Thread: Re: What Did You Do Today

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Sounds like my Fender Concert amp. Shortly after buying it, it was "staticky" and noisy/scratchy. Local dealer said he couldn't find anything.. I was assuming a tube connection was bad. So I took it to another shop and we talked about what it could be and they said they could check out the chassis & etc. And that is what they found, 4 or 5 really bad connections and at least 1 wire wasn't really connected at all! When I got it back I was amazed at hearing the true amp. It's said they don't make'em like they used to. I say Thank God they don't!

Man you have to be careful inside those old amps. I resoldered a bad resistor on a friend's fender deluxe. I thought I had discharged all the caps first but I had miss the housing on top of the chassis with all the big caps in it. Holy shit that thing shocked me harder than I have ever been shocked when I went to apply the solder. The gun went one way the solder the other across the room. I've been hit by 110v before but this was much more violent. Very stupid mistake and a new respect learned for capacitors.

Originally Posted by v8nutz

Man you have to be careful inside those old amps. I resoldered a bad resistor on a friend's fender deluxe. I thought I had discharged all the caps first but I had miss the housing on top of the chassis with all the big caps in it. Holy shit that thing shocked me harder than I have ever been shocked when I went to apply the solder. The gun went one way the solder the other across the room. I've been hit by 110v before but this was much more violent. Very stupid mistake and a new respect learned for capacitors.

High tension power supplies in tube amps can have 300 - 500 VDC, the filter capacitors can store the voltage for months (even years)! ALWAYS discharge the caps through a resistor and leave the discharge resistor in place during all the work inside, stand on a rubber mat and work on an insulated (ungrounded) bench. DC voltage has more drive than A/C, it can be very dangerous.

When I change high tension filter capacitors, after discharging the caps with a resistor still attached, I tie a bare jumper wire across each capacitor's leads (+ to -) and leave it there, electrolytic capacitors (even old dried out ones) can have a memory and regain their original charge.

I was not advocating for anyone to look/probe around inside a tube amp (or any electronics/electrical). What I was trying to say, is the old is the same as the new. Obviously I failed in that message..........................................................

I have attached a warning to both posts and will NOT do this again! THANK YOU.

PLEASE DO NOT FOOL AROUND IN TUBE AMPS (OR ANY ELECTRONICS/ELECTRICAL) WITHOUT PROPER KNOWLEDGE/TRAINING!

What 36 sedan says is true. I watched a fellow Marine get thrown on his butt by getting too close to the anode on a high power diode tube in a piece of radar gear. Burnt a hole in his finger as well.
I got too close to the contacts on the rotary switch that controls the cabin lights on an early DC-9 with about the same results. My finger hurt worse than when I got it caught in the bolt action of an M-1 Garand in boot camp.
During a high voltage shut down test on a 27in TV when I worked at Zenith the anode lead came off the tube and landed on the yoke and that caused a small fire. Approx. 27,000 volts at the anode.
Conclusion: If you're not sure of what you're doing electrically, let someone do it who is and save yourself a lot of grief and headache.

Today was car day. I pulled the carbs off, pulled them apart, cleaned all the air & fuel passages out and re-assembled them. Big difference!

Originally Posted by 36 sedan

Today was car day. I pulled the carbs off, pulled them apart, cleaned all the air & fuel passages out and re-assembled them. Big difference!

Big Difference you say?!?!?! Better or Worse??? non nod wink wink

Drove back from Evansville IN. after a week of working on sons house

Originally Posted by 34_40

Big Difference you say?!?!?! Better or Worse??? non nod wink wink

LOL!!
I try to thoroughly clean the carbs out at least once a year, with todays fuels they can gum up fast. Keep em clean and instead of gumming up fast, they run fast...

fuel additive is a must now days . gas in the carb wont last a month setting . i buy stabil by the gal .

Me also. Add Stabil to the fuel tank at each fill up. Even do it for the lawn mowers. Never an issue of trashy carbs for me.

I use stabil too, but it doesn't take much to plug up those small passages and you'd be amazed at how much still builds up.

my echo weed eater finally stopped running after 20 years . bought a new fuel tank and carb for it for about 40 bucks. runs like a top now. carbs for small engines are about 20 bucks and usually fix any of them . same for my murry lawn mower . cheaper to buy a new carb than rebuild kit .

I only buy ethanol free fuel now, both for small engines and vehicles. Better mileage without the corn, and the fuel doesn't separate. Newer QuikTrips have 87 Octane, and Casey's has 92 Octane for the coupe.

hard to find it around here . but even ethanol free is bad if left in over winter . i'm guilty of forgetting to winterize stuff . lot of stuff gets used a few times during the winter but after buying 3 carbs this year i will drain all of them .

Originally Posted by 36 sedan

I was not advocating for anyone to look/probe around inside a tube amp (or any electronics/electrical). What I was trying to say, is the old is the same as the new. Obviously I failed in that message..........................................................

I have attached a warning to both posts and will NOT do this again! THANK YOU.

PLEASE DO NOT FOOL AROUND IN TUBE AMPS (OR ANY ELECTRONICS/ELECTRICAL) WITHOUT PROPER KNOWLEDGE/TRAINING!

I kept getting pulled back to this message.. and I finally realized why.. 36Sedan, you take ownership of a responsibility that isn't really yours! While we can appreciate the heads up of the inherent dangers / risks of amplifiers, and sticking your fingers in there with no real education.. It is not your responsibility directly, YOU didn't manufacture this equipment, you have no oversight over how I manage or repair my equipment.. So while I thank you once again for sharing your knowledge and expertise, relax and don't beat yourself up for things you cannot control. OK, I'll put my soapbox away! Thanks to you all, as you were...