[jefemeister]

Brian are you breaking things again?

 

[taylor]

I am pleased to report that the amp is working. One of the channels was out, so I moved some wiring, and the other channel was out. My conclusion - one of the crappy speakers I was using to test it is broken.

It's also kind of funny how it takes so long for things to change. Upon turning on there is no sound. After about 15 seconds sound starts coming out. It is quiet and distorted. The volume increases and the sound gets cleaner. Upon turning it off, the opposite happens. The volume slowly decreases and it gets distorted for about 10 seconds as the speakers drain all the current left in the amp.

I'm listening to it right now. It doesn't sound that good, but how much of it is my crappy testing speakers is to be determined. It looks real sweet though. I got the bottom plate shiney. All the tubes light up. The rear 6BQ5 tubes start to turn orange in the middle. I really like the way polished metal tops of tubes look. It's like a mirror but darker, really nice. Why anyone would even consider putting the cover over it is beyond me.

 

[mrdon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Samuels mrdon... Is that boat motor noise gone now after soldering the two grounds correctly & well? The hum that you are talking about is due to the AC voltage feeding very sensative input gain tube's filement, as we talked, if you get to use the regulated DC voltage of 6.3VDC to each input tube or 12.6 VDC to have them wired in series, this will stop all the hum caused by the AC 60 cycle voltage. Make sure to connect the ground of your DC filement voltage to that of the main ground. You also might want to add another resistor in series to the high voltage in value of 200-300 ohms at 5 watts then folowed by a filter cap of 330-470 MF at 400-450 volts, this network will crop the ripple in the high voltage, it will lower your voltage by few volts, but the outcome is clean filtered DC voltage. Good luck. Ray Samuels

Upon recommendation from head-fier YLS, I grounded one of the heater wires to the steel chassis at the star ground and all the hum went away. It is completely clean AC. No hum whatsoever on 1 or 11 on the volume pot.
I should have everything boxed up tomorrow AM. My brief listening tests this evening show the amp to sound very elegant and warm. Most likely this is due to the Amperex (HP version) 6dj8's I'm using. My ears are wanting more detail, but hey I just powered it up and it certainly needs more warm up and break-in time. Again, thanks to Ray, Tyll, and Steve (a.k.a. Thrice from Rockhopper) who helped me figure this out. You guys are awesome and I am smiling from ear to ear!

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefemeister Brian are you breaking things again?

No, I'm just dumpster diving for stereo equipment

Taylor, I assume no liability

Please be careful, your mother won't be happy with me if you electrocute yourself.

 

[mrdon]

Still have a few screws to put here and there but here's my MJ amp all boxed up with custom oak and bird's eye maple case with black old school bakelite ham radio knob. Parts consist of Nichicon FG Caps, Nichicon VX Caps, Reliable PPMFXCaps, Cornell Dubilier Caps, UF4007 Diodes, Holco Resistors, Kiwame Carbon Film Resistor, ceramic tube sockets, Amperex (HP version) 6dj8's, Alps Pot, and Allied 6K49VG Transformer (Rebadged Hammond). This was a real challenge for me and I enjoyed every minute of construction. The end results sounds just spectactular. For DIY, this amp is highly recommended.

 

[thrice]

Now that is an awesome knob....very cool.

 

[immtbiker]

That amp is truly cool looking. What category would the amp fall into, in comparison. Is it a known design in a beautiful box, or one of your own creations, with a little help from the "ground" control team.

 

[Teerawit]

Yeah did you build the wooden enclosure yourself?

 

[Jahn]

very scary, but it looks like a wooden version of my STAX SRM-1/MKII!

Good job!

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn very scary, but it looks like a wooden version of my STAX SRM-1/MKII! Good job!

heh...makes me wish I had woodworking skills

 

[mrdon]

Yes, I built the case myself. If you have some 1/2" and 1/4" stock, a table saw, drill, sander, chisel, hand plane, some basic woodworking skills and some patience you too can make this. It's finished with three coats of thin shellac and three coats of dark Briwax.

The Morgan Jones can be done either point-to-point or on pcb which I used. The latter can be purchased from Zang (a.k.a. digi01). The cost is $22. I also think he has a kit. It was a fun project. I learned a great deal, grew from the experience, and now am enjoying and sharing the fruit of my labor which is the reason why I did it in the first place.

 

[Kurt]

Nice job!

AFAIR, Morgan Jones is a Earmax or Earmax Pro Clone, right? If so, do you know which Version? Pro or regular?
TIA

 

[mrdon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurt Nice job! AFAIR, Morgan Jones is a Earmax or Earmax Pro Clone, right? If so, do you know which Version? Pro or regular? TIA

I don't know but my MJ is the optimized version.

 

[taylor]

I popped up the tuner. There are no wires obviously shorted to the chasis. Half the wires are intact but connected to the chasis in some way, whether or not they should be I don't know. Tuner is ready to be moved to the parts bin. At least the amp is good, and that's a lot more useful.

 

[Canman]

nice work don!