fed up with bosoz

[cowanrg]

different timebase:

[poobah]

cowanrq,

What type of solder are you using and how have you washed your boards?

[cowanrg]

Originally posted by poobah
cowanrq,

What type of solder are you using and how have you washed your boards?

hey there poobah!

im using WBT silver solder. i havent washed my boards. is this the problem?

[poobah]

cowanrq,

Well I don't know exactly what "WBT" means. If it means "water-based-something" then yeah... you need to wash these boards.

Lemme 'spain Rucy... Good ole Kester 44 and most other solders use a pine tar/oil based flux... it smells like pine when you use it. This stuff is non-conductive and can be left on the circuits forever without any harm (at least that is what we know after 100 years or so)

OTOH, water based fluxes are very conductive; so it's like having a bunch of 200K resistors connecting every point in your amp to every other point. Better still, it is mildly corrosive; so it eats away at your connections if left on the boards.

This is just a wild guess... but it sounds like that is where your at.

Go to their website... and post the link for us... give us the brand, part number and all that for the solder your using.

If you're just starting out building electronics... try to stay away from exotics... in just about anything. I am all about gold plated connectors simply because they don't rot; but I won't pay alot for them (10 cents worth of gold). Beyond that, the only people who can hear a difference are the people that actually spent a pile of money on something questionable.

Let us know about your solder... and we'll line you how on how to clean your boards... IF you need to.

[cowanrg]

ok, here is the exact solder i used for the preamp and PSU boards:

http://www.wbtusa.com/wbtsilversolder.htm

ive used it for two working aleph3 monoblocks, a 2-ch gainclone, some stepper motor controller boards, and several other things.

i also have some backup solder that i use, which is kester "44" rosin core. the label is worn off, so i cant tell much more than that.

i have a VERY hard time believing that is the cause. BUT, its not the power supply, or the power supply boards, and both channels of the preamp are doing the same thing, so maybe it is...

[poobah]

OK,

For openers, WBT doesn't have a "spec sheet" on their product, the solder. In my book, that makes it a "non product" right out of the gate... looked like some audiophile cr4p there too. I would stay away, save your money, and deal with professional product. I don't know if your boards should be washed or not... you might send them an email and find out. I do agree, with the other amps working that flux is probably NOT the problem. Never hurts to clean your boards though... problem IS, don't know what to clean with... no specs. They are buying this from some one else... slapping on their label... charging 4 times more for it... and concealing the specs so other people won't match specs and find out it is just Kester, or the normal German brand solder being relabeled. Try to stay away from products and websites that don't have specs... not professional grade... you want tuna that tastes good.

I read back through the thread again. You changed power supplies and still the same problem. But your waveforms imply a hum problem.

The most telling thing in the whole thread was the fact that you could alter the input connections and change the noise problem. Ah-ha????

Can you post a schematic or link. I don't follow all threads and "fashions" etc...

[wuffwaff]

Hi,

WBT is a German brand wich also makes all sorts of cinch and loudspeaker connectors. I´ve used their solder quite often without any problems (it smells very nice )

Since both of your boards do the same thing the mistake must be one that is constructed in and not a faulty part.

Since the schematic is very simple you could check the boards point to point if they comply with the schematics.

William

[cowanrg]

plenty of people on here use the WBT solder, its pretty popular. i got it off a recommendation about 2 years before poobah became a member! hehe. i didnt get it for sonics, etc.. i got it because its really easy to work with and melts at a low temerature. it isnt that expensive if you know where to buy it, and it truly solders a LOT better than the kester i use otherwise.

ive built to many things with it to think that its the solder thats causing the problem.

here is the schematic again:

http://www.kk-pcb.com/bls.html

the board and schematic are there.

here is a link to the full writeup from nelson pass. he includes a service manual that has voltages to check. im getting almost exact values at the spots. the schematic is on page 4. im getting within 1% or so of all the values given.

http://www.passdiy.com/pdf/balzenpre.pdf

this is why its so confusing to me!!!

poobah, you said this:

"The most telling thing in the whole thread was the fact that you could alter the input connections and change the noise problem. Ah-ha????"

where did you see that? all the noise you are seeing on this post is without a single thing connected at the input. i will try shorting the input to see if it changes things (ive done it before, but not with a scope). could you maybe show me the post where i said this? there are about 3 threads with 10+ pages of posts of this problem alone

ive been trying to fix it for about a year now.

[poobah]

Well, enough about the solder. BTW, I was designing amps before the web existed... excuse the 2 months on DYI please.

Geeze there is nothing to this thing! Shouldn't be that hard.

Rig up 2 connectors for the input (cheap ones) just make a short circuit... "tip to ring". Short the inputs, read the outputs and listen... tell us what you get.

[cowanrg]

Originally posted by poobah
Well, enough about the solder. BTW, I was designing amps before the web existed... excuse the 2 months on DYI please.

Geeze there is nothing to this thing! Shouldn't be that hard.

Rig up 2 connectors for the input (cheap ones) just make a short circuit... "tip to ring". Short the inputs, read the outputs and listen... tell us what you get.

thats exactly what i was going to try.

oh, and i wasnt at ALL trying to call you a newbie. just to show that many people on here use WBT solder, and its popular, and im sure its not the problem. thats all. you know more than me at this, yet you've only been registered here for a few months, me, a few years. it doesnt relate in any way to knowledge.