New build for two hours then sounds like a distant concert hall [solved]

[John EH]

Did you check the two 270 ohm 5 watt resistors?  Also there is a 270 K ohm resistor in the high voltage power supply you need to test. It is on 12 and 13.

And do you have a capacitance checker on the meter you are using?  Those 220uf caps may have gotten hammered too.

Sure sounds like you blasted the B+ and possibly achieved phase lock? (sorry, levity).

Good news is the transformer looks okay.  I'd wait and see what PB has to say here but if it were me at this point I'd ask for 4 diodes, the three resistors, and the three capacitors.  I think you rebuild your B+ power supply and full wave rectifier and you're back in business.

And don't feel bad about any of this.  I promise you we've all smoked a thing or ten.  Anybody that works on electricity and electronics and tells you they've never been shocked, shorted something or burned something up is a horrible liar.

John

[4krow]

 John, 
   I second that thought, and the memories still live on in regret. Interestingly, the successes outweigh them.

[phaselock]

Did you check the two 270 ohm 5 watt resistors?  Also there is a 270 K ohm resistor in the high voltage power supply you need to test. It is on 12 and 13.

And do you have a capacitance checker on the meter you are using?  Those 220uf caps may have gotten hammered too.

Sure sounds like you blasted the B+ and possibly achieved phase lock? (sorry, levity).

Good news is the transformer looks okay.  I'd wait and see what PB has to say here but if it were me at this point I'd ask for 4 diodes, the three resistors, and the three capacitors.  I think you rebuild your B+ power supply and full wave rectifier and you're back in business.

The resistors look OK, dunno about the caps, I think they are fine but I don't have a dedicated cap check on my mates multimeter. But I agree with you I will ask for 10 items, just in case all need replacement.

"B+  Rectifier Phaselock" lol nice. I might be better to change my username to MasterBlaster

On the bright side, if I didn't blast the full wave rectifier I never would have known what it did!

Cheers,
Jim

[John EH]

If the resistors are good you don't need to replace them.  You can kinda, sorta test the caps with an ohm meter but it isn't reliable at all.

If you put the leads across the cap ends it should rise from ohms to infinity which indicates the cap is charging.  It's a shade tree mechanic test and not reliable but it will give you an idea if the cap got hammered or not.

In your case having wiped out the bridge I just think it would be just as easy to rebuild the whole power supply.  While you're in there.  And you'd be taking the caps out anyway if you rebuilt the whole thing.

While you're waiting on parts order yourself another 6080.

Not sure you ever solved the first problem of bad sound.  I'd check the input wiring to the potentiometer and the headphone jack wiring and the tube sockets really good for a loose connection or a cold solder joint.

John

[phaselock]

Update: Well it looks like I had a solder issue in the end, I finally found a few hours with a mate to re-solder most points, as this was my first solder job ever there was allot of residual flux in my soldering.

It looks like it was a dodgy solder on either the potentiometer or RCA connector and now I don't have any more recessed sounds. WOOHOO.

I do have two more questions, if I push down slightly on the potentiometer there is allot of crackling when adjusting the volume. Should that happen?

When I turn on the Crack, the 6080 has a purple illuminated gas within the tube, and then settles down - around that time there is some crackly noises. Is that normal? Here is a video of what I am seeing around the 16 second mark of the video - . The video was made after the 6080 has warmed up so it doesn't last long, but initially the bright purple gas lasted about 5 to 10 seconds.

Thanks in advance.

[STURMJ]

The purple haze is totally normal and cool.

[4krow]

 The situation with the potentiometer is that by pressing down on it, you are starting to separate the contacts internally. This causes the crackling that you are describing. Personally, I like the heavy duty models. Don't think that they sound any different, but they are sturdy almost to a fault.

[Paul Birkeland]

On that 6080 - let it run for a few days and see if the purple flash on startup will go away.

If there is any gas, the getters in the 6080 should be able to gobble it up.

[phaselock]

Thanks guys, I will watch the 6080 over the next few days.

The situation with the potentiometer is that by pressing down on it, you are starting to separate the contacts internally. This causes the crackling that you are describing. Personally, I like the heavy duty models. Don't think that they sound any different, but they are sturdy almost to a fault.

Thanks the info 4krow, it looks like I might order a ALPS Blue Velvet and start modding 

[4krow]

  You know, I hear a lot of subjective views about different pots, but the Alps pot that you mention seems just fine to me. TDK makes a couple of good ones too. I kinda went all out on a Gold Point, but I will be the first to tell you it seems a little over the top to me.

[earwaxxer]

I have several Alps and TKD's. Personally I like the TKD's with my system. A bit more 'open' IMO. IMO the Alps are more 2D. I would go with stepped if you are looking for the most customizable sound. Thats my next project. ....

[phaselock]

I have several Alps and TKD's. Personally I like the TKD's with my system. A bit more 'open' IMO. IMO the Alps are more 2D. I would go with stepped if you are looking for the most customizable sound. Thats my next project. ....

Thanks 4krow and earwaxxer, I will probably look at the TDKs and other pots later. Initially the ALPS makes for sense to me for the time being, at least until I can get rid of my little gremlins with my system.