The Narrowboat that James built I think brass colour looks good. Depends what colour you going to paint boat. Can you get filters to help reduce spiders coming in via mushroom vents?
@@lisadefries6718 you can buy voile netting (£3-5 per metre) and then just cut it down to fit inside the mushrooms vents and the door vents to cut down on the spiders and bugs getting in. To make the holes finer it’s best to do three layers of voile netting and then glue it in place with a glue gun
Morning James. Only part way through watching but check what is written on the transformer. It should say voltage in, voltage out and the rating in volt/amps. Voltage out will tell you if 12 volts or not. Then it should go into a bridge rectifier and then capacitors and then that will give DC voltage
it'll most likely be the nutshells reverberating in there causing a fuzz on the sound. look at vids of people putting salt on a sound board. probably just a field mouse hibernation stash. from living in an old farm house they come indoors to hibernate and bring a pantry with them. bit of rustling in the autumn whilst they build a nice soft nest - pulpy paperback novels are a favourite for that and then they hibernate over winter and clear off again in the spring. i've not experienced them doing electrical damage and i've had them in the car taking bulkhead foam sound proofing stuff for a nest.
Could try some contact cleaner on the switches and plugs, try earth continuity test on the main board, find earth and then test various parts on the continuity setting of meter and if it beeps or drops to zero, then you found the chips or capacitor at fault and can solder in a new one :) x
It's a fine naval tradition - after all - to have a bit of brass to polish to a fine level of shininess - you could lacquer or wax them, the mushroom covers that is, or get your kids to adopt them, run competitions to polish them every few weeks. That would be mean. I'm not good on the electronics, but it looks like a lot of advice is coming in. The speaker position, below the hatch seems ideal. You can sit on the bank with your lead running back on board and turn it up to 11. The Foxes will love you - not!
The brown wire is not used. This is a setup that mfg can use for various applications. Don’t worry about it. One thing though. There are many electrolytic capacitors on that board. Those are the little blue cans. Over time they can dry out and not work. Just an FYI.
The missing wire connection could be only fitted for another variant, like 110v. The Brown lead I suspect just does to a secondary winding tap. The more likely intermittent fault might be a solder dry joint.
Maybe a local TV or music shop could check that amp out. Theres lots of old capacitors in there and they are notorious for dying after a while. Just visually, the mains cable right where it goes into the unit looks like its been folded, pinched or crimped. That might give the bad connection so that might be something to look at.
It would seem the speaker feed goes through the white Molex plug. Those plugs often go loose. Ther is a pin on one side and a sleeve on the other. In the past I have only had to tighten (squeeze with narrow pliers) the sleeve. Not so much it won't fit over the pin.
Keep them brass. Next time you need to clean them mix lemon juice and dishwasher liquid soap and soak them in that for a while. Thereafter spray them with a clear lacquer and they will stay shiny for long.
The missing wire may just be an extra winding from the transformer that is not used in that model as often there can be multiple windings to produce different voltages for different parts of the device is there a wiring diagram online? . If the amp works but is noisy and sounds bad when the controls are used you could try cleaning all the rotary encoders or switches with something like deoxit. If you are going to wire this up to 240v mains to test it be very careful and make sure even after you unplug you don’t touch any capacitors or parts of the boards as they can discharge and give you a big shock. Looked like a lot of rusty solder joints on the board adjacent to the 9 pin plug maybe check for loose joints and components.
Good job with the mushroom caps James. I have done one of mine but have another four to go. As you clearly enjoyed it so much can I send you mine to clean ;)
Ok watched to the end. You should have tried it before cutting the plug off so use some connectors to put the plug back on. Put it on a stable safe surface and power it up. Check that the power is going to the AC transformer by tracing along the power cable. That should be 230 v then trace from transformer and measure output voltage of the transformer. This will tell what the voltage will be and if it will run on 12v or not. Then go to the bridge rectifier and measure the DC output, this may be more easily measured at the smoothing capacitors ( look like cans). This is the actual DC output of the power circuit. Check also the power is coming out the two glass fuses (think DC fuses) Other comments are if you mount it on side of dinette the knobs will catch your legs so maybe best to recess it. Also keep in mind it will produce heat so will need ventilation or might over heat. All from Richard!
