trinityamps.com

Hi all,

Here's some pics of my finished chassis. Two pairs of eyes being better than one, anybody see any glaring errors?

Thanks

Looks good to me!

I can't tell from the pics, but if you haven't allready, add a little solder to those crimp connectors.

_________________
Deric®

Thanks Deric,

You know, I've always been told to either crimp or solder, but not both. From what I've read it's not a belt-and-suspenders thing. Here's what one website says:

"Most crimp terminals are designed to be crimped, not soldered. If the crimp was done poorly, solder won't save it. And if the crimp was done properly, solder is unnecessary. In fact, soldering a crimped terminal may weaken the mechanical connection, may reduce electrical conductivity, and may damage the terminal. As a general rule, you should not solder a crimp terminal."

Here's another:

"The wire within the crimp should form a "gas tight" seal between the strands and the connector. Solder will not flow into this area so it will not enhance the connection mechanically or electrically. "

I have no empirical info one way or the other, but this is what I've read.

I would agree, crimp or solder but not both. Also never tin a wire before crimping a lug onto it.

Joe G

_________________
Some assembly required,
Brain sold separately...

Agreed!

It's my understanding that a good mechanical connection is better than solder. My problem is getting a "good mechanical connection" in the first place. If I had a better pair of crimpers....

As long as the connections are solid, that's all that matters. When I've tried crimp connectors my connections were suspect at best, in which case a little solder would be a good idea. I've just come to the conclusion that, with the tools I have available, I can solder better than I can crimp.

Either way, your build looks great! Enjoy !!

_________________
Deric®

I should clarify...
Never tin stranded wire before crimping a lug onto it. The individual strands need to conform with the crimp to form a gas tight connection. To be honest, I would never crimp a lug onto solid core wire. The wire tends to be crushed at the crimp to the point of breaking in extreme cases, or worse to "almost" break and you end up with problems just when you don't need them, like at a gig. For the star ground I would stick with solder lugs over crimp terminals, preferably a few wires onto the same lug. Less lugs, less to go wrong!

Joe G

_________________
Some assembly required,
Brain sold separately...

I thought the crimp terminals would give me a little more flexibility if I have to change the lead dress.

There is no right and wrong, so not to worry. Everyone has different approaches to these builds. Just look inside any 2 "identical" Marshalls from that period (actually any period from any manufacturer!). Work they way you're the most comfortable, and just take a quick look at every step as you do it to confirm. It's much easier to find and correct problems as you make them.

Deric is right about the crimp tools for the typical ring or spade terminal. Most of them would have to improve to suck, especially the Home Depot variety. The so called "good" crimpers that we have at work are about $600 bucks for a decent tool, a bit cost prohibitive for the casual amp builder. At the least, try to stick with one of the "name" brands like the Amp Champ. I use the type with the red/blue/yellow slots for the most common lugs, and it has a pretty good screw cutter as well for various thread sizes. The crimp is a two step process... Step 1 crimps the bare wire into the lug, and step 2 crimps the wire insulation for strain relief. It's not ideal but it works for our purposes.

Nice build by the way! How does it sound??!!

Joe G

_________________
Some assembly required,
Brain sold separately...

Build looks good.

Boy, you guys don't like my termial lugs? Sheesh.

I dont like crimped connections so there!

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

I haven't fired it up yet. The cabinet is on its way from Stephen and I need to do the final checkover. I can't wait to hear how it sounds!

It's not that I don't like your terminal lugs, Stephen, it's just that I have on past projects had to unsolder a bunch of connections and redo them. It was a real mess and I thought this would give me some slack. Don't tell my wife, but I make mistakes sometimes.

I think I might have screwed up the input jack wiring. For some reason (ADD?) I had a hard time with the diagrams. Is the second channel different from the first? If so I botched it.

Both channels are the same since the two jacs are pointing the same direction.

Be sure the moutning bolt doesnt touch the input jack or flip 180 degrees and re-wire according to the "combo" wiring picture posted.

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

Thanks, Stephen. I get it now.

On pin 2 of the rectifier socket I have 5V, on pin 8 of the rectifier socket where there is supposed to be 0V, I have 2V. This is without the rectifier in or the standby switch on. Should I be concerned about that? I have 288V on pins 4 and 6.

Thanks