Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => Crack => Topic started by: Hornet900 on April 06, 2014, 04:54:59 AM
-
Hello :)
I installed the speedball upgrade yesterday amp was working fine for 24h. ( well maybe I didn't notice problem at first ?
Today i went to change tubes and when i started the amp up I had a noise with the volume turned right down, .. when I raise the volume the noise goes away and also the noise goes away after a few mins when the amps warmed up
(noise is only at startup with the volume turned right down for a few mins)
Its the same noise I hear when I pull the headphone jack half way out the headphone socket,/ and seems to be louder in the left channel.
This is with no source plugged into the amp,
Edit:
been investigating a little and the noise can sometimes stop when I touch the headphone cable (only sometimes this will stop it when its warming up a little more.
I had a prod inside and when i Moved the ground wire (long black wire)which connects headphone jack to Term 12L the noise gets louder never quieter. This cable can make it alot worse when moving it. (i reheated these joints but never fixed it)
I've not changed anything and it happens with all my tubes now, amp was perfect before
-
If this only occurs during warmup, it can be considered normal and not worth troubleshooting.
-
Hi
I tried my other tube today and I get the same noise even if the amps fully warmed up never goes away.... (volume at 0% to about 5mm turn.... left channel loud noise
slight noise in the right :(
And with the tungsol tube the noise is always there till the amps really warmed up.... turning the volume like the stock tube it doesn't go away.... I have to wait 5 mins before plugging in the headphones and never turn volume down :( .
If I turn volume up to max it will go quiet tho with this tung sol ... stock tube noise goes away playing with the volume and it goes completely quiet at %0 volume when amps warmed up.
Touching the headphone cable makes it go quieter while its warming up and also the headphone socket.
Its a tungsol 5998 and worked fine without the speedball, Shame as I really like this tube with the speedball sounds amazing :'(
Does those little pcb boards A and B run the different channels? maybe is could be something on those? or could I of damaged it pushing down the caps when installing the speedball
I had little bit of trouble getting those down.
I'm so unhappy :'( I love the sound but this noise is driving me crazy :-[
Hope I made some sense I find It hard to explain using a keyboard I'm sorry
-
Touching the headphone cable makes it go quieter while its warming up and also the headphone socket.
Well, that looks like a hint for you. Sounds like a bad ground connection.
-
Just been listerning to some music
I can turn the volume down while the musics playing but not to the last 5mm of travel to fully closed volume, noise in the last 5mm close volume.
Could it be a faulty volume control that the speedball highlighted?
Also I done a ground check working in the order it says from ground check sticky post and I get a reading of 000.0 with volume pots same rca's but from the headphone jack onwards it starts to go up from 000.5 headphone jack up to about 000.8 to last place.
When i was measuring the caps for 0 when installed the speedball I could never get a solid reading its was always moving up and down ( is this right??
I didn't check these grounds from the sticky thread see below
Quote from sticky
"Other points that should be a solid ground are pin 8 of the large tube, pin 4 and 5 of the small tube, T8, T11, T14, T16, T17, T20, T22 and the ground post on the IEC power connector, the one with the bare wire to the chassis."
-
Try exercising the pot by running it up and down through its full range several times and see if that changes the noise.
-
Hi Doc
tried it a few times didn't work :( The volume has lossen up alot I think not quite a stiff but maybe its just worn in a little I do move it about alot , play my music very loud I do ;D
Btw the amp sounds amazing with the speedball and tungsol , I was very happy with the stock crack and prefered the stock tubes with stock amp, But now with the tongsol it sounds unbelievable!
I will look into it more later just listening to some music for a wee while then going to bed ,,,
thank you!
-
Hello
Good and bad news
I removed the 2 little green pcb boards today to reroute some of the wires under them as one of the wires was tight up behind the nylon stand offs and It seems now I have no noise trouble!
it goes completely silent after a second now but the bad news is I broke one of the red LED's on the tube socket :( and now have sound out of 1 channel ( left speaker :(
The Led's not glowing up and is broke on one of the legs :(
also I swapped around the little green pcb boards to see if the noise would switch channel when rerouting the wires just to see as the noise was much louder in the left channel
(dont know if these would of worked tho)
anyway do you think I'll be ok now with just installing a new LED ?
I went to order some LEDs but the delivery charge is so high (£15 delievery on 1 website and a min spend £20 on another!
So I emailed bottlehead parts to see if you can help me and send me some.
Thank you :)
-
I found these the best option when shipping costs and waiting times are considered mine took two days to arrive.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-X-LED-SUBMIN-RED-Part-HLMP-6000-/390614571864?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item5af2715b58
5 X LED, SUBMIN, RED, Part # HLMP-6000 £3.16 free UK delivery. They worked fine in my Crack
Edit, they can also be brought individually but handy to have a few spare
-
I found these the best option when shipping costs and waiting times are considered mine took two days to arrive.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-X-LED-SUBMIN-RED-Part-HLMP-6000-/390614571864?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item5af2715b58
5 X LED, SUBMIN, RED, Part # HLMP-6000 £3.16 free UK delivery. They worked fine in my Crack
Edit, they can also be brought individually but handy to have a few spare
Thank you Jamie :)
-
hello guys
I've replaced the LED that I broke while I was moving the wires near the tube socket (right channel went out ) but still no luck unfortunately :'(
I removed the speedball put it all back to stock and it worked fine...silent as a mouse with no speedball.
So I reinstalled the speedball with new wires connecting to the solder tabs in case one of the wires got broke but no luck, I also check all the soldering touched up the boards and they all look good red LEDS work. (when turning on the amp the 2 small boards light up 1st before the large board if thats any help?) and the noise starts soon as the 2 leds light up on the tube socket.
Still got this humming buzzy noise sometimes it sounds like wind blowing aswell,....sometimes the noise can go with the stock power tube but then the noise can start with amp warmed up after 30mins 1 hour. Its random.
With the tung sol 5998 tube it's always there at all volumes (only at %0 volume and 100% the noise will change gets louder at 0% and 100% volume)
I poked the wires with a lolly pop stick and the middle white wire on the volume pot that goes to the tube socket makes the noise, If I move poke this wire at the pot the noise can stop and it can also go louder.... The noise always come back even if I've stopped it moving this wire ....I can make it go silent moving this wire.
I replaced the wire but the noise didn't go away :'( connection it good :'(
Could it be the tube socket or volume pot?
Sometimes its both channels and sometimes its louder in the left.
Thanks
Edit : touching this white wire changes the sound from buzzing to a hum...touching the white wire at the tube socket does the same noise.
-
Could somebody please tell me if this tube socket is a drop in replacement? no cutting !
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/audio-note-chassis-mount-base-vbase015-p-1003.html?osCsid=lglvv66primjt7730ocgk6mun3
or this one?
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/ceramic-chassis-mount-base-pack-p-4619.html
I've also ordered a new volume pot this one
http://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/100k-tocos-cosmos-rv24-stereo-potentiometer-p-9215.html
-
I believe the first socket will work.
You may have some solder flux that dribbled down into that tube socket contact.
You can use a syringe and alcohol to wet it down in there, then use your least favorite tube to scrape out any debris by inserting and removing the tube in the alcohol wet socket 5-10 times.
Good work hunting this down.
-PB
-
There are a couple of methods to clean tube sockets in the FAQ Thread (http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php/topic,2408.0.html).
The problems with replacing the tube socket is it might not be the same diameter, the screw holes might not line up and it requires lots of delicate removal and replacement. It is just a pain.
-
thanks for chiming in much appreciated thanks :)
I tried the method PB with the tube in and out but no luck mate... I dont have any alcohol cleaner ( I do have some computer CPU cleaner its called akasa Tim cleaner but didn't know if it be ok, doesn't say acohol cleaner on the back . Its a citrus based cleaner it says on the front and on the back says contains "Aliphatic hydrocarbons .30% BHT" .