The way to track down what is wrong with the amp is to go at it with a multimeter and work your way through the circuit. You should also be able to download the schematic from Rowland to see how it should be wired together. At some point you are going to find the offending part although in a digital amp like that, it may not be simple to replace whatever is broken without some solid soldering skills. You are correct that is the transformer. The transformer is changing 230v AC to the ambient voltage of the amp. You'll need to replace that with a a different transformer that takes your boat's DC input and maintains the conversion. That may mean getting one made, it all depends how the voltages work out. You can test all of the wires with a multimeter as well although the schematic will also most likely tell you what you need.
Amps and Guitars are susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity the issue is most likely the circuit board or a non visual issue with the speaker. A narrowboat is not the ideal place for stringed instruments, they should be stored in a case and kept in an area were atmospheric changes are favourable. When conditions are not ideal you will be constantly finding your guitar is out of tune, neck adjustment is required at the very best.
James - 1st things first- does it work? - and only then start to see if the amp will fit into anything - the problem could be hundreds of things - only a specialist will be able to diagnose the problem/s
Hi James, hope your well ?? Check the 12v lead you cut off. Looks a bit squishes about an inch from the unit. Could be a crushed wire maybe ?? Also, Love the videos mate, me & the mrs watch them EVERY NIGHT, a she now asks me around 10pm “have a look and see if James has put one on” Brilliant dude, keep it up !!!
If you get it working, I suggest you setback the amp's control panel so not to scrape the back of yours or a guest legs? ;-) Maybe a lite that will turn on when you power up the amp?
please dont paint the mushroom vents they look much nicer polished and eventually the paint will fade and get dirty etc so its much easier just to polish then
James there were a number of Cube 40 models through the years. What is the model number on that panel on the bottom left of the back of the cabinet? By the way the guitar inputs are the two jacks next to the control knobs.
Hi James, you smutty boy. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be... ;o) If there is no info written on the transformer or inside the case, the only way to find out the output voltages is to plug it in, and check between all the wires with a multi-meter. With that many outputs, there is a good chance some might be centre tapped ground, to give plus and minus voltages. I think it's unlikely you'll get it running on 12VDC.
Cool idea :-) ...if you cant get it working though, you could instead install a small and cheap hifi amplifyer with bluetooth: that way you also can have music from your phone!
When you make that AMP work, you might be the first on the cut to get fish with sound! Lots of dancing fish around your home. I'm looking forward to that vlog!
I do not think you would really want the switches were legs can accidently hit them. maybe the wall under the window would be better for that. I would imagine your Input jacks could go were ever you want them though .And yes that is a transformer. Normally there are schematic's glued in the case in there as well
That brown cable from the transformer to the missing pinout maybe for a different model of electronics that demands that brown cable that your device does not need or for a accessory your amp does not provide. Get a spray can of contact cleaner and spray those potentiometers (dial switches).
I would test the fuses with a multimeter to make sure they are not blown. Also, one of the first components to go are the capacitors, either they will bulge or dry out.
Please please before you cut anything and if the amp works test it under the dinette as it could create a hell of a bass boost which will resin ate all over .
Polishing brass is a complete waste of time, when there are more beneficial jobs to be completed. The shiny look will rapidly fade, particularly outdoors. Either have them clear epoxy powder coated or paint. You enjoy polishing brass? Then crack on!
