Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => Legacy Kit Products => Topic started by: Paul Birkeland on November 13, 2018, 07:28:51 AM
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We still offer repair services on anything we have ever sold!
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This was a pair of Paraglows I received for repair that got the special treatment by the shipping company. The most sensible course of action turned out to be having new top plates cut out of thicker material in a physically larger size. These were powder coated in textured black powder and the extra space allowed me to spread out the build components a little bit.
All capacitors and most of the resistors were replaced during the rebuild. I will do my best to maintain an inventory of these new chassis plates as undoubtedly there are other Paraglows out there that have suffered a bit while traveling.
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Since this project is technically built from Paramount parts, I suppose it belongs here.
I was approached and asked if it would be possible to build a parallel feed 2A3 monoblock where the output transformer could be changed out easily. This morphed into monoblocks with polypropylene power supply/cathode bypass caps, then naturally shunt regulated 2A3 amps. Leftover Paramount parts were used, and the TFA-2004JR transformers can be unplugged and unscrewed from the top side of the chassis (with the amp off of course) to facilitate iron rolling.
The chassis height was increased to accommodate some enormous Clarity Cap parallel feed capacitors, and they were even given their own wood stretchers to attach to!
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This is one of a pair of Paramour I amplifiers that came to me with blown Hammond power transformers. Although our replacement PT-2 power transformer is no longer in production, our PT-10 power transformer has the perfect high voltage winding and a low voltage winding that is happy heating a 2A3 provided a DC supply is used. Along with new power transformers, I replaced all the power supply capacitors.
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Having only been onboard since the introduction of the Reduction, I really like seeing the photos of older BH products.
Karl
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I took this pair of Paraglows in for repair/rebuild recently. I like seeing our older amps in this condition, as it means the owner has been using them nearly daily for the better part of 20 years. This pair had tons of bulging capacitors and cooked resistors, so a complete rebuild was in order.
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Here they are all redone with everything spread out.
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Wow, nice work...John
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It is fun to see your wok Paul! Some great rebuilds! I am familiar with your rebuilds as you have done a couple for me! The SR2A3's are amazing!!! Thanks
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What a difference nice work :)
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Enjoy seeing the befores and afters.
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Enjoy seeing the befores and afters.
Me too! It's one of the most interesting thread of the forum, so full of ideas...
Please, keep on posting Paul!
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Paul,
I have a small project that will likely not be completed soon enough, so I am asking you assistance. It is a basic Quickie kit, a PJCCS, and a FIX all combined within one chassis. I have gotten as far as making the Q work, yet, the PJCCS needs your help, as well as the Fix in the final product. Here is a shot in case you are interested.
My attention has been side lined for a SS amp project, so this needs attention in the meantime.
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I often find that one of the tougher things to do is to work on partially completed custom pieces. How much space is there inside your preamp?
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Paul,
I completely agree. Let me get some photos together for you. What helps is that the chassis can be disassembled to the point where it is pretty accessible. The Fix portion is a bit tight being in there though, so it might end up unused.
Greg
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Now that I have had a chance to photo, and disassemble the unit, here is what you are looking at. Basically a Quickie and PJCCS that need attention. I must add that the 3 position Glassware A3 volume control is a stepped attenuator arrangement for 1) master volume (center dial), 2) left and right separate volume (flanking dials). This isn't the issue..... Believe it or not, I am unable to get the PJCCS working when wired to the Q. The Q works on it's own. Each time I make one of these simple kits, this same thing happens when the PJCCS is wired in, i.e. no signal at output. I realize that this is something that I am getting wrong, but I have simply lost patience.
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That's probably a little beyond my skill set.
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I took this pair of old Paramours in for repair recently. One of them somehow developed a short between B+ and the chassis through debris in the 9 pin socket.
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Since I had the amps in hand, I talked the owner into letting me install the Iron Upgrade package that we offer for older SEX amps. It fit, but just barely! I had to trim off some of the mounting tab on each output transformer so it would clear the wood base.
