The BOM I posted has everything except the choke, volume pot, tube sockets, pwr and opt transformers, tubes, motor run cap and switches. Some of these are listed as optional and some not available through Mouser. I also have the 680Ohm CFB resistor for mine in the BOM. I could do up an optional BOM to add everything you can get from Mouser but is not required for a basic build if there is interest. That would include the pot, switches, and PW Transformer (I think they have the recommended Hammond).
I have a bunch of standard copper AWG 18 PVC insulated stranded wire. No idea of any voltage rating, it came from an auto parts store years ago. Is this safe to use or should I be looking for something else?
Doing a little research it looks like most of the stuff sold at auto parts stores today has a low voltage rating. I'll guess that it was the same years ago and the wire I have does not have the proper insulation for the job. Safety first so I am on the hunt for some 600v rated 16 or 18 gauge.
Here is what I ended up purchasing. It is 600v 18G tinned copper, PVC coated from Remington Industries. Hook Up Wire, 18 AWG, 600V-PVC, 10 Color, 25''' ea - Remington Industries
The only thing I ended up using hookup wire for was AC signal wiring from the RCA inputs to the volume pot, from there to the board, and the AC ground wires from the negative speaker terminals, and the one RCA input ground.
The leads on my Edcore transformers and the choke were way longer than needed, and I cut most of them. I ended up using one of the lengths that I cut from a transformer for the IEC socket ground.
So, there really isn't any need to speak of for high voltage hookup wire with this design as long as your transformers still have long leads.
David
The leads on my Edcore transformers and the choke were way longer than needed, and I cut most of them. I ended up using one of the lengths that I cut from a transformer for the IEC socket ground.
So, there really isn't any need to speak of for high voltage hookup wire with this design as long as your transformers still have long leads.
David
I thought that might be the case but feel better having some extra wire around rated for the job if the need arises.
Hey everyone, I know this isn't directly related to Tubelab, but it was my SSE that gave me the confidence to start another build.
I chose a 55 yr. old schematic for a Vox AC4 and built a tube guitar amp from scratch. I re-used an old Fender Frontman cabinet. I built the amp in a Hammond chassis using a Hoffman turret board that I designed.
Amazingly, it worked from the first power up! But, I got a TON of help and guidance over on another amp forum, so I didn't do it alone by any means.
Anyway, I wanted to share it here. George, I know you like building guitar amps, and even started out with them. My AC4 sound great. It was a really fun project. It uses an EZ81 rectifier, an EF86 for preamp, and an EL84 for power.
David
I chose a 55 yr. old schematic for a Vox AC4 and built a tube guitar amp from scratch. I re-used an old Fender Frontman cabinet. I built the amp in a Hammond chassis using a Hoffman turret board that I designed.
Amazingly, it worked from the first power up! But, I got a TON of help and guidance over on another amp forum, so I didn't do it alone by any means.
Anyway, I wanted to share it here. George, I know you like building guitar amps, and even started out with them. My AC4 sound great. It was a really fun project. It uses an EZ81 rectifier, an EF86 for preamp, and an EL84 for power.
David
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That AC-4 schematic is very similar to the first real guitar amp I built when I was somewhere around 10 years old. There was no internet in 1962, information came from electronics magazines, library books, or from another more knowledgeable friend.
In my case a schoolmate had an older brother who was a ham radio operator, and played guitar. He had taken his 5C1 Fender Champ apart and traced out it's schematic. I copied his the hard way, pencil and paper. Copy machines were not available to ordinary people either. He gave me some advice that I still share today....get it working as designed, then we will talk about upgrades and mods.
The old Champ used a 6SJ7 in place of the EF86 and a 6V6 in place of the EL84, and it had grid leak bias, which was ditched as the first mod, making the schematic virtually identical to yours, except for the tube choices.
UH, I played my guitar through the SSE a lot about 10 years ago. I also devised a preamp that connected to the SSE board and turned it into a push pull guitar amp that cranked out about 50 watts from a pair of 6L6GC's.....I'm still looking for the schematic, it's on a hard drive in a box somewhere.
In my case a schoolmate had an older brother who was a ham radio operator, and played guitar. He had taken his 5C1 Fender Champ apart and traced out it's schematic. I copied his the hard way, pencil and paper. Copy machines were not available to ordinary people either. He gave me some advice that I still share today....get it working as designed, then we will talk about upgrades and mods.
