trinityamps.com

For signal wires, I tend to bend them so they go over the Heater wires with about 1/8" clearance.
Only when you install power tubes do you really need a speaker connected, not that it would hurt to have one connected at start up, it just not abs necessary.

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

Please anyone give me some advise on the bench test.
Correct me if I am wrong.
The first test is an AC test without any tubes where the multimeter is connected to Pin 4 and the ground? Then do the same with Pin 6 and ground.
I should see a reading of 384 volts AC.

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

Yes

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http://pdfelectronics.com

With only a rectifier installed I've got a plate voltages of between 490 to 500. Does this seem unreasonable? The reading should be slightly higher but I think this exceeds the range of slightly. Please chirp in anyone, thanks!

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

Power tubes installed should bring that into line. Try that but connect up a speaker first. If that brings it into line, install all tubes and report back with all voltage readings.

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

Sunday; With tubes installed plate voltage now reasonable. Have a huge hum: I mean massive like a ground issue. Initially this was variable with both volumes (turn up the volume and increase the hum till the room started to shake) so according to the troubleshooting part of the manual should be in the stage before the pots so I would think the jacks and groundings there. (What do others think?)

Stephen suggested examination and re-soldering the ground points. So I Re-soldered and tightened ground lugs and ground stars/pts. Still had hum; no different. Redid a few pre amp pins, found a little piece of stray wire near the V2 socket and thought that was the culprit and checked for crossed wires near tubes, no difference still humm'n like mad.

Then re-soldered a normal jacks where the ground meets the wire bridge from the 1M resistor. Something changed: now only hums on when bright channel volume in turned up. the normal channel has signal (I plugged my guitar in) with some hum. It still has a ton of hum when the bright channel is volume turned up with or without anything plugged into Normal.

I feel I am close as I got signal but it's grounding out somewhere. So I will re-solder the bright channel jack where the resistor bridge meets the ground. In a ground resistance test this point has a much higher resistivity Like 2-3 oms seems to jump around, I should have less than one oms according to the manual, So I think something is funky here.

My old Cambodian Tire multimeter stopped working yesterday so I found a new self ranging one at home Depot a Klein for $50, still getting used to it. Bonus is has a continuity function. Should that work if there is a resistor in the test?; doesn't seem to.

Please chime in if you have any suggestions. And again a thanks to Stephen.

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

I have a real cheap multimeter (equivalent of about 7 dollah) and it shows me resistance when I use the continuity function, but it only beeps for small resistance, maybe less than 20 Ohm. So if you are measuring continuity of a solder joint/eyelet/whatever, use the component legs on either side of the join to test, this will give a better test as it tests both components' join to the eyelet/tab.

Keep going, sounds like you're almost there

The good news is I think the hum is tamed. But I am still having issues with a breakup (fizzy, crackle) that seems to be caused by low vibration and I have no bright channel although I think I did for a while. The top of the chassis is “microphonic” even with the volume turned down. When I poke the board with a chopstick I get an even louder microphonic noise that appears to worse when I tap close to the where the input line passes from the resistors to the line under the board that continues to V1.

I think part of my problem is that I bent the low bright jack to accommodate installing the board, now I have taken the jack out and noticed that it doesn't stay closed, so that could be part of the problem,. I tried bending it back but now it is really F****D UP. I can't get back into the original shape. So learn from my lesson don't be temped to bend the jacks when you are shoehorning the board in. Bending it I disconnected some leads to the top jack. OH S**T. Now a special trip to the electronics store for a guitar jack and resolder the mess I've made.


Other smaller issues:

THE power JJs don’t clear the speaker. Vintage RCA do as they are so much smaller. Clearance with RCA about 1 mm; I’ve contacted the cab builder and he send me a new baffle.

The speaker plug is right against the speaker, I have bought a 90 degree plug to swap it out.

Is this
progress?

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

Well, get good jacks - use switchcraft, not cheap offshore stuff.
I think reheating and touching up the solder joints would be good idea.

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

Here is the tight fit issue with a Tone Tubby the Chassis. NOS RCA fits just barely.
Replaced bent jack but haven't yet tested.

