First Time Builder - Crack Final Voltage issue [resolved]

[Chris Travis]

Hello! I recently decided to get back in to this hobby and thought that building the Crack kit would be a great idea. And I am happy to say it has been. Unfortunately I have been stopped at the finish line by the voltages. My voltages are as follows:
1) .131
2) .127
3) 0
4) .125
5) .122
6) 0
7) 0
8) 0
9) 0
10) 0

The ones displaying voltages were orignally much higher in the hundreds, but they are now all very low. Just hoping I didn't blow a +100 dollar power transformer.

This is my first time building a kit/soldering and I might have messed up on those somewhere along the line. But all my other check previous to this were fine and within the correct ranges. It is just eh final checks that were bad. I have attached photos for reference to point out the inevitable error that I made.

 

[Urshurak776]

Maybe I'm missing it, but looks like you're missing one of the UF4007 diodes.

 

[Chris Travis]

I used the 4 that came with the set. Here are a couple pictures of them.

 

[Jameson]

Do you have your meter set to DC volts?

 

[Chris Travis]

Hey Jameson! Yes, I do have the meter in DC volts. I was doing some testing and after I used my meter to test the ohms again just to make sure, when I turned it back to measure the volts it showed a higher number but was still steadily decreasing. Not sure if that helps.

 

[Urshurak776]

I used the 4 that came with the set. Here are a couple pictures of them.

10-4. I couldn't see one of them in the original photos.

 

[Chris Travis]

I should also add that the leds are not lighting up and the tubes are not glowing either. They did glow earlier when I did the initial testing earlier in the instructions.

 

[Chris Travis]

10-4. I couldn't see one of them in the original photos.

I am really hoping it is something as simple as a miswiring or a component in the wrong place. Thank you for taking a look!

 

[Jameson]

If you power off the amp and pop the fuse out of the holder, then use the ohm setting on your meter, does it have continuity?

Sorry for the basic questions, but you said you were new at this so I’m starting at the beginning (e.g., meters and fuses).

 

[Chris Travis]

I took out the fuse and it seems to have been blown.

When checking each of the terminal resistances it shows within correct ranges.

 

[Jameson]

Ok, so now we know why you’re not getting any power. You’ll need a new fuse, but that’s indicative of a bigger problem.

It looks like your caps near the power supply could use some more heat to begin with. That may not be the whole issue, but a good place to start.

 

[Chris Travis]

Understood! I just hit them with some more solder at 750. Is this better?

 

[Paul Birkeland]

You have a couple of UF4007 diode leads that look like they might be shorting out to terminals where they don't connect. You can heat up the joints where these connect and just space them away from the terminal strip a little bit to help with that.

 

[Jameson]

Understood! I just hit them with some more solder at 750. Is this better?

These look better to me. PB’s suggestion is almost definitely going to be more important than mine

 

[Urshurak776]

I guess slow blow or fast blow doesn't matter with the crack.? The manual on page 23 shows a Fast acting 1A fuse, but mine is a slow-acting fuse.

It's funny, if you ask AI in google, it lists both, but maybe they're right! LOL

OP, hope you get it sorted quickly.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Either one will work for the Crack. The slow-acting fuses got to be a little annoying to source, so some time back we nudged up a few of the values and switched to standard fuses.

 

[Chris Travis]

You have a couple of UF4007 diode leads that look like they might be shorting out to terminals where they don't connect. You can heat up the joints where these connect and just space them away from the terminal strip a little bit to help with that.

Leave it to P.B. to know exactly what was wrong. Thank you all so much for your help on this! I had so much fun doing this and I can not wait to see how it sounds and taking it to the next level. Pairing this with a Bifrost 2/64 and Verite Closed in the very near future.

 

[bucketofguts]

I remember when PB asked me if i could test a 9 volt battery.

 

[Chris Travis]

Unfortunately I now have a humming in the left channel and a bit of static in the background. Time to start resoldering.

 

[Chris Travis]

So I resoldered a lot of stuff and the audio has no static anymore. Except for about 3 seconds when the device is turned on and then it goes away. Is this normal or do I need to keep resoldering other components?