The old Champ used a 6SJ7 in place of the EF86 and a 6V6 in place of the EL84, and it had grid leak bias, which was ditched as the first mod, making the schematic virtually identical to yours, except for the tube choices.
UH, I played my guitar through the SSE a lot about 10 years ago. I also devised a preamp that connected to the SSE board and turned it into a push pull guitar amp that cranked out about 50 watts from a pair of 6L6GC's.....I'm still looking for the schematic, it's on a hard drive in a box somewhere.
Wow - that's nothing less than super-cool! I especially like the turret board; did you purchase that pre-made or did you build it from scratch? Excellent workmanship either way. I've been toying with building a Marshall 18-Watt clone for a long time; yours just might push me into action.
Also, whatever you used to sketch up the pictorial and schematic was just the ticket. I'm looking at purchasing (or otherwise legally acquiring) some new visualization tools to replace some of my aging software, and the ability to produce output like that would be nice indeed.
Also, whatever you used to sketch up the pictorial and schematic was just the ticket. I'm looking at purchasing (or otherwise legally acquiring) some new visualization tools to replace some of my aging software, and the ability to produce output like that would be nice indeed.
Antique Electronics Supply has a good selection of turret boards, material to make your own, and even pre made boards for a few popular amps.
I have used several of the turret boards with built in tube sockets in some of my prototypes.
Terminal Boards & Strips | Antique Electronic Supply
I have used several of the turret boards with built in tube sockets in some of my prototypes.
Terminal Boards & Strips | Antique Electronic Supply
Thanks George. I bought a lot of my parts and the tubes from them. Great service.
But, I used the free DIY Layout Creator software to draft my layout and then uploaded the turret board drawing to Hoffman Amps. He cut the board to size and installed the turrets all for a great price for a one-off custom part. I bought a lot of other things from him, too. He (Doug) also first-rate service and super fast 2-day shipping.
As built, my new AC4 is running at just under max plate dissipation. About 11 watts for an EL84 that's rated at 12 watts max! But, it sounds great so I'm leaving it alone. Going from a 150 Ohm cathode resistor to a 180 would drop it a bit, but I like the way it sounds. From what I've read Fender historically pushed output tubes pretty hard in a lot of their amps.
But, I used the free DIY Layout Creator software to draft my layout and then uploaded the turret board drawing to Hoffman Amps. He cut the board to size and installed the turrets all for a great price for a one-off custom part. I bought a lot of other things from him, too. He (Doug) also first-rate service and super fast 2-day shipping.
As built, my new AC4 is running at just under max plate dissipation. About 11 watts for an EL84 that's rated at 12 watts max! But, it sounds great so I'm leaving it alone. Going from a 150 Ohm cathode resistor to a 180 would drop it a bit, but I like the way it sounds. From what I've read Fender historically pushed output tubes pretty hard in a lot of their amps.
Mr_Zenith, I used a free program called DIY Layout Creator. It's super easy and works great. It comes with a library of parts drawings. No need to buy any software.
Software >
DIY Layout Creator : DIY Fever – Building my own guitars, amps and pedals
I highly recommend checking out Doug Hoffman's amp parts store:
Tube amp parts, Guitar amp parts
I uploaded my board drawing to his website and he built and shipped my custom turret board the same day!
Hoffman sells a lot of boards for various amps.
You might want to check out his Stout 18w TMB, a Marshall 18w with midrange control. It's well tested and he has a parts package with chassis and turret board ready to ship:
Tube Amp Schematics, Tube Amp Information, Tube Amp Projects
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The first layout I posted has an error with the tone knob wiring. Maybe sixty year-old British tone knobs worked "treble-left/bass-right."
Here's the final corrected layout.
I installed a Celestion speaker in the cabinet today. A more efficient speaker than the old cheap Fender. It's a lot louder with much better tone.
Edited: that's still wrong! The second one is correct. Sorry about that.
Here's the final corrected layout.
I installed a Celestion speaker in the cabinet today. A more efficient speaker than the old cheap Fender. It's a lot louder with much better tone.
Edited: that's still wrong! The second one is correct. Sorry about that.
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Nice job, ordered my SSE last week been looking at all the parts, been writing up BoM on my other computer will post when done, Question what are your choke specs? Also my build will probably be a couple of months, I just built a Hagerman Bugle 2 Phono preamp, I'm going to look into Tavish I'd love a tube preamp!
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