I am working on something criticial.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Enzo View Post
                  It is just our creative ways of soldering up a guitar cord without putting the plug shell on first.
                  I am after doing that on occasion.....

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    My last one was after servicing an Ampeg SVT-CL, rebalancing/biasing the power tubes, then getting the hold-down clamps re-mounted, unplugged the preamp / AC mains cables from that assembly, and moved the chassis back into the cabinet, which is always a struggle, I began threading the mounting screws into the chassis' cage nuts from below the cabinet. The last one.....nothing to thread into! It was missing altogether, along with the mating chassis mtg screw. Pull it back out to install another. I knew the day before it was missing, and wrote it down in my notes. I did at least get out a replacement mounting screw/washers, but not the cage nut.

                    I needed to read this post this morning.....some great typical moves we've all made.

                    Just this morning, I loaded the car with all of my 12-pack empty1.25 Ltr Trader Joes Sparkling water bottles & TJ's Strawberry Lemonade bottles to take over to the Burbank Recycling Center to cash them in. Car now full of all the cases of empty bottles. Get to the recycling center, and find large CLOSED signs everywhere! I had already lost the local rePLANET Recycling Center at a Ralphs Shopping Center. Rats. Got here to the shop, and looked up the website for the Burbank Recycling Center. Says Temporarily Closed, read down in notes finding they had closed down April 16. It was a bit before that date when I last visited it. I thought I'd seen the local trash trucks that collect all of our recyclable trash using that facility. Sigh...............
                    Last edited by nevetslab; 08-08-2020, 07:10 PM.
                    Logic is an organized way of going wrong with confidence

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I've never done exactly that, but I've run the cord into the chassis and soldered it before slipping on a non separated type strain relief a few times. I can't even count how many times I've made a solder connection before adding the intended shrink tube. Or my favorite, soldering up a new instrument or speaker cable end without slipping the cover on first. I might have done that a hundred times.
                      "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                      "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                      "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                      You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Just the other day I was cleaning a few pots on my old pioneer power amp. The board mounts really funny to the face plate and even harder when you don’t take off all the ribbon cables to gain true access to it all. So I manage to finally get the couple of screws in place after 10 minutes. Then I put the last one in that mounts it to bottom of the chassis only to see a the screw sticking out the bottom way too far. Then I realize there is a plastic mount that fell out. Ughh!! Hit reverse and started the whole tedious process over again.
                        When the going gets weird... The weird turn pro!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          The outcome Saturday afternoon, with my car loaded with empy recyclable water & juice bottles....I stopped by the location of the closed down rePLANET Recycling center, and found a different outfit up and running in the same 'shack'. Looks like a new crew had managed to take over the facility, and I was able to unload my bottles, instead of being stuck with them. Fetched a bit under $18, so worth the effort.
                          Logic is an organized way of going wrong with confidence

                          Comment

                          Working...
                          X