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Tested voltages tonight and I think everything is cool. It fires up great and all the voltages in the instructions look good. I get 121.5 VAC from L to ground on the mains. Can I really put the leads of my meter across the L & N of the mains?

Decided to work on the board a bit. Much harder for me to get the component leads nice and perfect; not looking like I'd like so far but hopefully will improve quickly.



For some reason it seemed right to do the long buss. No idea if I did it right or not, but it looks like it will serve the purpose.



Just couldn't leave it unsoldered, so added a couple flying leads and soldered down a few turrets just cuz.



Please if anything looks wonky or any comment on voltage readings above, please fire away! Thanks....

Your mains looks fine and you can put the test leads across L-N

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Blew a house circuit when I did.

That's not right

You said before you were measuring 121V from L to ground on the AC mains, I doubt this reading is correct. You should always measure L-N. Make sure your meter is set to the highest AC setting.

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Sounds like I have something buggered up. My meter is auto-ranging but I can probably override. It's never failed me before. Can't imagine why this would blow. Should be just like shoving the probes in a house outlet, which I've certainly done to no ill effects.

I did recheck all the connections; reflowed one that was suspect - the common terminal strip tag, but haven't put the meter to it yet. Is it a factor that I have the wire from the cap can that is supposed to go to the board, just hanging in air? Could the cap can be bad?.

Any other thoughts on this one? Thanks in advance.

If you can put your meter probes directly into an AC outlet, you should be able to do the same by putting them on the L and N terminals of the IEC connector on the amp.

Ground and neutral are almost the same thing. You should get pretty much the same reading whether you measure from live to neutral or live to ground if your outlet is wired properly.

I take it you have wired up the can capacitor, including R29 across the two positive terminals, since you have also connected the lead that goes from the cap to the board. If the other end of this lead isn't touching anything there should be no problems.

Your meter wasn't accidentally set to amps when you blew the house circuit, was it? Does the meter still work if you set it to volts AC and put the probes directly in an AC outlet?

Well, it seems to have resolved (itself?). I did reflow the one big solder on the common terminal tab so that may have done it. Went and plugged my meter into a different outlet in my house - 120 VAC, all good so I plugged the amp into that outlet and got the same, across L & N on the mains. All good! Now to finish the board. Sadly, my meter doesn't measure amps. Years ago when I bought it that model was just out of reach.
Thanks so much for the help!!

Good that its resolved. Makes no sense as you pretty well have to short the leads to blow the fuse.

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Board wiring was truly harder than I thought. Can't get those leads PERFECT!



Getting there:


Board done


Had to solder a bit more before I ended for the night. V1 almost complete.

The board looks really good. I don't know how much more perfect you want. The components are centered between the turrets and all lined up with each other. At least that's how they look in the pictures. The soldering looks good, too.

All the resistors are oriented the same way. All the electrolytic capacitors are in the proper way, too.

Did you know there is a preferred way to install non-polarized capacitors, too? The amp will still work if you get it backwards, but it will be a bit quieter if you put them in the preferred way. Here's a link to a good video on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnR_DLd ... e=youtu.be

This is covered in the manual as optional.

Build does look very good indeed!!

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Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Thank you! This is WAY too much fun. Great video, BTW - I saw the discussion in the manual and was aware of this but didn't see the markings on any of the caps I had. Maybe missed 'em? Thanks!

Some caps are marked, most aren't. Yours aren't marked, you will have to determine the "polarity" yourself if you choose.

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Finally got after jacks, etc. Double stick tape holds them to the chassis like a clamp.



My work is nowhere NEAR as nice as some I see in this forum. Good to know I have room to grow.



This thing is very much starting to look like an amplifier.





Going after the output section momentarily.

Another section is to wire the jacks attached to the chassis but outside, the chassis holds the jacks in place, keeps the spacing correct but you get more room to work than if you wired them inside the chassis.

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I think.... gasp... it's done....



Overview


It would appear that I must test - so, following protocol, all good; time to plug in a guitar, etc.
IT WORKS!!!!!


So far so good - sounds PHENOMENAL. There's a LOT going on, tonally with this amp. Needing to spend some quality time getting to know it, now. Pics in new cab ASAP.

That is a build to be proud of. I am not at all surprised it worked first time with you attention to detail.
Lets see the finished product!! Clips if you are willing to!
Suggest you record all your voltages for reference.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Yeah you did a great job on that! What a feeling when it works first time you plug it in...

Thanks for the compliment, Stephen - and thanks for all your help with the build. Will try to do some clips this weekend. I cannot believe the value this amps represents. The tones I am getting are nothing short of EXCEPTIONAL.

Some photos, in full livery.


The cab is PERFECT. Just beautiful. Wheat grill cloth gives it a serious vintage vibe.










The amp that inspired the grill cloth:


I had the Freda cab - yah, a mismatch in color but I always wanted a green amp. The cab is a stunner sonically - 2x10, loaded with an Eminence Ramrod and Eminence Li'l Buddy (hemp cone). Sounds great with this amp and the whole thing is very loud but in a good way, and quite controllable with the MV. These Freda cabs are ultra-lightweight but oversized and ported and sound absolutely HIGE. Too bad he doesn't make them anymore. Gonna hit up Stephen and see if they can build a matching 1x12 with a port like this cab. Also changing to Fender blonde Bassman barrel knobs. Gonna totally complete the aesthetic and be easier to read.