Well i think its definitely something to do with that wire , at the pot connection i can make it go silent and moving the wire half way down , but at the socket its much harder to make it go silent, I get more hums and gets louder poking it there , So confusing for me :D
well I ordered the tube socket grainger :D should be fun will install the new pot same time fingers crossed It work out as I love this amp,
Another thing is I did a voltage check again speedball voltage check and the connection at terminal 6 and 10 never give me a solid 000.0 its always moving and I get a minus - reading I think it is?
like -000.2 -020.0 and it goes up a bit but not very high, just never a solid 000.0 does this mean anything?
My speedball voltage checks are
1. 71.6
2. 179.3
3. 000.0
4. 179.8
5. 75.8
6. moving about
7. 99.7
8. 000.0
9. 101.4
10. moving about
11. 000.1
12. 000.8
13. 185.0
14. 000.9
15. 201.6
20. 001.0
21. 221.7
Oh and i forgot to say today I'm getting some channel imbalance too ...right channel is louder ... left channel can go quieter
Thanks again
-
Hello,
The Crack with speedball that I have built measures completely fine but a couple seconds after I turn it on, the amp emits a hum for about a second or two and then stops. It never hums again and the background becomes completely black. Music plays perfectly fine through it and it seems as if all the measurements are correct. Is there anyway to fix it as I have no idea what is causing this hum.
Thanks in advance.
-
Wait 10 seconds to plug your headphones in? ;D
-
Haha I figured.
-
Hello
well I made some progess . I think its something to do with the power tubes ..the 5998 tungsol and also the stock RCA 6080 ( rca 6080 with this tube the noise goes away after some time) ...the weird thing is both tubes works fine without the speedball installed.
I purchased 2 RCA 6AS7G (thanks jamie :) and these tubes only make the noise while the amps warming up . It goes away with 1 tube within 30 seconds ....the other tube the noise goes away within 20 seconds with volume up a bit ..takes a bit longer for no noise with volume at %0.
So I'm sending the tungsol back to vacuumtubes.net
So does the speedball show up bad tubes more so than using a stock crack? As its a shame as I really liked the tungsol sound when I 1st installed the speedball and the tunsol worked fine 1st 24hours .
Another thing is my tube sockets have came lose now , The big 8 pin , one of the solder tabs fell out the back and the 9 pin socket is very lose when the tube is installed .
The new audio note socket bought is slightly a different size and the middle pin u cant attach the ground and led wires like the stock sockets :-[
-
Hi,
I just installed the Speedball in my crack today. Was very excited. At first I played it with the supplied Chatham 6080WA and a Mazda 12AU7. I notice there was a noise at 0 volume and it goes to about 5mm travel of the volume knob. at about 4mm travel point it makes a pop sound and the noise goes away. But the noise goes away after about 3 minutes. Please note everything is stock in my setup.
But the bad news starts with the Tung Sol 5998. I have 2 NOS and 1 less than 3 hours used Tung Sol 5998. They worked great my stock crack, but with the speedball there is a bad noise, more like a humming noise. The noise is like something on 0 volume and then there is the the same pop at about 4-5mm travel and then then noise slightly changes alittle, it does not increase or decrease, just makes a small change in the note of the noise may be,and it stays like the till the very last of the volume nob and again there is another change at the final 5mm of the volume nob. I tried all three 5998s but all were the same :(
I checked the connections and they seem fine. All the tiny LEDs r glowing just fine. 1 thing is the LED does light up a few seconds after i plug in the amp, they dont light up instantly, takes may be 1-2 seconds to light up, the LEDs on speedball.
Please do let me know what to do. I am very confused :(
-
Hello ghostrider
I have exactly the same problem and been battling it for days, Not yet fixed because I was thinking its bad tube so sent it back for a refund.
I've now ordered a newer chatham 5998 and I'm waiting for that to be delivered.
I upgraded to the speedball and my chatham 2399 made a bad noise.
what your saying makes me sad :'( I'm hoping it would be fixed with a new tube >:
My Chatham 2399 (same as 5998 I've heard ) went slightly quieter once I upped the volume past 5mm (still very loud ) and my noise is louder in the left channel ...I don't get the pop you have though.
Mine is weird as with the stock tube the amp was making the same noise at power up 0% volume as the chatham did.... but if I upped the volume with stock tube past 5mm the noise would go away and be silent after 5 mins warm up at 0% volume.
No problems. Then I got hold of some more power tubes to try and all seemed fine but all these tubes are the 6080 6AS7G not the 5998 tubes.
With my chatham I had the same noise as the stock 6080 tube did at warm up 0% volume but upping the volume past 5 mm it would change the noise slightly and go a little quieter but never go away and is still loud unusable.
Trying to find out what's wrong I uninstalled the speedball and the tubes worked fine .... chatham works fine >:(
I swapped the 2 little pcb boards around no change, I even uninstalled the big pcb board and put back in the 3k resistors while keeping the 2 small boards installed that didn't fix it.
I was then thinking the speedball made the tubes work harder or something and shows a bad tube as a bad one, ?????
I only had 1 chatham 2399 (5998) so thought it was bad,
The tube was fine 1st time I used it with the speedball though .. second time I powered up the noise started.
at first I was thinking its a ground wire as when I touched my headphone cable or the headphone socket it would go quieter stock tube (It still does this and my headphone cable is very old 1st gen HD600 even thinner than current hd600s cable ..
Then more testing with the stock tube installed i found that the white middle wire on the volume pot that goes to the tube socket touching this wire the noise would change or go away , (still 6080 tube)
So i fixed this white wire seemed better but this was with the amp still warming up so I dont know if this was even a problem I was confused ;D ( no difference with the chatham)
weird thing is If I unplugged my headphones and waited 30 mins 1 hour the with the chatham the noise would go away but only if the volume was at max No change at all other volume.
I'll update you when I get the new tube ghostrider , I hope it works as I spent alot of money now! on tubes testing and stuff also I ordered a load new parts from bottlehead as i want to rebuild the amp ...Really want the 5998 to work as it sounded brilliant with the speedball installed 1st time ....so much better than the other tubes I have.
I thought without the speedball the 5998 didn't sound that good ;D
Good luck ghostrider ;)
-
And another thing about the LEDs glowing
When I first installed the speedball and was testing the voltage I noticed that the leds glowed up faster than they do now. ( I swear I remember them glowing faster than they do now)
The 2 little boards glow 1st followed by the big board now... If thats any help information?
-
Bump guys :(
Here are my volt checks (With Tung Sol 5998 and Mazda 12Au7)
Terminal Volt
1-------------------77.4
2------------------167.1
3---------------------0.1
4------------------166.4
5--------------------85.4
6----------------------0.1
7--------------------88.5
8------------------------0
9--------------------72.6
10--------------------0.4
11----------------------0
12----------------------0
13-----------------165.8
14----------------------0
15-----------------184.6
20----------------------0
21------------------204
I am running it on 220V AC.
Somebody help :(
-
And another thing about the LEDs glowing
When I first installed the speedball and was testing the voltage I noticed that the leds glowed up faster than they do now. ( I swear I remember them glowing faster than they do now)
The 2 little boards glow 1st followed by the big board now... If thats any help information?
Yes exactly the same happens with me. The two small one glows and then the big one.
Man I am very scared. I had so spend a fortune on the 3 NOS Tung Sols. If they dont work its an all budget blown nightmare for me :(
-
If the noise goes away after 3 minutes, as you state, then it is the sound the tube makes as it warms up. Simply turn on your amp and wait a bit before listening.
If it a noise that a tube makes constantly, then it is a noisy tube. Replace it. NOS is not a guarantor of anything, there are noisy NOS tubes and there are tubes that have been sitting dead in boxes for years.
