Help for building CRACK with Speedball

[i luvmusic 2]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

[i luvmusic 2]

Hi'
  Questions For those of you who installed Film Caps,Attenuator and the Speedball.I would like to do these upgrades but i have no idea Which one to do first i would like to install one at a time listen to it then do the next upgrade.Is it easier if i do the Attenuator followed By the Caps and then the Speedball?In what order did you guys installed your upgrades?looking at the underside of the amp it looks Like the Speedball will cover most of the terminal access.Thanks!

[JamieMcC]

I would suggest the order of speedball, attenuator and then caps

[i luvmusic 2]

Hi,
   I just need to finish my speedball MJE350 soldering and it will be ready for installations i got confused last night regarding the MJE350 orientation so i stopped.If i install the SB i still have easy access for most of the terminal connections for the Caps and attenuator without removing the SB? THANK YOU!

[JamieMcC]

Yes access is more limited but totally doable with the speedball installed and its always possible just to removed the speedball mounting screws after its all wired up and gently ease the boards over for a little better access if required. You will most probably find you don't need to.

Depending on the type of attenuator you plan to use take a look at the connecting wires some of the attenuators have the connections on the top and are quiet tall which may mean a couple of the original wires are tight for length and either require a little re-routing or replacing with longer ones to reach you will see in the pics below. Like the black wire that goes from the pot to terminal 3L page 22 of the manual is much easier to change if required without the speedball in place.

(https://www.head-fi.org/content/type/61/id/1013226/width/900/height/675/flags/LL)

(https://www.head-fi.org/content/type/61/id/1013227/width/900/height/675/flags/LL)

[i luvmusic 2]

So most likely everything will be a tight fit,by looking at your pictures the Attenuator is pretty close to the small PCB.Thanks!

[i luvmusic 2]

Hi,
   I replaced the pot with the attenuator and i have a concern about my resistance reading for T13 instead of reading up like how it was with the stock pot.Now it reads backwards then reads back up again.From 22 meg counting down then when it reach down to 40 ohms  it start to read up again up to 270 k and up.Is this normal if you used a attenuator?Thanks!

[i luvmusic 2]

 I'am done soldering my Speedball but before i install it i want to make sure that i get this right.The metal tab for the MJE350 their should be no continuity between the heat sink or the bolt?Thanks! 

[Paul Birkeland]

The metal tab of the TIP-50 should have no continuity to the bolt or the heatsink.

-PB

[fullheadofnothing]

The MJE350 does not have a heatsink.

If you mean the TIP50, then yes, the metal tab should be electrically isolated from the heatsink.

[i luvmusic 2]

 Sorry my bad,It's the TIP 50 good i checked and it's isolated no short on the bolt or the heat sink i don't recall reading this type of testing on the manual i think it's good to do this before you install the component but i could be wrong.THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

[Paul Birkeland]

I do feel like mentioning here that the Speedball  has been shipping for about 4 years now, and only in the past few months have we seen instances of shoulder washers and thermal insulating pads being left off or just not installed correctly. 

What it really boils down to is taking the time to either post on the forum or call us to ask about the shoulder washers if you aren't sure, or just doing something like a Google image seach on "shoulder washer" to read up a bit more and increase your confidence.  We do also use shoulder washers in the basic Crack kit for a similar purpose, so some familiarity is gained in the initial build that can be carried over into building the Speeball. 

We aren't generally in the habit of justifying every step that we write in our manuals, as they are all quite important, and such conversations typically take place here instead.

-PB

[i luvmusic 2]

Just finish installing the Speedball and WOW love it........ 

[i luvmusic 2]

 Here is mine,I would like to show you what i accomplished in the past few weeks since i received the CRACK and SPEEDBALL.THANK YOU all for your help and advised again thank You!It is time for me to enjoy this wonderful amplifier.

[i luvmusic 2]

 I put back the 23 stepped attenuator to solved the channel imbalanced in my Crack amp and i just found out that my comfortable listening volume level is between 5 and 6 Clicks.Does anyone have the same problem?Any suggestions?THANKS!