Clementine confusion

sweet & juicy SE amp for 1626 Darlings and the 6L6 family

Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Thu Apr 28, 2016 7:43 pm

Very interesting! Good to know that exists. The trouble is I just spent $70 on doing it the other way. I can't justify changing that now. After all, I only have to use it for three holes. :{)

John
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:11 am

I got my Mouser order today. Lots of quality parts. But wait...

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What happened to Made in Canada?

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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby Geek » Sat Apr 30, 2016 11:25 am

They outsourced years ago. They only do the OPT's in Canada now :(
-= Gregg =-
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Wed May 04, 2016 2:22 am

Hey Tom,

I wonder if you could help me out? I got my chassis and bottom plate, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to screw the plate to the chassis. #6 screws are too big and #4 are too small. I can't fit a #4 nut unless I can somehow glue it in place. That doesn't seem right. I noticed you have fitted something to yours -- some kind of threaded insert. Could you enlighten me?

Thanks,

John
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby TomMcNally » Wed May 04, 2016 3:14 am

Hi John -

Good question ! The only screws I found to work in those holes are sheet metal screws that were left over from building PCs. If you get some decent quality sheet metal screws from the bins at a hardware store like Ace, you can probably find something that works. Cheap screws will break off in the holes and annoy you, it's not so bad in a steel chassis, but stainless steel is frustrating.

About this time in 2007, I got a "rivnut" tool and started doing the aluminum threaded inserts. Google "rivnut" for pictures (or eBay) It's not practical for 4 holes to be honest. Once you finish your amp and put the bottom on, you won't have any need to go back in.

... tom
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Wed May 04, 2016 12:06 pm

Thanks Tom. I have a small collection of various screws in various sizes. My mistake was trying to use a machine screw. I should have been trying sheet metal screws (which, come to think of it, is obvious now!)

The rivnut thing is interesting but like you say it would be a bit of a waste for just four holes. Good to know it exists, though. A lot of my problems are caused by simply not being aware that a certain tool exists. That's why experience is such a good thing.

Thanks!

John
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Thu May 12, 2016 11:25 am

WOW! Edcor have shipped -- three weeks early! Can't wait to get them! I've had very good results so far. The hole punch did a great job and all the components fit. Here's the progress so far. Of course, this is just a test; nothing is soldered yet. I'll soon be able to replace those bits of paper with heavy metal :P Probably also have to 'Dremel' that pot shaft (sick)

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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby TomMcNally » Thu May 12, 2016 1:58 pm

Hey that looks really nice John ! I got the Edcor email today too, so I have one half built that will be finished off when they get here.

When you Dremel the pot shaft, make sure it doesn't spin at 35,000 RPM. Hold it tight with pliers or something. ;)

I have a pair of those aluminum handles on my desk at work, I think mine came with a rack mount UPS and didn't find a home yet. Nice look !


By the way, there are quite a few folks reading along with our builds here, so everyone learns and benefits from the experiences we share.
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Thu May 12, 2016 11:41 pm

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the kind words and advice. I do intend to secure that spindle. Still haven't worked out exactly how yet though. The handles are actually made of steel. I got them from the same place I got the chassis (Angela).

You're right, reading about other people's build process helped me a lot. I don't think I would have attempted this without this site to guide me. I know I wouldn't have had the success I've had so far without you guys.

John
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby WA4SWJ » Fri May 13, 2016 6:02 am

Guys,

I've sawed off many pot shafts with a hack saw. Much easier. Clamp the shaft in a vise at the point you want to cut it, hold the pot body in your hand and slowly cut the shaft with the saw. If you don't have a vise ask someone to help hold it with pliers. A table helps - place the pliers on the table so the pot hangs over the edge. Not hard at all.

Good luck with your build!
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby Olof » Sat May 14, 2016 5:08 am

I can second vise and hack saw for the volume pot shaft, clean cut in no time.

Nice to see the amp taking shape John!
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Tue May 17, 2016 11:33 am

Thanks guys. I found a hacksaw and it was indeed quite easy to cut the shaft. It looks much better now. I'm expecting my Edcors today so I might get this finished by the end of the week!

(banana)

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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby croudyj » Mon May 23, 2016 2:31 am

I'm almost finished the build. Had a few nightmare moments with the annoying 'high quality' audio cable that I bought. Why on earth do some shielded cables have non-conductive fibers in with the signal wire? It makes for a very thin and flimsy connection. I hate that stuff!

Anyway, I've done the resistance test and it was OK, except V1 pins 2 and 5 which are meant to be >200K -- mine started at 100K and then rose as the capacitors charged. Eventually they were >200K but it took a while. Also, V2 & V3 pin 8 was 670 ohms instead of 725, but I'm pretty sure that's because I'm using the 1K5 instead of the 1K8 resistors for R18 and R19.

It's late here, so tomorrow I'll do the voltage test. I'm not sure if this test is supposed to be done with the tubes in or out, or if speakers have to be connected. Is it safe to power this amp up with no speakers connected? Could someone advise me?

Thanks,

John

PS: Here's a picture. Hopefully it will still look like that after I power it up...

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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby TomMcNally » Mon May 23, 2016 10:04 am

Sony headphones have red, green and gold solderable string. ugh

It's always best to keep speakers on a tube amp. I would turn it on and enjoy the music. Check the voltages if it doesn't work, yes with tubes.

... tom
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Re: Clementine confusion

Postby Geek » Mon May 23, 2016 2:51 pm

croudyj wrote:PS: Here's a picture. Hopefully it will still look like that after I power it up...


Moar wallpaper! (love)
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