The low voltage at terminal 9 is suggesting that there is something wrong with the 5998. Are your voltages in spec with the stock tubes?
-
Hello ghostrider
I have exactly the same problem and been battling it for days, Not yet fixed because I was thinking its bad tube so sent it back for a refund.
I've now ordered a newer chatham 5998 and I'm waiting for that to be delivered.
I upgraded to the speedball and my chatham 2399 made a bad noise.
what your saying makes me sad :'( I'm hoping it would be fixed with a new tube >:
My Chatham 2399 (same as 5998 I've heard ) went slightly quieter once I upped the volume past 5mm (still very loud ) and my noise is louder in the left channel ...I don't get the pop you have though.
Mine is weird as with the stock tube the amp was making the same noise at power up 0% volume as the chatham did.... but if I upped the volume with stock tube past 5mm the noise would go away and be silent after 5 mins warm up at 0% volume.
No problems. Then I got hold of some more power tubes to try and all seemed fine but all these tubes are the 6080 6AS7G not the 5998 tubes.
With my chatham I had the same noise as the stock 6080 tube did at warm up 0% volume but upping the volume past 5 mm it would change the noise slightly and go a little quieter but never go away and is still loud unusable.
Trying to find out what's wrong I uninstalled the speedball and the tubes worked fine .... chatham works fine >:(
I swapped the 2 little pcb boards around no change, I even uninstalled the big pcb board and put back in the 3k resistors while keeping the 2 small boards installed that didn't fix it.
I was then thinking the speedball made the tubes work harder or something and shows a bad tube as a bad one, ?????
I only had 1 chatham 2399 (5998) so thought it was bad,
The tube was fine 1st time I used it with the speedball though .. second time I powered up the noise started.
at first I was thinking its a ground wire as when I touched my headphone cable or the headphone socket it would go quieter stock tube (It still does this and my headphone cable is very old 1st gen HD600 even thinner than current hd600s cable ..
Then more testing with the stock tube installed i found that the white middle wire on the volume pot that goes to the tube socket touching this wire the noise would change or go away , (still 6080 tube)
So i fixed this white wire seemed better but this was with the amp still warming up so I dont know if this was even a problem I was confused ;D ( no difference with the chatham)
weird thing is If I unplugged my headphones and waited 30 mins 1 hour the with the chatham the noise would go away but only if the volume was at max No change at all other volume.
I'll update you when I get the new tube ghostrider , I hope it works as I spent alot of money now! on tubes testing and stuff also I ordered a load new parts from bottlehead as i want to rebuild the amp ...Really want the 5998 to work as it sounded brilliant with the speedball installed 1st time ....so much better than the other tubes I have.
I thought without the speedball the 5998 didn't sound that good ;D
Good luck ghostrider ;)
Thanks for all the info Hornet. really really really appreciate it :)
I just tried your idea on poking the white wires but nothing happened on the 6080WA tubes :(
Here are my volt checks (With Chatham 6080WA and Mazda 12Au7)
Terminal Volt
1-------------------85.9
2------------------165.8
3---------------------0.0
4------------------165.5
5--------------------85.3
6------------------------0
7------------------105.5
8------------------------0
9------------------105.4
10----------------------0
11----------------------0
12----------------------0
13-----------------165.1
14----------------------0
15-----------------184.2
20----------------------0
21-------------------203
I am running it on 220V AC.
Another odd thing I noticed is when the volume is near 0 and the buzzing is there with the 6080WA. That time if I measure voltage on terminal 1 or terminal 5, in both it shows 85V and the noise totally dispersers as long as I am holding the volt meter there.
-
If the noise goes away after 3 minutes, as you state, then it is the sound the tube makes as it warms up. Simply turn on your amp and wait a bit before listening.
If it a noise that a tube makes constantly, then it is a noisy tube. Replace it. NOS is not a guarantor of anything, there are noisy NOS tubes and there are tubes that have been sitting dead in boxes for years.
The low voltage at terminal 9 is suggesting that there is something wrong with the 5998. Are your voltages in spec with the stock tubes?
Hi, Thanks for the reply. I also posted the voltage checks with the 6080WA tube for comparing.
But all the 3 tubes does the same noise and all of there were tested and guaranteed by the seller (Billington Export Ltd). Please do let me know should I do now to make it work. These three tubes cost me a fortune so do let me know if i should return all three of them or can i fix the amp somehow?
-
Adding up another thing.
The noise on 5998 (if volume set to high) disappears when I am checking voltage on terminal 2. It makes some poping sound but then goes completely silent as long im measuring the terminal 2. :(
-
If the noise goes away after 3 minutes, as you state, then it is the sound the tube makes as it warms up. Simply turn on your amp and wait a bit before listening.
If it a noise that a tube makes constantly, then it is a noisy tube. Replace it. NOS is not a guarantor of anything, there are noisy NOS tubes and there are tubes that have been sitting dead in boxes for years.
The low voltage at terminal 9 is suggesting that there is something wrong with the 5998. Are your voltages in spec with the stock tubes?
I tried another tube and now the volts were
85.1 at 1
155.6 at 2
93.7 at 7â€
87.5 at 9
Still there was that buzzing. I kept it on for 15 mins and the noise was there. same with all 3 tubes.
I used the other (the one u said bad) 5998 with stock crack and it sounded great :(
-
I tested with Speedball Crack with another tube.
Its a "6H5C SVETLANA (EQUIVALENT TO 6AS7G)". The sound isnt that good but its the least noisy tube with crack. What I mean by that is it still have that initial warming up humm/noise at 0 volume but it fades away in over a minute if the amp is playing and then does not return.
Only my 5998s are causing the problem. Still waiting for some solutions on them :( I will be going back to my university in 3 days for a semester and I cant take the crack, feels bad if i have to leave it like this :(
-
The 5998 does not have the high strength heater to cathode insulation that the 6080 and 6AS7 do. Consequently, when you exceed the 100V heater to cathode voltage limitation, there is the possibility that the tube will make some noise while operating.
One way to check to see if this is an issue is to plug a 12BH7 into the amp with the stock circuit. This will drop the grid bias on the 5998 significantly, and lower the cathode voltage at the same time. If this solves the noise issue, then there are approaches that can be implemented to account for this.
-PB
-
PB is exactly right. Remember, the circuit was designed for the 6080 or 6AS7, which have unusually high heater-cathode voltage ratings of +/-300v. Most tubes, including the 5998, are at most +/-100v.
-
Hi guys, I was following this thread today because I as well got a 5998 in the other night, and had the loud hum going on as well. This is with the stock 12au7 also. So I'm very glad it's something as simple as a different tube up front. With my 6080 in, no humming at all and the amp sounds glorious with the speedball. Thanks for the helpful insight PB and Paul.
-
The 5998 does not have the high strength heater to cathode insulation that the 6080 and 6AS7 do. Consequently, when you exceed the 100V heater to cathode voltage limitation, there is the possibility that the tube will make some noise while operating.
One way to check to see if this is an issue is to plug a 12BH7 into the amp with the stock circuit. This will drop the grid bias on the 5998 significantly, and lower the cathode voltage at the same time. If this solves the noise issue, then there are approaches that can be implemented to account for this.
-PB
PB is exactly right. Remember, the circuit was designed for the 6080 or 6AS7, which have unusually high heater-cathode voltage ratings of +/-300v. Most tubes, including the 5998, are at most +/-100v.
Thanks PB and Paul. But the thing is I cant check with a 12BH7 now :(
Let me explain my situation a little. I am from Bangladesh and I study in the UK. I was at home now for easter and in here i got the crack and built it. The problem is I cant find any tubes within few thousand miles of my home country and the post office is not very delicate so getting off ebay is also not an option. Therefore what I did was when coming back to home from UK,I bought 3 5998s,2 mazda 12au7,1 westingstone 12au7 and a Svetlana 6H5C. The reason I got so many of them is cause getting a tube in uk is alot easier than getting one in bangladesh. I am leaving in 3 days for 4 months (another semester). The crack will be left home because of its size and weight.
