trinityamps.com

Alright, we have an amp here.

Picked it up today at the post office. Hoping to get most components mounted tonight and really hope to get a lot of the initial wiring done before the end of the weekend.

I've got a week before I leave home for a week, and I want it done for an ampfest April 11. I'm going to have to work diligently.

I've got a thread on HC for my build here:

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... st39421848

The heater wiring is a new thing for me - previously, I've always run them along the backside of the chassis, but it seems that everyone runs them as I wired them, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Initial comment - this chassis is going to be tight to get everything in there cleanly. I thought my Marwatt's chassis was a tight fit...lead dress is definitely going to be critical on this guy.

I really like this approach to heater wiring. I find it makes it easier to isolate them from the signal wires & keeps them out of the way. I used this approach of a BFDR I just built too (I know, purists are screaming "BLASPHEMY" right now...).

Lead dress is indeed critical in the Triwatt, especially with the OD pot/switch. VERY sensitive to noise.

Weathered...

My amp arrived on Friday. Took about 10 business days to get through customs and arrive.
Should arrive through the USPS which will require a signature.

I got lucky and was home at the time of the drop.



zack

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dig it

For you guys starting new Triwatt builds, I've done a series of build photos of an early Triwatt I built. It's in this forum under the title of Malcolm's Amp. You may find it handy to use as a reference. FYI my Triwatt builds have the power amp grounding done slightly different to ho the layout diagram shows, so that the power end of the amp has a single ground point to the chassis.


Actually, the fact that both transformers are mounted above the chassis means you get quite a bit more space to work in compared to regular 18W style amps, including Marwatts.


I just had a look at that thread. It's a pretty neat blog.

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

Alright, got the power supply pretty well buttoned up, thanks in part to the build thread that ZP has. Those pictures are very helpful.

Next steps are building the board and wiring up the pots and input jacks. This build has been much smoother thanks to this board and having made my share of mistakes on past amps. I still have 10 fingers, 10 toes, and no more brain damage than I had prior to building amps, so that's a good thing.

Edit: Speaking of brain damage, I found that I wired the diode for the bias switch in backwards - I'm planning to just reverse the wires coming off of the switch - that will work, or do I need to redo that? I kind of figured that I could just flip the wiring, but I don't want to end up with a botched bias switch due to my lack of attention to that.

Yes that will work. that is an 18V Zener diode in there.

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

Alright, board is almost done - just need to get the leads soldered on.

Stephen - this board design is FANTASTIC - I really like the way it's laid out - no really tough fits like building the PI on a Marshall and trying to fit 4 leads into one turret. Great work on that.

IMO Stephen's layouts are a real joy to work with.

I've also just completed another Triwatt board this evening.

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

phil wrote
"For you guys starting new Triwatt builds, I've done a series of build photos of an early Triwatt I built. It's in this forum under the title of Malcolm's Amp. You may find it handy to use as a reference. FYI my Triwatt builds have the power amp grounding done slightly different to ho the layout diagram shows, so that the power end of the amp has a single ground point to the chassis"

ZP could you elaborate a little. On Stephens drawing it looks like all the power end grounding is all done on one bolt near the transformer.
Stew

Hmmmm...... should I tell him the answer or not......

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

Malcolm's build posted here:

viewtopic.php?t=1647

Note that Phil connected the ground points differently in that build i.e. the grounds from the bias pot as an example.

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

OK, I'll break my silence now....

Yes, in the standard layout the power tube cathodes are grounded at the small tag strip near the bias pot, while I take a connection back to the main ground point for the power end of the amp, which is near the PT. I like to have a single ground point for the heavier-current end of the amp.

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

Thanks for letting me pry that out of you ZP! lol!!
Stew
seiously though..thanks!!

Alright, leads are on the board, pots are wired, I'm making nice progress.

I'm waiting on the OD pot from Stephen, so once that's here, I'll be able to take the final steps and hopefully, I'll hear it roar to life.

With my Triwatt I connected the OD using shielded wire. Shield grounded one end only. Eliminated my squeal problem and no need for fussy lead dressing.

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Fantasy Noise is what my shop of dreams is called and was the only way to beat my addiction, like many here I suffer from G.A.S.


Tele's make the best noise

Alrighty, board is wired to the tube sockets. Poser supply is wired - just waiting to wire pots and inputs.

This might be a new speed record for me if it's working 1 week from receiving it.

I've been following your thread on HC, and I have a couple of comments. Looking at the picture of your board, it appears to be one of the later rev ones that has the extra turret for the zener to be mounted on board. I don't know if you're building the amp that way or not, but IMO it's less fiddly to have the zener mounted on the board than directly on the 6V6/KT66 switch.

Also about those transformers. Yes, they are meant to look like the Partridge transformers used in earlier Hiwatts (some time in tje late 70s or 80s they started using end bells). But the similarity goes deeper than that. Heyboer makes Partridge clone transformers that are very highly regarded by Hiwatt repairers and clone builders. So we have got them to build a set for the Triwatt which is based on the Partridge 50W design, but with the voltages and impedances altered to suite 6V6 and KT66 tubes. Apart from that they use the same iron and winding patterns as Heyboer's Partridge clones - and they also lack the end bells.

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

I actually already mounted the zener on the switch, which was a bear....wish I'd have figured that out beforehand...

That being said, it wasn't that much trouble, and this build is still coming along nicely.