trinityamps.com

You don't need the isolating insert. The MOSFET Trinity uses is designed in such a way that the insert does not make contact with any of the MOSFET's active elements.

_________________
http://pdfelectronics.com

Thanks for the info. I'll only get time to work on the amp again on Saturday (life).

I just want to comment at this point. The Trinity kit thus far has been a revelation. Little details I did not experience in my previous builds e.g. holes for wires from the OT is cut near the position where they will be needed in the amp, every component fits in the hole that is meant for it, helpful tips in the instruction book I wish I knew about when I built previous amps (those were my first but hints like that would have been great). I will wholeheartedly recommend a Trinity kit to anybody

Thanks!!

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

Some more pics

Power tube sockets now completely wired



Preamp and phase inverter sockets done



In fact, the whole board is done, I just need to wire the power chord and the VVR!



The cab is also coming along nicely



So maaaybeee later tonight, I can fire 'er up

And its done. I will power er up tonight. Too tired now and I think its better to stay away from all those DC volts:-)

I see the 1M is on the jack and that is OK if there are no DC blocking .1 uF cap. They should really be on the other end of the .1 uF cap to ground.
It will work, but not ideal.

The blue resistors are the 1M moved to tags on the chassis.




Looks like a good build.

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

Why should the 1M be on the other side of the capacitors? What could be a result of me putting them where I did?

It fired up no problem first time round. No Hum, just a bit of hiss when the volumes are dime+2'd

Can't wait to get it into the cabinet and hear it with the BBQ speaker, I tested it now with my Marshall 2061cx cabinet, it contains 2x Celestion G12H30 speakers.

I'm a happy camper!!

The bias of the first stage my be messed up. The 1M resistor won't be able to provide a ground reference to the tube's grid if it is on the input jack being blocked by the cap.

Not a big deal, but I would move it.

_________________
http://pdfelectronics.com

I can easily do that. How can I tell if the bias is messed up?

The sound will be "spitting, blatty, farting out". You'll notice, it doesn't always happen, depends on the tube.

_________________
http://pdfelectronics.com

OK, I'm going to install them on the tube socket then, just to make sure. I'll have to drill a hole for the solder tab. I don't want to have to modify this amp again in future.

Don't drill the chassis, just add the little ground/solder lugs like Coco did in the post above.

_________________
http://pdfelectronics.com

I don't think I have nuts for the tube sockets' bolts. I'll have a look, maybe I will have. The hardware stores here only sell metric sized nuts and bolts so the imperial sizes are not easy to get.

One of my 6V6s rattles. I'm not used to rattling tubes. Should I worry about it? My first inclination is to get a new pair of tubes and keep these for backup. What do others do?

You can run the 1M from the other side of the .1uf cap to the ground right on the board if you want. I had the ground lugs handy, but you can just run them beside the cap to ground.

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

Congrats on getting the amp going first time. Nice job.
For the noisy tube, Get another tube and keep as a back up..

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

Thanks Stephen. I must say, building this amp was a breeze (except getting my big paws into the small 5E3 chassis at times). Everything is so cleverly thought out. Your kit is amazing. If I lived somewhere where shipping wasn't so expensive I'd have one of each of your amps soon.

So, some questions.

1. The VRM scales the whole amp. I find that the difference between the normal and bright channels diminishes rather quickly when I turn down the VRM. The crisp treble is gone at minimum VRM. I assume this is normal? Related, how much would I have to change the circuit to scale only the PI and Power tubes? I'm assuming the diminishing treble is due to the preamp triodes not running at their full voltage.

2. I'm playing the amp through my Marshall cab for the moment, while my cab is being built. I ordered a BBQ 12A125A speaker to go with it. The amp, even on minimum VRM, is really loud through the Marshall cab (2x G12H30). I haven't measured the voltages yet but I'm assuming this because the speakers are 100dB and the Sovtek Rectifier gives higher B+ than a NOS would, so even at minimum VRM the voltage is still such that the amp is pretty loud. My question is, does anyone here know the efficiency of the BBQ speaker, compared to a Celestion G12H30?

My first impression is that the amp is much more ragged than my 18 watt, and has less drive. My second impression is that the distortion is not as smooth as I've heard from 5E3 demos on youtube. I'm going to wait before making a final verdict on this until I have the amp in its own cabinet with the Alnico speaker.

3. Tube choices. Have anyone tried JJs and Tung-Sols and EH 6V6 in this amp? Any differences? My 18 watt loves the RI Mullard EL84 valves, much smoother than the JJs. I read on the internetz that the JJ 6V6 tubes sound more like 6L6s. Is there any truth in this? I'm going to buy a new set of tubes for the amp and keep the JJs as backups. Now I need to decide which I'll get.

I installed the 470k grid stopper on the phase inverter. Now its nice and smooth, not quite so ragged as before. Now the wait for the completed cab begins in earnest O_o

Plastic insert is not required.but the grey sil pad underneath it is required. The plastic insert is for transistors with metal tabs (e.g. TO3 package). There is a pre tapped hole in the end of the chassis to mount the MOSFET..

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