For several months I have had a problem with a crackling noise in 1 of my Paramounts. Following advice here I have replaced the hum pots (sorry Grainger, not the expensive model you used) and resoldered many of the connections, finding a broken wire that was still touching and carrying juice. But nothing worked. I started thinking about what I might have changed to start this problem and focused on the Yamamoto sockets I had installed a while back. Wiggling the 300B stopped the noise temporarily. I bent the pins (carefully) and again this worked for a short while. I used a small screw driver to bend in the contact points in the socket. Again, a temporary fix. So faced with replacing an expensive socket I decided to make a desperation move. Here's the instructions.
First, get a fire extinguisher and place it near the amp. Then remove the tube and carefully cut shims from a toothpick. Place them between the contacts and the teflon wall. Do test fittings until the tube will go into the socket. You need less wood than you'd first think. Check to make sure the fire extinguisher is fully charged. Turn on the amp. So far after 2 days it is working fine. I have yet to remove the tube to see if the wood has turned into cinders. Please note that neither I nor the Bottlehead company are responsible for you burning your house down. You'd think for what these sockets cost they'd have a way to adjust the tension on the contacts other than a banzai run at it.
First, get a fire extinguisher and place it near the amp. Then remove the tube and carefully cut shims from a toothpick. Place them between the contacts and the teflon wall. Do test fittings until the tube will go into the socket. You need less wood than you'd first think. Check to make sure the fire extinguisher is fully charged. Turn on the amp. So far after 2 days it is working fine. I have yet to remove the tube to see if the wood has turned into cinders. Please note that neither I nor the Bottlehead company are responsible for you burning your house down. You'd think for what these sockets cost they'd have a way to adjust the tension on the contacts other than a banzai run at it.
