JLH 10 Watt class A amplifier

This is what I'm thinking. Look at this image. The amp output is set to 20 volts DC here and appears 1 second in. The output side of the cap is charging via a 100 ohm here and after a few seconds the voltage has fallen to a very low value.

So if your board has a delay you could add a highish value resistor which would charge the cap in a few seconds.

Screenshot 2024-08-19 144949.png
 
This is what I'm thinking. Look at this image. The amp output is set to 20 volts DC here and appears 1 second in. The output side of the cap is charging via a 100 ohm here and after a few seconds the voltage has fallen to a very low value.

So if your board has a delay you could add a highish value resistor which would charge the cap in a few seconds.

View attachment 1346568
This is the board that I have.
Screenshot_2024-08-19-18-05-47-25_57e717c094f371a1dada6567a1123b99.jpg


What you propose is to add a resistor of 100ohm across the L&R in and ground ?
 
This is pretty typical behaviour for damaged transitions; they may have arrived damaged, or you may have damaged them when testing. Are there any transistors you have not tested, from the Mouser batch you ordered? If yes, try those.
My power setup for measuring hFe of transistors.
I carried out the measurements in quite harsh conditions: the common supply voltage was 24 volts, and the current was 2 amperes. But the MJ15001G transistor has a power of 200 watts, and the maximum collector current is 15 amperes. I very carefully monitored the resistance of the variable resistor Rv, so as not to damage the base of the transistor. The transistor and the power resistor were mounted on a fairly large heatsink with an area of 1.2 square meters. After full heating, its temperature did not exceed 56 degrees. The transistors were attached to the heatsink with thermal paste to ensure a good heat transfer coefficient.

Question: could I damage the junctions of the MJ15001G power transistors on such a rig under the above conditions?
 

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I wrote down the data from the voltmeter Vb for all the measured transistors: the voltage on the resistor Rb fluctuated from 0.978 to 1.118 Volts. The average time for testing a transistor was about 5 minutes. The radiator was constantly kept hot and therefore the testing was relatively fast.
 
The problem I see with your gain test is that the transistor is dissipating about 24 Watts, and therefore MUST be well heat sunk. Without a heat sink, even a TO-3 can only handle a couple Watts. In a few seconds the silicon chip will melt without a big heat sink. Helping someone trouble shoot their problems is mostly about guessing what they are not telling you.

If the 100 Ohm bias resistor is a 3-Watt resistor and getting hot then you have at least 1.5 Watts and 12 Volts on it, and the Pot should be getting even hotter. It seems the wiring is not what it should be. Is there any physical difference between transistors that would explain that?
 
steveu, you either didn’t read my post or I didn’t understand you. "The transistor and the power resistor were mounted on a fairly large heatsink with an area of 1.2 square meters. After full heating, its temperature did not exceed 56 degrees. The transistors were attached to the heatsink with thermal paste to ensure a good heat transfer coefficient".

The base resistors are mounted separately from the radiator - they are not powerful and do not heat up.