Very staticy right with speedball

[audiophileboss]

I just installed my speedball. Good news is left channel is amazing. Right channel is extremely staticy and cuts in and out. On the large circuit board with the words top on the top right, the left side 2 leds are not turning on. Is that part of the problem. I rewetted them and still nothing. Help please?

 

[Grainger49]

This indicated you have a bad connection at the least.  Rewet all the wire connections to and from the boards on both ends.

All LEDs are supposed to light if they have the right voltage across them.

 

[audiophileboss]

I rebuilt the large circuit board and did it again. The tubes lit up, but absoulutly no lights turned on. The power switch then started to smoke. I un plugged it. I am now wondering if my power switch is bust because no lights even those on the 12au7 socket.

 

[Grainger49]

The power switch either went bad, not likely, or was miswired.  It is designed to handle the 120V or 240V that you have incoming.  If it smokes there is something really wrong.  The fuse is there to keep any long term current from damaging anything.

 

[audiophileboss]

I changed the power switch. It was broken, but the smoke didnt stop.Actually the power transformer is smoking and no sound comes out at all. I think the transformer fried everything. Anyone could check out the whole system and would realize it was done correctly.  This thing worked for 1
Week then it lost left channel, i brought it back but it then the roght channel wasnt working. Now nothing works and the transformer fried everything. $440.60 down the drain?

 

[Doc B]

I . Anyone could check out the whole system and would realize it was done correctly. 

Apparently there is a short somewhere that is forcing too much current through the transformer. You seem to have had several different problems in the past few days. I think the options are to take a break from it for an evening and come back to it fresh and make a systematic examination of the connections, or to send it into us and we can correct the problem.

 

[Grainger49]

Did you start the Crack up with the Speedball?  And it worked for a week with the Speedball in or did you add it when the problem started?

I must be missing something.  The fuse is in the IEC connector.  Shouldn't the Crack be fused at lower current than would make the switch smoke?

 

[audiophileboss]

I started the crack without the speedball. I have the fuse installed if thats what you mean.

 

[audiophileboss]

Hey Doc, If I send it in, what am I responsible to pay for?

 

[audiophileboss]

One of the 220uf 250v caps is getting hot and smoking. Could that be my problem

 

[Paul Birkeland]

One of the 220uf 250v caps is getting hot and smoking. Could that be my problem

That tends to happen when they are put in backwards.

I didn't notice in your original post, but did the stock Crack w/o Speedball function properly?

 

[audiophileboss]

Stock it did yes. The stripe is on the correct terminal. Any other advice?

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Tripe check that the diodes and transistors are installed correctly.  Most of the errors in Speedball construction are mixing up the 2N2907 and 2N2222 transistors.

-PB

 

[audiophileboss]

Transistors are right. (I checked just now) but the capacitor still smokes and no leds turn on.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Perform a voltage and resistance test.  My guess is that most or all of your voltages will be very, very low, and there will be 0 Ohms in a place where there should be a very high reading.

-PB

 

[audiophileboss]

Pretty much all of the readings are off. But i use terminal 12 as ground, which is the same terminal that the bad cap is on.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Pretty much all of the readings are off. But i use terminal 12 as ground, which is the same terminal that the bad cap is on.

Please post the terminal numbers and voltages/resistances so we can get a picture of how your amp is operating.  (Resistances only if that cap is getting hot quickly)

 

[Grainger49]

  .  .  .  I have the fuse installed if that's what you mean. 

Nope, I meant that the fuse should blow if something on the primary side of the transformer were miswired.  And it should blow if something on the secondary side of the transformer shorts.  If you have the right size fuse in it.

 

[Grainger49]

Go with the resistance check first.  The capacitor will not smoke for that.  If there are issues, and there should be, report back.  Then on to voltage checks.