I can bring some 12BH7s next time when I come back home but I was thinking is there any other problems that might have happened here? Like if I have soldered something wrong in the board (which is highly unlikely cause I double checked everything) Or any errors from my end? Because from I have read is that the 5998 is a very very common and proffered tube for the crack and also with speedball. So many people is running a 5998 in there crack+speedball system. Are all of them using the 12BH7s? Do they also face the same problem with 12au7s? Or is it just me and "Hornet900"?
I guess im getting too worried about the speedball but see I was really really excited about it. So much excited that I already started saving up for the S.E.X or Stereomour for a small speaker setup for my room :) So you can understand when this bad hum comes with all 3 tubes,how i feel :'(
I will order some 12BH7s in a week but in the meantime do let me know if there are anything els I can check? Just to be sure that there is no problems/errors/mis-solders from my side and the amp is built right,now all it will need is a 12BH7.
Thanks everybody for the help.
Ghost_rider
-
It's just a matter of how lucky you are. A lot of 5998's work fine, some do not, and this operation will depend a bit on how strong the 12AU7 is that's used in conjunction with the 5998.
If the amp works well with your Svetlana tube, but not with the 5998, that would point to an insulation issue in the tubes themselves.
-
It's just a matter of how lucky you are. A lot of 5998's work fine, some do not, and this operation will depend a bit on how strong the 12AU7 is that's used in conjunction with the 5998.
If the amp works well with your Svetlana tube, but not with the 5998, that would point to an insulation issue in the tubes themselves.
I just found something very stupid that i think I did. I was looking at speedball update guide and i noticed a 270k Ohm resister at the terminal 12U and 13U. But I remember I only attached the capacitor there. On my inspection I saw that I really dont have a resistor installed on my 12U and 13U. I was shocked as how did i miss it and it never came up in my volt checks.
Anyways the wierd thing is I have holes on both the terminal 12U and 13U but no resistor there (I usually filled the holes with solder.)
I am gona get a 270k Ohm 1W resistor first thing tomorrow and try to connect it and pray it works :-[
It feels like a beacon of hope cause a wire is going from terminal 13 to power tubes 2 ports and then to terminal 2. And when I connected my Volt checker to terminal 12 and 2,the noise did vanish for a while.
Do you think it might work? :-\
-
One way to check to see if this is an issue is to plug a 12BH7 into the amp with the stock circuit. This will drop the grid bias on the 5998 significantly, and lower the cathode voltage at the same time. If this solves the noise issue, then there are approaches that can be implemented to account for this.
-PB
Hello
I'm going to buy some more tubes so I'll get a 12BH7 now :)
What are the changes to the amp you are talking about Paul to make it work with 5998 ?
-
The 270KΩ resistor is there to bleed off the voltage from the power supply. DO NOT RUN YOUR AMPLIFIER WITHOUT IT!!!!!!
-
The 270KΩ resistor is there to bleed off the voltage from the power supply. DO NOT RUN YOUR AMPLIFIER WITHOUT IT!!!!!!
I totaly forgot to put that one in. I dont know how it happened.
I will get one tomorrow and install it. Do you think it might solve my problem? :(
-
I just installed the 270K 1W resistor on the terminal 12U and 13U. Sadly nothing changed :(
There is still the warm up noise/hum when using the 6080WA for first 5mins at 0 Volume and Noise/hum on all volume levels with Tung Sol 5998 :( There are still some pop sounds when I increase volume from 0 to 5mm. The Noise/hum is louder on the left side than the right side.
What should I do now?? :(
-
at about 4mm travel point it makes a pop sound and the noise goes away. But the noise goes away after about 3 minutes.
Is this still the case when running a 6080?
-
at about 4mm travel point it makes a pop sound and the noise goes away. But the noise goes away after about 3 minutes.
Is this still the case when running a 6080?
Yes. its with 6080WA.
The only change i got from installing the register is the voltage on terminal 22 droped from 203 to 196.
-
Did I make a mistake somewhere or is this normal? :(
Everything was fine without the speedball installed :( both tubes were working fine.
If i did everything right then is there anyway I can mod the crack+speedball to run better (optimized) with the Tung Sol 5998? Cause for now I plan on running my amp on this tube alone for a while, with different input tubes i suppose.
-
It's just a matter of how lucky you are. A lot of 5998's work fine, some do not, and this operation will depend a bit on how strong the 12AU7 is that's used in conjunction with the 5998.
If the amp works well with your Svetlana tube, but not with the 5998, that would point to an insulation issue in the tubes themselves.
This would be the applicable if the 6080 works at the 5998 does not.
-
It's just a matter of how lucky you are. A lot of 5998's work fine, some do not, and this operation will depend a bit on how strong the 12AU7 is that's used in conjunction with the 5998.
If the amp works well with your Svetlana tube, but not with the 5998, that would point to an insulation issue in the tubes themselves.
This would be the applicable if the 6080 works at the 5998 does not.
What should I do now then? :(
-
You can try running a 12BH7 in the 9 pin socket to see if those conditions remove the noise.
-
I have the exact same issue and I'm using the stock 6080 that came with my kit. My build is still completely stock.
Before I installed the Speedball, the amp was dead quiet at lowest volume when first powered up. With the Speedball, it has a loud hum and pops during the first few mm of a turn until the tubes warm up - about 2 minutes. All my voltages checked in range. What is it about the Speedball that makes this happen? My biggest fear is damage to my headphones. I can, of course, work around it but it would nice if there was a solution so I would not have to worry about it.
-
I was able to reproduce this start up phenomenon once on Saturday, but only with the volume turned all the way down. Which leads one to think that maybe leaving the volume up just a bit from all the way down will be a good idea until we can come up with a reasonable explanation for what is happening.
-
Yep, I as well have had the zero volume hum since my build a couple weeks ago(w speedball) and I replaced the pot with a PEC just to make sure it wasn't that, and that didn't fix the zero volume hum, so my solution is to never turn it to zero volume. Anytime you return the pot to zero volume no matter if the amp has been on all day, the hum is still there. Past zero the amp is dead silent and rocks as usual. I would also like to chime in and say my TungSol 5998 I ordered and installed was humming like crazy, even after warm up so I've taken it out and am just running the stock 6080. I also as a precaution leave my headphones unplugged at startup until the tubes have fully warmed up. Be interesting to see what you guys figure out what's causing this. Anyway no zero volume, done and done 8)
-
Very interesting that changing the pot made no difference. I was going to guess that the stock pot may have been part of the issue. Come to think of it the amp that made noise for me had a 5998 n it. so it is probably a tube issue as PJ described.
-
As I posted, I have the same issue with the stock 6080 so it's not just the 5998.
-
Yeah I suspected it was a pot issue since day 1, so I ordered one and changed it and no difference. Interestingly enough my 6080 that came with the kit was arcing at startup so I ordered the 5998. Well the 5998 was humming like crazy at all volume levels (worse than the stock 6080) with the new PEC pot in. So I was a little disheartened. Thinking both tubes the stock 6080 (especially with the arcing issue) and the 5998 might be suspect, I ordered two more 6080's. Got them in and luckily one fixed the hum issue....all except the zero volume hum. More interesting however was that the other 6080 I received in hummed like crazy as well (all volume levels). So my conclusion for general hum (that doesn't change) relative to volume, it's quite possible that hum can be caused by a bad/noisy tube and to try a couple more to rule that out. I'm lucky I ordered two more as the one hummed worse or the same as my stock 6080. This is of course assuming all voltage/resistance checks are in spec before trying a new tube. And the zero volume level hum is present with both tubes (5998 and 6080), works flawlessly when off zero volume.
