Speedball issues [resolved]

Droo · 3203

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Offline Droo

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Reply #30 on: April 27, 2020, 04:50:34 AM
Thank you both so much for the suggestions! I'll definitely try to get better/smoother joints all around and clip whatever leads are still too long. Resoldering the diodes might be a little difficult, but I'll give it a shot, otherwise I'll go with some electrical tape. I want to note that the ones that should not be in contact look like they're in the same plane, but are in fact bent away from each other.



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #31 on: April 27, 2020, 05:15:10 AM
Yeah, if I got your Crack in as a repair, I would toss that big PC board and completely replace it.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Droo

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Reply #32 on: April 27, 2020, 05:31:36 AM
What's wrong with the board itself? At this point I'm very confused, because it doesn't seem like anything on it is broken, but yet it doesn't work. Should I buy a new speedball?



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #33 on: April 27, 2020, 05:56:15 AM
When all the LEDs light up brightly before anything has warmed up in the circuit, the board is not working properly.

You can contact replacementparts(at)bottlehead(dot)com about getting a new big board and associated parts.  You do absolutely need a proper pair of side cutters to trim things down in there too.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Droo

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Reply #34 on: May 05, 2020, 08:49:51 AM
It works now, and it sounds great!! However, I'm getting 145 on OA/OB and 250 on B+. Is that a problem? It's dead silent when nothing's playing. I'm using the Raytheon 6080 that came with it if that matters. Thanks!



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #35 on: May 05, 2020, 09:46:31 AM
What are all the voltages on the small PC board?  You should not have 250V of B+.

Can you also inspect the solder joint on the headphone jack where the black wires meet?  Sometimes one is loose there and that will make your DC voltages look a little weird.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Droo

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Reply #36 on: May 05, 2020, 02:39:53 PM
The headphone jack joints all look solid. One of the LEDs on the B+ side isn't turning on, but the one after it is. I remeasured the big board voltages, and they're actually OA: 116 OB:125 and B+:215. Little board voltages: OA:84, 1A:215 B/AB:0V 1B: 220 OB:79.



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #37 on: May 05, 2020, 03:13:32 PM
One LED out on the big board is definitely an issue.  Your small board voltages look good.  B+ on the big board and IA/IB on the small board are all wired together.  You can't have different voltages on these board pads without flaky solder joints at work. 

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Droo

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Reply #38 on: May 05, 2020, 03:30:31 PM
Yeah, I think it went out when I tried to get a better joint on the TIP50. I replaced it and am back up to 235 on B+ and 130 apiece on OB/AB. A weird thing I noticed is that if I tap the input tube, I hear it much more distinctly in the left channel.



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #39 on: May 05, 2020, 03:33:05 PM
What's your AC wall voltage?

I strongly suspect your big Speedball board is still not working at all.  The high voltages on OA/OB indicate that the 6080 is drawing nearly no current. 

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Droo

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Reply #40 on: May 05, 2020, 03:47:27 PM
It's around 122 V



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #41 on: May 05, 2020, 05:40:32 PM
Yeah, the big Speedball board is not pulling the proper current.  I would suggest a lot more heat on the TIP50 terminals and even the 2N2222 terminals. 

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Droo

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Reply #42 on: May 06, 2020, 08:27:08 PM
So I reflowed all the joints. I'm now getting 203 on B+ and 110/113 on OB and OA. Is this good enough for operation?



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #43 on: May 07, 2020, 05:23:23 AM
Yes, that is now a working amplifier.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Droo

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Reply #44 on: May 07, 2020, 06:05:12 AM
Awesome. Thank you so, so much!