amp repair gurus, I need your help

[bungalowbill]

Re: amp repair gurus, I need your help

definitely sounds like a ground somewhere. Not knowing the inside of your amp, check where wires come off the board and go to ground. There might be several. Check any wire that goes to the chassis ground anywhere.

Are you using the wooden dowel?

The wooden dowel is my weapon of choice right now. i'll check the grounds.

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: amp repair gurus, I need your help

It is fixed! Thanks to all of you. Scott and Jeff both deserve special thanks for the help and for the concern over getting electrocuted. The culprit was a ground wire that is attached to one of the mounting screws on the OT. Happy camper I am. :banana: :banana: :dance: :dance: :fingersx: :fingersx:

To Scott & Jeff & everybody...:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: You all saved me a bunch of $.

 

[J Moose]

Re: amp repair gurus, I need your help

Which brings us to a much more likely hazardous scenario, have you ever seen musicians onstage that touch a mic with the back of their hand and wonder why? (or better yet why this is a good idea!) If you're playing live and going to check a mic, always touch the mic with the back of your hand first! One of two things is going to happen, either it's going to shock you or it's not. I realize that's pretty obvious, but it happens much more often than you might think. (especially outdoor generator driven gigs!)

I use a different trick when I can.

Turn the guitar amp on & holding the guitar (but NOT the strings) touch the strings to the microphone and you can audibly hear if there's a ground loop or if there's shock potential & the room is dark enough...you might see an arc from the mic to the strings.

WAY safer then using a body part...but if you HAVE to use a body part, the back of the hand or a single finger is pretty safe.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: amp repair gurus, I need your help

It is fixed! Thanks to all of you.

Chopsticks rule! Everytime I get a chance to scam some chopsticks at a resturant, I grab em!

Hoity Toity places like PF Changs have polymer chopsticks. No splinters! They work great as well.

I first esperienced this popping ground thing when I replaced a 2 prong power cord off my Pro Reverb for a 3 prong. I didn't get the ground soldered in good and that nasty popping noise would occur on certain resonant frequencies. Drove me nuts for a few minutes.

 

[Jeff Seal]

Re: amp repair gurus, I need your help

...just an update..... you remember that capacitor I charged up Sunday, it's now three days later and guess what??? It's still holding 12.6 v!

fwiw..

JS