WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

[GoldenVulture]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

the tube that burns out is always in this spot and i always notice way more of the blueness when it's too gone to use anymore.

You keep killing tubes in one particular socket? Sounds like the components that are relevant to that valve socket position have a problem. Probably a tech type solution, unless you are literate in this.:14:


Amp type ?

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

Umm, Moose isn't saying it's the pedal's fault. He's saying that when the faulty pedal dumped the current to groud around the broken component, it lit up the ground wires on all the other pedals and burned them up. Isolated grounds would prevent that.

 

[glassman]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

do any of you guys know what's up with the blue tint in my power tube or how i can fix it?

That blue "corona" is the byproduct of "gas" within the envelope of the tube...all tubes have some amount of gas in them so the presence of a bluish corona isn't necessarily abnormal.

However, given your description and that the blue corona in tubes is more evident at extremely low currents, I'd have to venture to say that you have a screen resistor that has opened and is arcing.

 

[cronnin]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

i bought that DS-1 for $20 almost 10 years ago and my 1-spot works fine...do any of you guys know what's up with the blue tint in my power tube or how i can fix it?

Normal blue glow of tubes that contain Mercury:

Normal blue/violet glow of the tube, where electrons are missing anode and hitting glass.
It's usually seen just inside of the tube, near the glass:

http://www.jacmusic.com/html/articles/blueglow/TESLA-EL34.jpg
http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i43/Ty_Bower/Tubes/Blue6L6.jpg

Tubes also get pink/violet glow when there is an air leak and it's a sign the tube is dying.
This glow is usually " confined to the vicinity of the mount structure".

But if you change the supposed leaky tube you should not get this problem anymore, at least for sometime.
If all the tubes you put in one particular socket get same blue glow, then the problem is different.


Nice article about tube glows!
http://thetubestore.com/blueglow.html

Isolated grounds would prevent that.

Nice..that's a useful info I learn from his experience.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

^ none of you guys were talking about it so i figured i'd just start another thread about the problems it has now.

i replaced all the tubes in my amp...when i take it off standby one of the power tubes turns blue and i get this excess staticy background hum that seems to resonate at exactly the same time as the blue flickers of the tube.

the tube that burns out is always in this spot and i always notice way more of the blueness when it's too gone to use anymore.

i bought that DS-1 for $20 almost 10 years ago and my 1-spot works fine...do any of you guys know what's up with the blue tint in my power tube or how i can fix it?

Sorry for the thread derailment man . . . I can't help you with the colour of tubes in your amp. I can't even see the tubes when I fire up any of my amps so I've never seen what colour they glow at. (Although the post above makes the tubes look pretty cool when they're blue.)

Now for my last derailment comment:

The pedal that was the root cause of it all wasn't put together by some hack in a garage. It was made by a company who's pedals are on a LOT of boards throughout the world... one that advertises in every major guitar magazine... they know whats up.

No, I'm not going to say who it was either.

Nobody was really sure exactly what component failed first because everything, including the supply was charred. As in "blackened" and burned up. Most of the damage to the other pedals was blown protection diodes and fried opamps... it was said that it looked like they were hit with AC voltage.

So the one stomper failed, then the supplies protection circuit failed and sent whacky voltage down the line to everything.

Double whammy.

Overall what happened to me could happen to ANYONE but the odds are equivalent to being bit by lightning... but you only need to get hit once to realize that it sucks.

That's a weird case. I wonder if the PSU was hit by some kind of big momentary power surge or something, or if it was just triggered by the faulty pedal . . . again, I wasn't trying to bust your balls - just wanted to indicate that the supply eating all your pedals is pretty far from normal.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

^ no sweat Canadaman; i basically only come here to ridicule people so it doesn't surprise me when i ask for help and get none...haha

thanks for the input cronnin and glassman, and Vulture...the amp in question is a 68 Fender Bassman.

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

thanks for the input cronnin and glassman, and Vulture...the amp in question is a 68 Fender Bassman.

Next Question: Which valve/socket keeps on dying/contains the dying valves?:cool2:
Have you turned it on again since it made bad noises?

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

i bought a whole new set of JJ's and retubed it... fired it up and found the same problem. if you're lookin at the amp from behind, the power tube on the left always has the blue glow problem.

i fired it up with the new tubes to see if it would work and it does, but the blue hasn't gone away in like 3 sets of tubes so i know it's not a problem new tubes will solve and i know i don't wana burn this set out and spend more money on the next set y'know?

 

[cronnin]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

i fired it up with the new tubes to see if it would work and it does, but the blue hasn't gone away in like 3 sets of tubes so i know it's not a problem new tubes will solve and i know i don't wana burn this set out and spend more money on the next set y'know?

Correct. Don't waste your tubes.
So when you say it works, do you get any sound?
Since the blueness is always on the same socket I'd try checking the elements underneath.
Have you checked the bias lately?


It may be what glassman says:

...I'd have to venture to say that you have a screen resistor that has opened and is arcing.

All this started after the incident with SD-1? Does it work now?
You said you'll check that 1-spot PS, whats the outcome? What does the meter say?

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

The DS-1 doesn't work now...the 1-Spot works with all of my other pedals but the DS-1 does not turn on.

 

[some_dude]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

The DS-1 doesn't work now...the 1-Spot works with all of my other pedals but the DS-1 does not turn on.

It broke when the demon escaped, but Jesus is always by your side.

 

[cronnin]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

I realize your amp was working earlier that day, but when you turned it on that evening, did you actually played it before you tried to plug DS-1?

You went straight through DS-1 into the amp, or it was in effect loop?

 

[J Moose]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

Umm, Moose isn't saying it's the pedal's fault. He's saying that when the faulty pedal dumped the current to groud around the broken component, it lit up the ground wires on all the other pedals and burned them up. Isolated grounds would prevent that.

Thanks for putting that together more succinctly then I could!

The whole reason I brought it up in the first place is because EP described pretty much exactly what I went through when the pedal melted... and sure enough, we have melted pedal!

EP ~ if the one tube socket keeps glowing oddly & eating tubes then chances are the head needs to be serviced. All tubes have a blue/purple-ish glow but the only reason to get concerned is if the power tubes aren't glowing evenly.

Matched tubes in a properly biased amp that's pushing/pulling the way it should be will look roughly the same. Turn it up loud & play... you'll see the colors change a little as you draw on the tube. If things don't look like a pair then somethings up...

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

^ thanks for the info guys. i'm gona start lookin for good amp repair guys.

 

[cronnin]

Re: WTF just happened?! (ampslosion content)

Probably best thing.