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This project I am building up for my own personal uses. Way back 20+ years ago, I won a set of 300B-glow amps on eBay back when eBay was pretty new. I was working at a hifi shop at the time and had them shipped there, and I got to audition the amps against power amps that (at the time) were $25,000+. Needless to say I don't work at a hifi shop anymore! Anyway, this pair of really old and crusty original "SEX" amps showed up on the local Craigslist for a fair price. They really have very little left from the original SEX monoblocks, except maybe two of the octal sockets. The presence of the PGP-8.1 and TFA-204 made it obvious that I should rewind the clock and make some new B-glow amps. Stay tuned for more photos!
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Much, much earlier this year, I sent out a pair of repair boxes for some "Paramours". When I eventually received them, they were more like cap coupled Paraglows with lots of Magnequest transformers and fancy parts inside. Ultimately some flaky hardware was to blame for the issues the amps were having, but I managed to talk the owner into letting me convert these old amps into a fresh stereo amp.
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Here's the completed amplifier. I recycled a significant number of components from the original build, but combined it all into a three sided aluminum enclosure with alder side rails. To spice things up visually, there's a pair of 100mA ammeters that display the operating current for each 2A3.
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Looks beautiful! How does it sound?
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Looks beautiful! How does it sound?
Excellent, the TFA-2004 is a very solid performer and a big step up from the Speco matching transformer provided with the old Paramour.
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Wow that is a very impressive conversion and a neat looking amplifier. Great workmanship!
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Ditto. Looks great. I like what you did with the metal chassis and front and backplates. I may poach that for a re-build I have in mind using copper plate (I don't think my existing 30 gauge will stand up to the test of time)
Those output transformers are HUGE. Why so big?
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Those output transformers are HUGE. Why so big?
They look bigger in the photos than they are in person. A transformer stacked with all nickel laminations will also need to be a bit bigger than its grain oriented steel counterpart.
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I finally got some spare time to work on those Craigslist amps that I bought. PJ was kind enough to scan and send me his B-glow manual, and he also provided some information on DC heating a 300B from the PGP8.1. The chassis plates of these amps are powder coated with green vein powder, the sides are 1/4" cherry over plywood since you don't see the edges, and I used a couple of motor run caps in the power supply. A little extra B+ is dropped by using a different power supply choke, and bias is monitored with a meter so it can be more precisely adjusted. A scrap preamp prototype from Doc B's basement provided the old school C4S boards that I thought would be fun to use in this recreation.
If you have a crusty old pair of B-glows sitting around, I am certainly available to freshen them up!
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Beautiful.
I like how each restoration is unique: They all require similar components to function, but the final results are certainly not "cookie cutter". Objets d'art, capable of stimulating multiple senses.
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I managed to snag a pair of Afterglows to complement the B-glows I built last year. I didn't take a ton of photos of what the amps looked like when they got here because they were totally smashed up in shipping. All I have is the "inside" shot before they were sent.
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Here's the completed pair. I went with a lighter green and carmelized bamboo sides.
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Inside.
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Back with "Big Stud" binding posts.
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And one more.
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Sweet!
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Very nice!...John
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A man after my own heart ....
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I keep picturing running those cap cans over my polishing wheel.
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.... black and gray primer was easier ....
Doc, I need to thank you for the inspiration behind these. I have built many amps over the last 28+ years, but the first was the original SEX amp. When the PT blew in one (I recall that was a bit under rated), I stripped them down and built your Afterglow, then added JT's shunt reg and CCS loaded driver. I sold them years later to finance my EROS, and have wished I still had them. These are CCS driver 6SF5 loaded, direct coupled 2A3, switchable high/low Ik. No shunt reg, as the 5AR4 based RCLC supply is so over rated for the application (all the iron I had on hand from never realized other projects, like the 20W James SET OPT's) .... anyway, it's my homage to you and and all that Bottlehead have taught me over the years. Thanks.
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Very nice! And thanks for the kind words.
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More "Paramounts" of sorts.
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Another pair of rebuilt Paraglows heads out the door.
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Once again another beautiful pair of amps headed to a lucky owner. No doubt they sound as good as they look...awesome.
Karl
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Another pair of rebuilt Paraglows heads out the door.
Those look especially great with the brass hardware.