-
Well guys I just received 2 tung sol 5998 tubes from ebay advertised as "Never used Perfect condition" no test data with them...though tubes look brand new.
with these 2 tubes I only have the noise at 0% volume now even if the amps warmed up just like my stock RCA 6080 does. Turning the amps volume past 5mm the noise goes away.
I have a mullard 6080 that makes the noise for maybe 30 seconds at start up 0% volume then goes completley silent . I also have 2 RCA 6SA7G tubes that take a little longer than the mullard but they go quite at 0% volume after a while.
My noise is louder in the left channel.
One thing is guys if I touch the headphone socket (not the top plate) the noise changes tone at the 0% volume...touching my fingers around the socket like I'm trying to cover it up makes the noise goes much quieter (an changes tone), the noise is like a humming buzzy noise not touching the socket then when I touch the socket it goes to more of a hum and quieter...
And also touching the headphone cable changes the noise but not as much as the socket does.
The noise does change even with the other tubes I have .. But the mullard is best.
I've only 2 types driver tube to test with the stock Hewlett Packard 5963 (12AU7) my Mullard CV491 ( I have 2 more Hewlett packards so I'll try them later and report back.
Hope this helps
PS: I will be getting another 5998 tube in the next few days a Chatham 5998 so report back when i have it :)
Edit: My Mullard CV491 isn't broken , I tried it again and it works :-* Sounds brill
-
Well guys I just received 2 tung sol 5998 tubes from ebay advertised as "Never used Perfect condition" no test data with them...though tubes look brand new.
with these 2 tubes I only have the noise at 0% volume now even if the amps warmed up just like my stock RCA 6080 does. Turning the amps volume past 5mm the noise goes away.
I have a mullard 6080 that makes the noise for maybe 30 seconds at start up 0% volume then goes completley silent . I also have 2 RCA 6SA7G tubes that take a little longer than the mullard but they go quite at 0% volume after a while.
My noise is louder in the left channel.
One thing is guys if I touch the headphone socket (not the top plate) the noise changes tone at the 0% volume...touching my fingers around the socket like I'm trying to cover it up makes the noise goes much quieter (an changes tone), the noise is like a humming buzzy noise not touching the socket then when I touch the socket it goes to more of a hum and quieter...
And also touching the headphone cable changes the noise but not as much as the socket does.
The noise does change even with the other tubes I have .. But the mullard is best.
I've only 1 type of driver tube to test with the stock Hewlett Packard 5963 (12AU7) my Mullard CV491 broke the other day :'( ( I also have 2 more Hewlett packards so I'll try them later and report back.
Hope this helps
PS: I will be getting another 5998 tube in the next few days a Chatham 5998 so report back when i have it :)
Sweet, wonder if I should contact vacuumtubes.net and ask for a replacement for my 5998 that hums like crazy
-
I forgot to ad I changed the stock pot as well to a comos still the same, I preferred the stock pot for sound :)
-
Well guys I just received 2 tung sol 5998 tubes from ebay advertised as "Never used Perfect condition" no test data with them...though tubes look brand new.
with these 2 tubes I only have the noise at 0% volume now even if the amps warmed up just like my stock RCA 6080 does. Turning the amps volume past 5mm the noise goes away.
I have a mullard 6080 that makes the noise for maybe 30 seconds at start up 0% volume then goes completley silent . I also have 2 RCA 6SA7G tubes that take a little longer than the mullard but they go quite at 0% volume after a while.
My noise is louder in the left channel.
One thing is guys if I touch the headphone socket (not the top plate) the noise changes tone at the 0% volume...touching my fingers around the socket like I'm trying to cover it up makes the noise goes much quieter (an changes tone), the noise is like a humming buzzy noise not touching the socket then when I touch the socket it goes to more of a hum and quieter...
And also touching the headphone cable changes the noise but not as much as the socket does.
The noise does change even with the other tubes I have .. But the mullard is best.
I've only 1 type of driver tube to test with the stock Hewlett Packard 5963 (12AU7) my Mullard CV491 broke the other day :'( ( I also have 2 more Hewlett packards so I'll try them later and report back.
Hope this helps
PS: I will be getting another 5998 tube in the next few days a Chatham 5998 so report back when i have it :)
Sweet, wonder if I should contact vacuumtubes.net and ask for a replacement for my 5998 that hums like crazy
tdubl07 I just sent back a Chatham 2399 to vacuumtubes.net that made the noise at all volume , It worked fine 1st time i used it with the speedball.
without the speedball it worked fine as I uninstalled the speedball to check :)
-
tubes from ebay advertised as "Never used Perfect condition" no test data with them...though tubes look brand new.
How do they know they are in perfect condition if they have never been used? ;)
-
One thing is guys if I touch the headphone socket (not the top plate) the noise changes tone at the 0% volume...touching my fingers around the socket like I'm trying to cover it up makes the noise goes much quieter (an changes tone), the noise is like a humming buzzy noise not touching the socket then when I touch the socket it goes to more of a hum and quieter...
And also touching the headphone cable changes the noise but not as much as the socket does.
This is a strong suggestion that the top plate is not well earthed. The plate is earthed by the wire leaving "E" on the AC power inlet, which goes to the solder lug on the #8 screw. If you have a floating/missing ground on your wall power, this might be something to look into.
-
Yes Sir Doc :D They do sound great though and look brand new I payed £91 deliverd to the UK as a gamble on ebay with a seller with no feedback :o. I knew new tubes can be bad . the glass is Like brand new very clean and look beautiful lit up.
Thanks Paul , I did redo that wire but nothing changed and double check everywhere else, reheated all joints.... Could the resistors on the headphone socket cause this ?
and I also I re wired and rerouted the Ground wire from the volume pot to headphone jack and 2 black wires at terminal 3 grounds , new wire from volume pot to the rca inputs.
I will look into it more
One thing I haven't tried is changing the transformer terminal 4 wire to 22L instead of 14U , I built the amp with the revision update connection to terminal 14U.
And I should add my amp is dead quiet without the speedball installed all tubes , No noise 0% volume...Even the chatham 2399 that buzzed at all volumes was ok no speedball :o
:)
-
Hi everybody,
Sadly Easter break is over and I came back to my university for my semester. Wont go home for 3 more months and the Crack is back home :(
I did have 3 tubes and all were brand new with a warranty from the tube store (30-60 days I think). Before the speedball they did sound great so Im confused if it was the tubes, and what are the odds of getting all 3 noisy tubes? :(
I will be getting some 12BH7s next time with me when I go home 3 months later as PJ advised. But in the meantime if somebody can please fix the issue that will be very very helpful :(
My hum was also more on the left side and less on the right. Not much happens if i poke the wires or hold the wires. I get 3 different tone of noise, 1 at the 0 volume to 7%, next one starts from 8% to 92% volume and the last one is at 93-100% volume. There are some poping sound when i cross the 7% mark. Also the hum is little more on the mid level. All of this is with the 5998s. All 3 of them :(
With the 6080WA i have a hum at 0-7% for first 3-4 mins and then its quite. I feel like I can hear some noise at for up till 20-30mins. a very low background noise. I m pretty sure this was not present in the crack. But it does go away after 30 mins of running.
-
What driver small tube are you guys using? Could this affect anything :-[ LO by the end of this I'll no more about the crack tube amp then I should! :)
I'm looking to buy a 12au7 tube... Ive ordered 2 TELEFUNKEN E80CC tubes and the resistors wont have them for a few weeks tho
-
What driver small tube are you guys using? Could this affect anything :-[ LO by the end of this I'll no more about the crack tube amp then I should! :)
I'm looking to buy a 12au7 tube... Ive ordered 2 TELEFUNKEN E80CC tubes and the resistors wont have them for a few weeks tho
Hornet your throwing down some cash on all those tubes! Haha. Nice! I replaced the stock 12au7 that happened to be real noisy with another 12au7 since I have quite a few lying around. All is well, no complaints with the 12au7. I have a JJ 12au7 in now. I also have a couple long plate raytheons lying around that I haven't thrown in yet. I'm pretty much set on the way this thing sounds now. It's awesome!
