Now that I have run through this Crate Palomino V32 amplifier I can see why Crate discontinued the model and dumped them on the market. This is the first amplifier I have ever seen where the controls got so hot you could hardly touch them. This amp is a fire waiting to happen.
I have seen some internet posts where the amps were returned with defective pots. Of course mine had a broken Middle control pot I was trying to find in another thread. I ended up disassembling it and popping it back together internally. I'm sure it had separated the wiper assembly from the metal shaft due to heat and the different expansion coefficients of metal and plastic.
When this amp has been running for about 30 minutes with no signal, the pot control knobs are so hot they almost burn you. This is especially true for the ones in the middle of the control panel. Also, the Tolexed back panel is very warm and the upper cabinet around the vent is very warm. I pulled the back panel back off after seeing this and the 10 watt 60R power tube cathode resistor was the source of the heat. It was so hot you could have steamed water on it. Way too hot to touch. But of course you know I did it anyway. I need to get one of those infrared heat probes.
I guess I have two options. Increase the resistance of the cathode resistor, lower the tube output and change the tone of the amp. Or, replace the single cathode resistor with two 125R 10 watt units in parallel to reduce the heat being generated. I think a cabinet fan might be in order for this amp as well. Man you could bake bread in this thing.
In the picture attached you can see the resistor is directly under the middle pot that separated.
I have seen some internet posts where the amps were returned with defective pots. Of course mine had a broken Middle control pot I was trying to find in another thread. I ended up disassembling it and popping it back together internally. I'm sure it had separated the wiper assembly from the metal shaft due to heat and the different expansion coefficients of metal and plastic.
When this amp has been running for about 30 minutes with no signal, the pot control knobs are so hot they almost burn you. This is especially true for the ones in the middle of the control panel. Also, the Tolexed back panel is very warm and the upper cabinet around the vent is very warm. I pulled the back panel back off after seeing this and the 10 watt 60R power tube cathode resistor was the source of the heat. It was so hot you could have steamed water on it. Way too hot to touch. But of course you know I did it anyway. I need to get one of those infrared heat probes.
I guess I have two options. Increase the resistance of the cathode resistor, lower the tube output and change the tone of the amp. Or, replace the single cathode resistor with two 125R 10 watt units in parallel to reduce the heat being generated. I think a cabinet fan might be in order for this amp as well. Man you could bake bread in this thing.
In the picture attached you can see the resistor is directly under the middle pot that separated.
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