trinityamps.com

So, after very little deliberation I've gone ahead and got a Tweed Deluxe kit from Stephen. Went over and picked it up last weekend - fabulous to meet him and see where the work gets done.

This is my first amp build - hell, my first anything build. I have little aptitude working with my hands, actually, I'm all thumbs, but I'm going to take my time, go slowly, and ask a ton of n00b questions.

So . . . here we go! Question #1 - wiring the pilot light assembly: it's a V shape, with two holes on each side of the V. There are two wires to be soldered to each side. Do both wires get soldered together at one of the holes, or does each wire go to a separate hole? If so, does it matter which?

I don't see a :shrug: emoticon - if there was, I'd have it in every post. I expect I'll be seeing a lot of in your responses. If there was a :facepalm:, I bet that would be popular too!

Thanks for any help.

Wire them seperately. Doesn't matter which hole. I found the heater/pilot light wiring confusing too.

Thanks, Cups! "It takes a village to build an amp!" Or, "it takes a village (the forum) to help the village idiot (me) build an amp."

OK, so a beter pic is required. Will do!

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

I think you already corrected the image Stephen. It's clearer now anyway.

... and Keith; Don't feel bad about asking silly questions, in the end you'll have a working amp. Sounds pretty smart to me

Not to worry, you will be successful! With all this help here??

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

Hey keith...

The guys on this forum are the best sort. No flaming or harsh words here. A certain reflection on the attitude of the big guy - coco!

JP

Hi guys,

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to try to get a lot done today. However, I'm completely baffled on how to fit the strain relief! Coco actually mentioned how to, when I picked up the kit, but I forgot! Any tips?

Strip 8-10" the end, Put the strain relief on the cable that still has the outer plasic sheath by folding it over itself. Take a pair of pliers to squeeze the strain relief and push it through the hole in the chassis so when it expands, it will stay in tight. There is a flange/groove on it for that purpose.














I use Channel Lock pliers:



http://www.heyco.com/products/sec_03/3-13.html#

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

Harrumphh . . . I had to wait a whole hour for an answer!

J/K! Thanks Coco!

It was a valid question so I put the instruction in the resource forum too.

viewtopic.php?t=1296

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

"Valid question" - I like that! That means most of the rest of our questions are really stupid, right? I always suspected that in my case...

Seriously, we all thank you, Coco, for your great patience and going the extra mile to teach us great stuff about amp building and theory. Folks like you are sadly getting very rare in this world.

Jim

Thanks for the kind comments.

LOL I didn't mean 'valid' it quite that way. But it makes me think about how to improve the documentation to make it easier to build these. I guess that's what I was thinking.

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

Thanks for the responses everyone. Started the heater wiring today. OK, so I was not expecting making the mechanical connections to be so finicky - hope it's easier when I get to the octals, 'cause on the novals it's a real pain. The soldering was the easy part - tying them up to solder was way harder. Trust me . . . I'm all thumbs. Oh well, at least today I learned how to 1) strip wire (seriously . . . that was a new one for me) and 2) solder. At least I think I learned how to solder. One of the joints isn't as shiny as it maybe should be. Maybe I'll go back to that one.

I've got to the point where I stick the wire in and solder it. No wrap around on the tube pin etc. I just bend the wire to approx place, stick the bare end through and solder. Then put the wire in it's proper place. Solid core wire helps out.

Just use enough solder.

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

just pre-tin your wire ends, makes it easier to make good mecanical connections and keep mini wires from going everywhere they should not

Pre tinning helps in some cases. Especially with bare copper wire. Fortunately, the wire we use/sell, is pre-tinned so it saves some effort.

Excellent posting here by joeyvelour on that subject:

viewtopic.php?t=1261

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