-
Thanks tdubl07 :)
yeah but I could be a drinker and go down the pub and spunk more! yeah I've spent alot money :-X
once I heard the 5998 I was on a mission :) , with the other power tubes I have I didn't really like the sound with the speedball upgrade , I found it brighter but then I only had a mullard and the hewlett packards,
-
Thanks tdubl07 :)
yeah but I could be a drinker and go down the pub and spunk more! yeah I've spent alot money :-X
once I heard the 5998 I was on a mission :) , with the other power tubes I have I didn't really like the sound with the speedball upgrade , I found it brighter but then I only had a mullard other than the hewlett packards, I like the hewlett packards more than the dead mullard with the 5998s
The amp sounds great guys with 5998 and the hewlett packard :) just the volume at 0% bugs me
Yeah I hear ya, I just got over the 0% by never turning it all the way down :P. I ordered a couple 6080's after my 5598 was noisy as well, and got a nice silent one. An old RCA. Both GE 6080's I have hum at all levels. The RCA sounds great and is dead silent. Anyway, maybe the guys will figure the 0% hum for us that are having the issue soon. Have fun and enjoy the hell out of this amp! I am 8) What phones you using? Just curious what's you weapon of choice? Haha
-
Well guys my second 5998 tube has been on maybe 2 hours now.... I just turned the volume down all the way and played with the headphone cable .... I held the headphone cable in my hands and it went silent :o
(the other tube I only had in for about 30 mins will test more)
Now its dead silent at 0% volume sometimes ....it goes silent if i wrap my hands around the headphone sometimes and moving the cable about !!
This is the same thing that happens to my stock RCA 6080 tube though... takes ages for this to work.
edit: now if I touch the cable it makes the noise! (well grabbing it in my hands)
confused me :o
-
What driver small tube are you guys using? Could this affect anything :-[ LO by the end of this I'll no more about the crack tube amp then I should! :)
I'm looking to buy a 12au7 tube... Ive ordered 2 TELEFUNKEN E80CC tubes and the resistors wont have them for a few weeks tho
I dont think its the driver tube. I tried 2 mazda 12au7s and the stock one(the stock one had a red marking but now it has no names on it anymore :( )
-
Hello Ghost Thanks for that :)
My Number 2 tube is silent at 0% volume ! only if I move or grab the headphone cable in my hands the noise comes back. And it seems to only make the noise half way up the cable now....not near the socket.
Think I'll order a new cable :P
tdubl07 I'm using a very old pair HD600s and the cable is so thin . much thinner than the new HD650s I had. (stock cables
More edits: just tried another pair of headphones Senns hd280 pro and the noise is still there 0% so not headphone cable :-\ but it does go away messing with the hd600 cable now
-
Hornet I am getting scared now.
Is there any chance that all 3 of my tubes are noisy and my amp is totaly fine? :'(
If thats the case then it will be a very very sad day for me as those cost me a hell lot :(
But if thats the case then why do I still have that bad noise with the 6080WB? and these tubes sounded so good without speedball :(
-
I don't really no tho mate Could well be Ghost :'( your noise problem sounds bad like the 1st chatham 2399 I had, these 2 new tubes are better..... well the one I'm running now can go silent playing with the cable now >:(
I bet it would be dead silent without the speedball that's what's puzzling me.
I've just found a 12bh7 local to me so I'll try and get it tomorrow. £15 I'll ask pickup http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/new-old-stock-Brimar-12BH7-double-triode-valve-/171305214433?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Valves_Vacuum_Tubes&hash=item27e29621e1
anygood worth it? which 12bh7 have you ordered Ghost?
-
I don't really no tho mate Could well be Ghost :'( your noise problem sounds bad like the 1st chatham 2399 I had, these 2 new tubes are better..... well the one I'm running now can go silent playing with the cable now >:(
I bet it would be dead silent without the speedball that's what's puzzling me.
I've just found a 12bh7 local to me so I'll try and get it tomorrow. £15 I'll ask pickup http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/new-old-stock-Brimar-12BH7-double-triode-valve-/171305214433?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Valves_Vacuum_Tubes&hash=item27e29621e1
anygood worth it? which 12bh7 have you ordered Ghost?
havnt ordered anything yet :(
I cant get near my dear crack for 3 more months so im waiting on what you guys get first. I think i will let you guys sort it out first and then when all is set, I will start buying the tubes :D
I gotta get my tubes from UK anyways as back home I wont find any tube in a few thousand miles and my home post office isnt the most caring one for handling tubes :'(
If none works then I think I will go with that E80cc mod to make it work. Either ways Im getting those 5998s to work with the speedball! >:(
-
yeah starting to feel like a guinea pig now ;D ;D
The mullard I got from Jamie sounds good listerning to these 5998 now,, my second best power tube is the Mullard 6080 and works perfectly.
I hope this problem doesn't make the 5998 work harder or something and rubbish them quicker than the other tubes 8)
-
We still have not been able to reproduce the situation in the lab. But meanwhile this post just showed up:
http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php/topic,6194.0.html
This suggests there's a shielding or RFI potential issue. As has been noted, that includes grounding and especially grounding to the chassis - but as I said, we still don't really know what is going on. But it's on our "active projects" list for sure!
There's a fair chance that most or all of the noisy 5998s are actually OK - don't sell them at a loss just yet.
-
We still have not been able to reproduce the situation in the lab. But meanwhile this post just showed up:
http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php/topic,6194.0.html
This suggests there's a shielding or RFI potential issue. As has been noted, that includes grounding and especially grounding to the chassis - but as I said, we still don't really know what is going on. But it's on our "active projects" list for sure!
There's a fair chance that most or all of the noisy 5998s are actually OK - don't sell them at a loss just yet.
Holding on to them paul, please fix it ASAP :(
-
yeah starting to feel like a guinea pig now ;D ;D
The mullard I got from Jamie sounds good listerning to these 5998 now,, my second best power tube is the Mullard 6080 and works perfectly.
I hope this problem doesn't make the 5998 work harder or something and rubbish them quicker than the other tubes 8)
Hold on mate, you and I both are on the same boat. and dont worry we are gona make this baby sing again ;D Tung Sol 5998 and Mazda 12AU7s , oh heaven! :P
-
hehe :)
I just turned the amp of for 30 mins let it cool down then turned it back on and the noise is back :D messing with the headphone cable is changing the noise but it wont go silent at the moment ( its been on 5 mins now .( noise is like a fly buzzing around and it changes to a kinda hum touching the cable and volume of the noise is louder then quieter. All at 0% volume its fine if i turn it up.
Putting my 4 fingers around the headphone socket makes it go much quieter ...touching the top plate does nothing
Paul I did test another pair of headphones hd280 pros they have a big fat curly cable much thicker than my hd600s
edit the noise is more like a buzzing humming sound kinda like a fly sorry
-
All of this talk about touching the cable and moving the cable is really taking away the idea that there is a problem with the tubes. It sounds like your signal grounding connection is not 100% somewhere between the headphone jack and the volume pot.
-
yeah but this is what I'm experiencing.... And I would of thought the noise would of been there when i uninstalled the speedball boards ..which it was not .....perfect with no speedball
-
I suggest checking the solder joints of the black wire that connects from the volume pot to the two tabs of the head phone jack and also the connections of the two black wires on the upper and lower tabs of the volume pot. I would also check that somewhat gnarly connection of black wires on the center tab of the t strip by the nine pin socket. All those connections need to be really low impedance, i.e., soldered really well and they all have to do with grounding the various components talked about in this thread.