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

Sunday Jan 27th; an update;

Had a microphonic problem when I tapped the board or chassis in some spots it was feed backing thru the speaker. Thought it might be a bad solder so i touched up many pts on the board to no avail. Stephen suggested that I tap the capacitors and I found the smaller orange cap .02uf 600v was acting like a little condensor mic. I had but all the board components on really tight; so rebent the leads so the cap was suspended above the board and the noise stopped completely.

Still have an issue with the Lo Bright input jack. The original one I had bent when shoehorning the board in. I bought a replacement closed mono Switchcraft and used the insultating washers Trinity provided. This jack has no hum or anything just dead. I have continuity from the tip of the plug to where it meets the 68K resistor; surprisingly all those (4) resistors measure 32.2 oms and not 64 oms; apparently this is normal. Additionally there is continuity from the resistor to the tube pin in all four cases. Ground deems OK as well so I don't know how to solve this one.

The cab maker is sending me a new baffle so that the chassis will fit with the provided JJs.

I have not yet installed the VRM which i ordered with the kit.

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

Update Feb 5;

Waiting for a new baffle from the cabinet maker so that my big-assed Tone Tubby will clear the power tubes. I swapped out the straight speaker jack for one with a 90 degree bend so the jack should not interfere with the speaker.

Question about the VRM Location on the Tweed:

It appears that most installs with the tweed have the board connected to the pot with leads running to the MOSFET which is fits on the the left side of the chassis as well as one to the ground.

I understand that there is no/little difference between replacing the power switch or the standby switch with the pot for VRM. Or is there? The leads would be shorter with replacement of the standby switch if there is enough room, looks like it may be a tight fit.

AND: Is is necessary to have a .1uf caps provided on the preamp tube pin location 7 and 2? Are the purpose of the caps to keep the voltage steady?

Thanks in advance for any help provided.

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

Basically no difference. We do the power switch as it seems a little more logical plus you can get your tone, then put it on standy-by without affecting the tone.
Stand-by would work just as well.
It is very necessary to use the .1uf caps as they block DC from getting to your pick-ups and you also need to move the 1M resistors off the jacks and to the board as shown in various drawings.

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

UPDATE It's March now and I have playing my Tweed for a month and getting used to finding the tone I like. Still haven't installed the VRM as I want to get know the amp before I modify it. I am running a NOS rectifier and a vintage 5171 in the V1 position. I have some NOS power tubes that will go in soon.

Well I learn a lot from this project as I am not really all that handy, had little electronics expereince and have never attempted anything like this. So if I can build an amp I think anyone with perseverance can. Like senior member Joey Velour said "Some assembly required; brain not included". It took me over a month to build this very slow and methodically and I made many mistakes and redid thing more than a couple times. If I did another I am sure it could be finished within a week. The instructions are great and very complete anything not in the manual is really covered in the resource section of the forum. What really helped me was all the other postings especially the one with pictures. Of course I would have not completed it without Stephen at Trinity; a man without limits to his patience.

Random notes:

The cabinet was built by America Tweeds, really solid and good honest people.

This thing is loud! I think I will need the VRM before I lose my hearing.

The Tone Tubby Alnico is the way to go if you can afford it. The way the speaker compresses gives me a woody everytime I play it.

The amp responds differently with different guitars; my Gretsch PowerJet with humbuckers really saturates the amp quickly, great for rock and anything with power chords, my tele sounds really fender-ish as it should because pickups are vintage wound and this guitar-amp combo best in a clean way, my other Gretsch (6120DSV) has single coils and falls dynamically somewhere between the humbuckers and the regular tele pickups, the amp makes this hollowbody guitar feedback anything past 2 on the volume dial. I built this amp for 6120 to complement the twangy rockabilly sound I get from this guitar.

Because there is no reverb I am using a Memory Man delay in front of it with a short echo. some feedback and just a little blend. I plan on buying a digital emulator maybe a Strymon. I sometimes put some trem on it as well with a Diamond tremolo pedal. Between the delay and trem I can get some good vintage sounds.

Here a family picture.

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Muddy
Calgary,AB

Looks like a nice rig there Muddy. Enjoy it now!
Thanks for the review.

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