Voltage acceptable range…

[Herbertk]

Hi Yall,

On page 38 for the raw B+ voltage test it says not to continue if you get more than 320 mine is steadily climbing to 332.7 v

I also seemed like it took longer than 5 mins to go back down to 0 v

Should I stop and check everything LOOKS ok but, or is this an acceptable variance ?

I suspect it is OK as my mains voltage was also a little higher at 122.1, I am new to the US so was surprised that it was not 110…

Thanks!
Herbert

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Can you post a quick picture of your build so far, just to double check?

 

[Doc B]

Nominal mains voltage in the US hasn't really been 110VAC since World War II. It drifted up to 117VAC after the war and to 120VAC+/- 6% around 1967. Nowadays it's pretty common to see it go as high as 124VAC in metropolitan areas around peak use times.

 

[Herbertk]

Very interesting, coming from without the US I just accepted it was 110v everywhere...

 

[Herbertk]

Adding some pics... don't judge too harshly haha my first project of this magnitude

 

[Thermioniclife]

Whoa, most of your connections are sketchy, you must pass the wire through the terminal and bend it to make a physical connection before soldering. Just poking the wire through and soldering is asking for trouble. Also you need to trim the excess wire flush. you have many long tails extending past the terminal, these can short to the chassis or adjacent terminals. And lastly it appears that the safety ground is not soldered at the power entry module. That connection is very important, it must be a good connection as this is the connection that will keep you from getting shocked if there is a short to the chassis it will blow the fuse instead of zapping you.

 

[Herbertk]

Thanks Lee, I will take a look and clean up before moving on... must have missed the step for the ground

I guess the question is do I de-solder some of these to try get the physical connection ? I was afraid I would break the terminal.

 

[Thermioniclife]

I think that desoldering may not be necessary. look at the red wire on the power entry module, you can heat that terminal and push the wire so the insulation is close to the terminal and wrap the wire around the terminal and reheat and add a small ammount of solder then clip any excess wire off and make sure you get that trimmed piece out of the amp so it can not short anything out..
If you have a terminal with a large blob of solder you should desolder first. So i recommend going over every connection and wrap and resolder and trim. Everybody starts out somewhere, if you develop good technique early on than you will ahead when you buy your next kit, and you will buy more kits, if you feel you have an addiction blame Doc B and seek professional help.
Best wishes, Lee

 

[Deluk]

A sprung loaded solder sucker is useful to have. A rounded blob of solder means there is too much. The solder should show a meniscus. The amount of solder needed is "just enough" to flow out around the wire and terminal. A long solder tip with a small spade end will get you into the tight spots. Heat well before adding solder and take your time. No dabbing!