First Build - Loving it... now having issues

[ostoich]

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire project. I was always skeptical about being able to build anything like this myself. After a few scares that I had royally messed something up... I finished it over the weekend. I can't stop listening to EVERYTHING. Took a few minutes to figure out that the power strip I was plugged into was causing some major noise issues. Thanks for the great instructions and getting this to everyone at a reasonable price. It certainly blows away my Schiit stack already and I haven't installed the Speedball yet.

One question though... I did screw up the position of the 220uf caps. They're in the right terminals... just the two aren't vertical. Does this seem like it would cause any issues in the future?

I definitely have the DIY itch now though, so naturally, I took advantage of today's sale on the Reduction and Integration upgrade to get some tubes into my vinyl rig.


Thanks!

Eric Ostoich

 

[ostoich]

I am still getting the strange noise/scratchiness when I initially turn the amp on and plug-in after about 3-5 minutes (even when volume is turned all the way down). I thought it was interference from various power cords... the Crack is positioned about 4 feet from everything that I can think would cause noise and the power cord is on its own receptacle now.

After being on and playing music for about 10 minutes the noise/scratchiness goes away. Is this typical for a bad solder joint?

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Yes, you may have an iffy solder joint.

If the caps are on the correct terminals, but laid against the chassis, this isn't a problem.

 

[ostoich]

Reflowed the solder joints but now there are extremely loud pops when plugging in the TRS jack as it passes each ring. Any ideas? I noticed another post mentioned the ground path.

 

[superdonkey]

Nice job!  I really like the treatments you did on your exteriors.  What color/paint did you use for your top plate?  What stain is that for your base?

 

[ostoich]

Thanks! I used Rust-Oleum Hammered black spray paint (it ends up being a dark gray) on the chassis and the transformer bell plate. They both got about 8 thin coats.

I used Minwax Mission Oak Polyshades. I'd probably recommend something else though. 2 coats was a nice color but it was uneven. The third coat got really, really dark but evened out. After researching more - I'm picking up some dark mahogany aniline dye for my Reduction.

 

[ostoich]

Chopsticks test success. Loose ground wire from terminal 3 to headphone jack.

Reflowed and silent as can be.