Time to put it together

My amp parts ended up sitting in a box for 4 months while I did things like running a business, leading a life, and all those other things that you end up doing that needs to get done first before you can actually sit down and start to solder.

So one day I said, "Time to get this g*%damned thing out of my office!"

I needed some good geek tools. So I went out and got a cheap digital multi-meter. There are only like 500 different models on the market, which makes you wonder who actually buys these things, because how many people really need a multimeter, and why are there black ones, orange ones, red ones, etc? I had more choices in buying a multimeter than an iPod.

I also got a simple soldering iron/station (Once again, a bewildering assortment of models, shapes, and sizes), solder, and a de-soldering tool, which is a cool suction type of device that sucks the wet solder off the circuit board.

After all this geek shopping I sat down and measured the resistors with my newly purchased multimeter, and taped them to a piece of paper for easy reference.

Then I attached all the hardware to the chassis to make sure it all fit properly, attached the transformers, and measured out all the lead wires from the curcuit board. I realized that it was more probable for me to screw something up when there were a rainbow of wires pouring out of the chassis, so I soldered the circuit board and all the leads first, making sure the cap polarity was oriented correctly. Pretty easy.

Then I concentrated on the input section, and fumbled around with the input jacks for a while. Tricky.

And I had a curious audience...

Next came the pots. Easy.

Then grounding it all to the brass plate. A bitch. In some dyslectic haze I ended up soldering to the back side of the plate, so the damned thing didn't fit properly, so I got good use of my de-soldering tool. Once redone it all fit properly. Damn that brass plate.

After this brief interruption, I did the tubes, the output jacks, and finally the rectifier and 6V6 sockets. Semi-tricky. You can't really solder it first then install it, so you have to carefully make your way around inside the chassis, trying not to burn any surrounding wires with the iron.

Finally I wired up the PT and finished up hooking up all the wires to the fuse and pretty red light.

Then I stopped. How do I know I actually wired it all up correctly? After reading the article on Paul Ruby Amps site about how to power up a new amp for the first time, I decided now was the time go over and visit my fellow geek friend Mr. Wang, who has been building and fixing tube stuff for decades. He builds custom Class A amps to spec, works on old tube radios as a hobby, and his shop is essentially one big tube emporium.


He pretty much proceeds according to the Paul Ruby Amps article, so I learn a lot watching him. He looks at me kind of funny.

"There's nothing wrong with this amp."
"Perfect."
"So why did you want me to look at it?"
"To tell me there was nothing wrong."

We sip tea for a while, talk about his introvert son, BS with other customers, and when I leave he gives me a cabinet for my "next" amp. It says "Ringo" on it, and we proceed to gleefully tear out the innards, which consist of a cheap PT and a wimpy speaker.

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