-
Guys for what it's worth I recable all my headphones in canare starquad 4e5c not for sound but because I think it looks and feels much better than stock cables and it has terrific shielding. That being said I have had the zero volume hum with all tubes and a persistent hum all the time with my 5998. It's not the pot as I have changed that to a PEC. Hornet sounds like he has the zero volume hum and perhaps another issue causing the buzz. Ive tried different cans as well. 990 pros and T90s, same problem.
-
I suggest checking the solder joints of the black wire that connects from the volume pot to the two tabs of the head phone jack and also the connections of the two black wires on the upper and lower tabs of the volume pot. I would also check that somewhat gnarly connection of black wires on the center tab of the t strip by the nine pin socket. All those connections need to be really low impedance, i.e., soldered really well and they all have to do with grounding the various components talked about in this thread.
Hi Doc,
I did check my ground point impedance and all if was pretty low. So i think my grounding is fine, the problem seems to be somewhere else :(
-
A loose connection may measure just fine with your meter, but once you flip the chassis plate over, jiggle the plate, and plug in headphones, the connection may be compromised again.
Reheating all your solder joints is free, I'd give it a try before anything else.
-
A loose connection may measure just fine with your meter, but once you flip the chassis plate over, jiggle the plate, and plug in headphones, the connection may be compromised again.
Reheating all your solder joints is free, I'd give it a try before anything else.
I did try poking all the connections with a lolly stick and none of them were loose. Still i will give it a try, just to be sure :(
-
I just tried a Brimar 12BH7 tube and its still got the noise at 0% volume, Amps been on for 30 mins ??? And It sounds rubbish waste of money :'(
The Noise is maybe a little louder with this tube and still touching my headphone cable changes the tone of the noise ;D...I've ordered a new HD650 cable should have it next week ..Cant see that fixing it as I've tried another pair of headphones ....I needed a new cable anyway.
But yesterday I had the amp on for a long time and it went silent at 0% volume after an hour or 2! But still if I moved the headphone cable about it would come back ...
I could make it go silent though!
i also installed new headphone jack socket yesterday with no change.
Will have another 5998 on wednesday
-
Try moving the ground wire leaving the headphone jack and heading to the volume pot so that it's not on top of the 9 pin socket.
-
Hello Paul thanks for the tip I already rerouted that wire with my troubleshooting, I did rerouted that wire around the front like I've seen other people do their builds.
The amps been on for an hour now and its silent again at 0%.
Its must be something to do with the 5998 tubes I've had and I'm unlucky >:(
though it makes the noise with the other tubes at startup but goes much quicker with them , With the mulllard 6080 it goes in 10 seconds 0% and the 2 RCA 6AS7G tubes it stays for a few mins then silent and the stock tube takes bit longer .
All the tubes make the same type of noise at startup even if the volume up but goes in 5 seconds max with the volume up.. just turning the volume down the noise is there longer with different tubes and the 5998 takes the longest for it to go.
Its just messing with my cable thats freaking me out because the noise changes. ( it happens with all the tubes when the noise is there 0% playing with the cable)
And the really noisy 2399 tube I had with all volumes was ok when I uninstalled the speedball.
Its Always the same type of noise.
I've ordered new parts for my amp and will be rebuilding it, but stupid me I've only got the parts for the stock crack but I'll see how I go with that 1st
Thanks...
Its still silent ;D sounds great ;D
-
I've ordered new parts for my amp and will be rebuilding it, but stupid me I've only got the parts for the stock crack but I'll see how I go with that 1st
What do you plan to do differently?
-
Nothing really :) Just reflowing all the joints made my amp look bit messy doesnt look as nice now :-* and On the big power tube socket 1 of the solder tabs fell out the bottom when I removed and replaced the wire. I soldered a little bit on it and put it back in , The big tube wont go all the way down now on 1 side, I had the noise before I did this.
I've replaced loads of the wires ;D....the little tube socket is also bit wobbly now.
Mostly I want to polish both sides of the top plate and clean clear coat the bell housing
and I thinking about running the amp without the speedball for a while
Thanks :)
I
-
Number 4 5998 tube arrived.
Also has the noise at 0% volume, amps been on 30 mins ... noise not gone away at 0% volume ...with the volume turned up past 5mm its silent.
took about 2 mins to be dead silent with volume turned up..longer than my other 5998 tubes.
>:(
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs5.postimg.org%2Fdrkasz94z%2F2014_05_07_16_13_00.jpg&hash=6c506e155c14e6d6656ca924e8158c1a171ecc7b) (http://postimg.org/image/drkasz94z/)
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs5.postimg.org%2Fga5ztnuv7%2F2014_05_07_16_13_35.jpg&hash=34f3fd578c762b94f9a47b0767e90baf74a3754d) (http://postimg.org/image/ga5ztnuv7/)
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs5.postimg.org%2F5oqpvedxf%2F2014_05_07_16_16_50.jpg&hash=775cf18d9b27d96e49ddaa72516619e22cf13d09) (http://postimg.org/image/5oqpvedxf/)
-
Just seen that this is mentioned elsewhere and is standard amplifier warm-up behaviour.
-
No, the zero volume hum never goes away that some of us are getting. Even after all day usage. I've resolved myself to never turn it that low and no issues.
-
I can't believe that having a zero volume hum is a design feature. I can understand it before full warm up (I guess) but not continuous.
Anyone out there who can help with what I hope is an issue that can be addressed and not a necessary "evil" we have to live with?
I'm about a month away from installing the Speedball and am very interested in what to expect.
-
I can't believe that having a zero volume hum is a design feature. I can understand it before full warm up (I guess) but not continuous.
Yeah, it's been a little tough to sort out whether it is persistent in all cases, or goes away after the amp warms up. This is not a design feature, and has just popped up recently. We are looking into this currently.
-
PB: Thanks. I'm confident the Bottlehead family will not settle for mediocrity.
-
YEEHAW GUYS!! I've solved my noise problem!!
I replaced all the parts on both the two small A & B boards and now my amp is dead silent!!!!
I have not even a warm up noise now :) no buzzing nothing. All my tubes are perfect.
These are the parts I used guys
2 X TE CONNECTIVITY / NEOHM - YR1B237RCC - RESISTOR, METAL FILM, 237R, 250MW, 0.1%
2 x STMICROELECTRONICS - 2N2907A - TRANSISTORS
2 x MJE350 High Voltage PNP Power Transistor
4 x HLMP-6000 Avago Technologies LED, Submin, Red.
I never replaced the 150k 2w resistors.
Question though : Are the 237R resistors I used ok ?
also the 2N2907A transistors I used were a different make then old ones.
Is this ok? I've not done a voltage check yet.
-
Yeah, those 237 Ohm resistors look like they are equivalent to what we supply, though we generally use 1/8 Watt parts.
-
great Paul thank you :) happy bunny now :)
-
We have worked out what is happening. PB will be pulling the divergent threads about this together and posting instructions. Basically the last batch of MJE350s we purchased has some that are out of spec. We have some in spec replacements on order and we will be able to supply them to anyone who has experienced the problem. It seems to be isolated to a few Speedball kits shipped in the past month or so, and if your kit is working fine the MJE350s should not be replaced.
-
Its working great now thank you :)
-
OK, I think I have all the relevant threads merged here.
Essentially, we have been working with a supplier for quite some time now who offered the ON Semiconductor MJE-350 at a reasonable price when bought in bulk. We had been purchasing bulk lots for quite some time, with great results, but the last batch we received were from a different manufacturer that we are not familiar with. Unfortunately, the supplier did not notify us that they made this substitution.
To that effect, some MJE-350's in recent Speedball kits may produce this defect where hum is encountered at 0 volume level. To remedy this situation, we can offer a replacement pair of MJE-350's. If your Speedball does not exhibit these symptoms, you would not want or need to replace these transistors.
