OMG not already...

[DoS]

I got my kit today, excited...

But I already fucked the sticker. So many little bubbles in it. I'm not sure how you guys get them not to look like a handicapped monkey did it.

[4krow]

When working for the phone company, ALL circuits had to be labeled, no matter how small. It becomes an art of sorts. In this case, I even use a square to be sure, and have the box on end, staring right at me. Good lighting is essential, with no glare. Doesn't work every time, so your not alone there.

[Doc B.]

We use whatever sort of plastic spatula shaped device is handy. Work the sticker with spatula from the center out, which should squeeze the air bubbles to the outside edges as you go. It's also a sum of the parts kind of thing. Once you get knobs on, a finish on the cabinet, etc, the sticker doesn't stand out as much.

[Paul Birkeland]

On the last Tode sticker I put on, I used a plastic box for staples as my spatula, though there is just a tiny bit of debris under the sticker, but no bubbles.

[Demsy]

Try to wet the glue side of the sticker with soapy water, then position it on the also slightly wetted surface. Take a small plastic triangle ruler covered with kitchen tissue paper and carefullly squegee the fluid from under the sticker, slowly work from the middle out. Once all the fluid is carefully squegeed out, there will be no bubble visible. You can also reposition the sticker when needed while working the fluid out. You can also use glass cleaning fluid for this. Once done, give at least 24 hours to let the fluid to dry completely out.
This is a trick used when we have to put stickers on the model airplanes, on either painted or plastic filmed surfaces.
Hope this helps.

[DoS]

Try to wet the glue side of the sticker with soapy water, then position it on the also slightly wetted surface. Take a small plastic triangle ruler covered with kitchen tissue paper and carefullly squegee the fluid from under the sticker, slowly work from the middle out. Once all the fluid is carefully squegeed out, there will be no bubble visible. You can also reposition the sticker when needed while working the fluid out. You can also use glass cleaning fluid for this. Once done, give at least 24 hours to let the fluid to dry completely out.
This is a trick used when we have to put stickers on the model airplanes, on either painted or plastic filmed surfaces.
Hope this helps.

Too late but thanks!

[Demsy]

I know, but you can still buy a replacement sticker, can't you?

[saildoctor]

I totally slammed mine on freehand.  Worked like a charm.  Just sayin'.     Well, I've stuck thousands of things like this on sails and banners at work over the years.  So I guess that makes me a ringer?

My usual tactic is to put a sticker face down, peel back a corner and make a hard crease.  This lets you carefully position the sticker on your item while holding up the exposed corner off its surface with the side of your hand.  Then ease that corner down, and very slowly peel away the backer underneath.  It you peel quickly or pull hard on the sticker it will distort and probably never again assume a totally flat shape.

[DoS]

That stupid resistor cooked a wire. I couldn't see but my twisted wire pushed the cap against it, and onto the wire... Fuck me, it's going to take a a few to dig that thing out.

I didn't have any sound though. I prefer when things work out right for me. Its been a long day, could use the reward. No glow on the little tube...

[saildoctor]

It's all gonna be okay.  Everything in a bottlehead piece of equipment can be replaced.  Like a phoenix from the ashes!  Or a zombie from the... uh never mind.

[DoS]

Oh I got it covered. Still no sound... EF86 isn't lighting up for some reason.

That resistor of course smells like insulation now... That thing gets massively hot. In fact I feel this is one part of the design I don't like. It's vastly to easy to mistakenly push the wires the wrong way when you close it up.

[DoS]

I'm turning the 220uf 250v sideways, away from the resistors. It's tight near the cable tie, but who cares, it won't cause a fire!

I had the capacitor that goes outside the transformer backwards but that didn't fix no sound yet. The B + and B- capacitors. Could that being switched blow out a tube?

[DoS]

All my voltages are good...

Not sure whats up. Bad tube?

Is it possible that no ground on the socket I was using could be why?

I've looked over the schematic and build guide a dozen times... not sure. I'll try localized ground points too, around the tube socket instead of using the semi-start grounds.

[Paul Birkeland]

You'd have to have amazing vision to see the EF86 glow, how are the voltages?

Which resistor is cooking wires adjacent to it?  If it's the 10 watt power supply resistor, a backwards power cap can place a dead short on one side of that resistor, potentially drawing all the current the power transformer has to offer through that resistor, making it get many times hotter than it would during normal operation.

Do post voltages if you're having issues, that can point us in specific directions.

Does the LED light?

-PB

[DoS]

The EF86 doesn't light up. There is zero noise. But the speaker appears to be hooked up right; my analog meter makes it move when touching any correct points on the 1/4 sockets or break, and the break does work.

All the voltages where in the normal range, at all tap points given. But I'm thinking there is a disconnect between one of them and the EF86. It literally seems like it isn't getting power. Its possible I suppose that it is just one wire somewhere isn't hooked up well or something, right at the EF86 socket. At least it appears that way since all the voltage taps are correct.

I had that one capacitor backwards, but fixed it. But regardless I pushed the one out of the way that could press on the 10w resistor.