Amp Build: Brown Note 18Watt Lite IIB

[Ch0jin]

Well, I started out with the best intentions... Just have a quick scan over the new threads over a coffee... Then I start reading this thread. Close the office door and don't move till I got to here haha.

Love the amp/fx build threads!!!!

Cant wait to see and hear more about this one as I've been psyched to build my own lower power tube amp for ages now. I'm even considering an 18W from ceriatone.

[tunghaichuan***]

Had a chance to start on the wiring this afternoon.

Some pix here:

http://www.diycustomamps.com/images/...te/wiring_pt2/

I started with wiring the power supply. First I wired the rectifier tube socket. I decided to use a 5V rectifier to take advantage of the 5V winding on the power transformer. Normally, an English circuit like the 18W would use a 6V rectifier such as the EZ81/EZ80/6CA4.

Next was the standby switch. This is merely a switch to interrupt the B+ from the rectifier to the first filter cap in the power supply.

After I got the can capacitor wired. This is kind of a PITA, as the solder lugs had several leads stuffed in them. This layout is a bit different that what I'm used to. Normally, all the filter caps are on the eyelet board. In this case, two of them are mounted on the chassi in the capacitor can. The other two are on the board. A nice feature of this design is the 200K ohm resistor to ground, which bleeds off the B+ when the amp is turned off. Caps can and do store a charge, so this makes working on the amp safer.

Finally, I got the IEC inlet, on/off switch and screen resistor wired into the circuit.

It looks very messy now inside as I have not cut any of the power transformer's wires to length. I like to leave them their original length until I finish and test the amp and get it working right. Then I will clean up the wiring and try to resolve noise issues, if any.

Wiring can be very tedious so I like to do it in small chunks. I got through today's wiring with a minimum of cursing and swearing

The next stage of the wiring will be wiring the filaments. I hate wiring the filaments It is my least favorite part of amp building, although this probably won't be too bad.

After that, the power amp, preamp input and output jacks, volume an tone controls, and then the gounds. Once I finish the grounds, the amp will essentially be done. The only thing left to do is fire it up and make sure it works right.

Stay tuned...

tung

[duhvoodooman***]

Looking good, Tung! : Getting close now....

[M29]

Sweet Tung, well underway! I notice you have the rectum fryer upside down. Just kidding, awesome work indeed

[luvmyshiner]

It's been awhile since I caught up on this thread. WOW! I can't believe how great it's looking Tung. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[tunghaichuan***]

Guys,

Did some more minor wiring this morning. Got a few things corrected that needed to be and started the filament wiring. Filament wiring is my least favorite part of amp building.

Thanks for the kind words, but it is starting to look like a rat's nest in there. It's not the cleanest build I've ever done.

This one is:

http://www.diycustomamps.com/images/...prin7_guts.jpg

That was built for a friend of mine and had to be absolutely perfect.

I hope to get some more wiring done this evening.

tung

[M29]

Tung,

Just curious on your friends build. Did you need to put shielded wire on the inputs or just did it in case of squeal? I had to use them on one amp but later on I took them off and it worked fine, can't figure that one out. This has been a touchy area on some of my builds.

Beautiful job:

M