If you are in a hurry to patch this up, you can purchase MJE-350's from your favorite local seller. A Motorola, ON Semiconductor, ST Microelectronics, Fairchild, Texas Instruments, or even an NTE-39 are going to work great! For those who have Speedballs or other kits using MJE-350's on order, we will not be putting these parts in your kits.
We do appreciate all of you letting us know that this was an issue, giving us some time to determine the nature of the problem, and we look forward to providing assistance to remedy this issue.
-PB
-
Hi Paul,
Any difference between the MJE350 and MJE350G?
Thanks
(another) Paul.
-
pduk I'm also in the UK and i got mine from ebay ..this seller
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301163832980?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
-
Thank you Mr Hornet :) Hope you are enjoying the weather today.
-
What you on about! It was raining all day ;D
-
And pduk get some solder wick if you haven't already got some , I used this stuff fast deilvery as well
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271136778656?var=570136615144&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
And your welcome :)
-
An MJE-350G is just a lead free MJE-350.
-
Finished assembly of my Speedball boards and got them installed tonight. Unfortunately I am having this exact issue. Just emailed for replacement parts. Thanks for persevering and figuring this out, Paul!
-
I got my two replacement transistors yesterday (via ebay as I am impatient). Just fitted them and I'm delighted to report that the symptoms are completely gone now. Good job tracking it down - thank you.
Now waiting for that 5998 that I accidentally ordered last week to arrive from the USA :)
All the best
Paul.
-
Good to hear Paul :) I also got my 5998 tubes fromthe USA bit pricey tho, I payed £80! for one and also had to pay £20 for customs :o very expensive but i managed to buy another 2 tungsol 5998 for £90 delivered with no customs charges :) enjoy the 5998 tube best one I've tried so far
I'm trying a telefunken e80cc with the 5998 and its very good
-
This is great news guys. Glad the gang figured it out. I ordered four new transistors from digikey for about 5$ shipped. Seems like digikey had the only first class mail option. Mouser min is 6.99$ on shipping. For anyone else thinking about ordering some. I'll have mine swapped tomorrow night.
-
Bottlehead, when do you estimate the replacement MJE350 parts will ship?
-
Another successful transistor swap. No buzz at zero volume. Thanks guys. For anyone not too sure with desoldering the old ones, it's most helpful and much easier to cut the old ones off and then unsolder each leftover leg via one by one. If you don't have some solder wick and a desolder pump now would be a great time to order some so you're ready when the new transistors come in. Good luck, glad we have a fix ;) edit.... I just tried my 5998 that I thought was noisy (it was crazy humtastic on the bad transistors) and no hum at all and dead silent with the new mje350s. So maybe this was the fix for those of us who had really noisy tubes as well with the bad transistors. Time will tell as I just quickly checked but promising so far.
-
I replaced my bad MJE350 parts today with MJE5731AG parts I got from Digi-Key, and all is well! Nice and silent and the Crack + Speedball sounds amazing!
Are there any other parts I should change to go along with the MJE5731AG, or does it work perfect as a drop-in replacement?
My voltage checks with the MJE5731AG went perfect.
-
They are more or less interchangeable with the MJE350 in the C4S, provided they are flipped around.
-
Thanks PB! Yes, I triple-checked the pin-out on the datasheet matched the B-C-E labeling on the PCB before soldering them down. ;D
-
Hi. I have this issue with the tune that came with the amp, a 6080WA.
With an RCA 6080 no issues.
Who do I send an email to, to get replacement MJEs?
-
replacementparts at bottlehead dot com
-
Thanks
-
Speedball installed successfully, but I've got these symptoms - buzzing at startup and zero volume position, goes away after a short while and doesn't come back (yet!). I need to get new MJEs.
-
Hi Adrian.
Had the same questions. Was at first very surprised at how much the Speedball alters the Crack.
Bottom line, as long as noise, whether it be a buzz or other, it should fade out and disappear when the tubes are hot.
Personally, I wouldnt change Your MJEs if the buzz is gone after a minute or so.
I had the buzzing issue, wouldnt go away on my stock tube. I swapped to a microcomp MJE on both channels. Now I also have a buzz on startup but fades away, meaning its good.
-
"PB" / Doc: For clarity:
- If I have this buzzing at zero volume on the pot and it goes away shortly after startup, should I bother with changeout of the MJEs?
- If the MJEs were from the "bad batch" would the buzzing subside shortly after warmup?
- If I install GOOD MJEs will I have any buzzing - still at startup?
- Did BH have any buzzing problems prior to the discovery of the BAD MJEs?
- If not, then shouldn't these be replaced if any buzzing occurs?
I would like this amp to be like a graveyard on a moonless night - DEAD QUIET - like before the Speedball Install.
-
Just replace the MJE350s.
-
My apologies.
I received the replacement MJEs from Bottlehead today.
Had to try them of course.
Now there isnt even a startup humm/buzz.
Thanks Doc.
-
Boc B: Thank you - I apologize for my post sounding snarky :(. I just got confused with all the various information and opinions and wanted somthing more definitive. I have sent the email to "replacementparts" for the MJEs.
-
I received the MJE350s today and ready to install but I have a question about the transistor orientation.
These replacement MJE350s do not have the metal side and both sides look the same EXCEPT one side has writing on it.
Do I orient these without the metal side with the writing facing the same way as the original ones?
(I've checked this thread and didn't find this info - maybe I missed it.)
EDIT: I just compared the old with the new and got about 570 ohms from emmitter (+) to base (-) on both and it looks like the new ones are oriented with the writing to the same side as the old ones.
-
See the sticky on the Crack board regarding MJE350's.
-
"PB": Thank you. Success - I installed them correctly (just as I had measured them) and it is DEAD QUIET just like before the Speedball install - but the SB makes this little giant sound even better, just like BH promised.
Now off to find out about this "sticky" thingy (I am not well-versed in proper forum terminology).
-
"Stickies" are the first, currently nine, threads, that show up on top of the crack forum with grey background with a little pin. These are threads that don't move when new posts appear. One concerns MJE350 orientation.
-
Strikkflypilot: thank you - this old dog learns something new everyday.
-
Sorry to bring this thread up again, but I found it while searching about the problem. I ordered the Crack with Speedball in mid-March, but didn't get around to building it until about a month ago, so I suspect that I may have been supplied with the bad transistors. I just wanted to run my problem by everyone before I request some replacements.
Like most of the posters, I had some humming during tube warm up, but I also experienced the loud buzzing at <5% volume. What's strange is that when I powered on the CD player and played music for about 10-20 minutes, the buzz would go away. But as soon as I even paused the CD player (the power was still on) the buzz would return below 5% volume.
I haven't seen that other posters noticed or mentioned this, so I would appreciate your opinions. Thanks.
-
Is the buzz present without the CD player plugged in? There are some CD players that will let some noise through when paused.
-
I checked last night and the buzz was there without the CD player plugged into the amp.
-
Yeah, it's tough to say. If the CD player controls whether or not your Crack buzzes, then the Crack is unlikely to be the culprit. If, however, the Crack will buzz regardless of whether or not the CD player is plugged in, then swapping MJE-350's might be a good idea.
-PB
-
Hi there. Just purchased a bottlehead crack amp a week ago, and I am experiencing this hum-at-low-volume issue. Is there anyone local to Minneapolis who can lend a hand replacing the transistors for a fee? I am, unfortunately, not handy with anything electrical.
-
Yeah, it's tough to say. If the CD player controls whether or not your Crack buzzes, then the Crack is unlikely to be the culprit. If, however, the Crack will buzz regardless of whether or not the CD player is plugged in, then swapping MJE-350's might be a good idea.
-PB
I just changed the transistors and it did the trick. Thanks for all the help and for making such a great sounding amp!