The built in amp would be cool, especially since it has a spring reverb, love those. If you can't get it going, there are tiny cheap amps that run on a 9v battery that would probably be plenty loud. Or, since you're a Metallica fan, maybe you should upgrade to a Marshall half stack. Shred on metal riffs while cruising the peaceful countryside, I'm sure that would be well received by the locals; )
You really make me nervous looking at that amp. your description of "live and negative" and mis-identifying the earth wire - really worrying. It will be live, neutral and earth, respectively red, black and green (if i have guessed the age right, otherwise brown, blue and green/yellow if newer) I appreciate you are doing your boat on a budget, and are trying to be creative, indeed with success so far. The amp may be free, but you should be able to do better - even something second hand from Cash Converters (other second hand outlets available!). Something that is designed to work in a car will be happy on 12v, and quite possibly would be smaller - and what is more -SAFE! If you are wanting to get it working, the easiest way would be to run it off an inverter, as it will have more than one low voltage supply anyway, not just one, such as a convenient 12v. The reason for the "spare" wire on the transformer plug MAY be that the same power supply transformer was meant to go into more than one model, using different supply voltages. I did not see heat sinks, but this possibly means the whole of that Black metal part IS heat sink, so needs to have free circulation of air round it. I know nothing about that particular amp so I guess we are equal, except that I do not share your optimism, and am naturally risk-averse. If you do manage to get it going, please ensure the electronics are enclosed in a childrens-fingers-and-stray-objects-proof enclosure, as there is live mains in that chassis.
Oh when the video started I am so happy it was the mushroom vents you were rubbing. 🙂
Please spray them Mushroom Vents with a clear coat. So they will stay shiny bright.
Good idea. Stop them rusting again.
You think like l do ?
Seems to be a popular idea so I will do just that.....unless I paint them 🤣
The Narrowboat that James built I think brass colour looks good. Depends what colour you going to paint boat. Can you get filters to help reduce spiders coming in via mushroom vents?
@@lisadefries6718 you can buy voile netting (£3-5 per metre) and then just cut it down to fit inside the mushrooms vents and the door vents to cut down on the spiders and bugs getting in. To make the holes finer it’s best to do three layers of voile netting and then glue it in place with a glue gun
Morning James. Only part way through watching but check what is written on the transformer. It should say voltage in, voltage out and the rating in volt/amps. Voltage out will tell you if 12 volts or not.
Then it should go into a bridge rectifier and then capacitors and then that will give DC voltage
Yes James, as hmarc417 says, multiple coats of clear coat and as your out on the cut just tend to them as needed and they will look brilliant. Cheers!
it'll most likely be the nutshells reverberating in there causing a fuzz on the sound. look at vids of people putting salt on a sound board. probably just a field mouse hibernation stash. from living in an old farm house they come indoors to hibernate and bring a pantry with them. bit of rustling in the autumn whilst they build a nice soft nest - pulpy paperback novels are a favourite for that and then they hibernate over winter and clear off again in the spring. i've not experienced them doing electrical damage and i've had them in the car taking bulkhead foam sound proofing stuff for a nest.
Could try some contact cleaner on the switches and plugs, try earth continuity test on the main board, find earth and then test various parts on the continuity setting of meter and if it beeps or drops to zero, then you found the chips or capacitor at fault and can solder in a new one :) x
It's a fine naval tradition - after all - to have a bit of brass to polish to a fine level of shininess - you could lacquer or wax them, the mushroom covers that is, or get your kids to adopt them, run competitions to polish them every few weeks. That would be mean.
I'm not good on the electronics, but it looks like a lot of advice is coming in. The speaker position, below the hatch seems ideal. You can sit on the bank with your lead running back on board and turn it up to 11. The Foxes will love you - not!
The Narrowboat that James built is now a party boat lol 😆 Boom boom 🎸
Amps get hot, hot enough to light timber up if timber is touching their heat sink.
Good luck, stay safe
😮😮😮😮😮😮 maybe an electrical engineer needs to check to make sure all this innovation and repurposing is safe
The brown wire is not used. This is a setup that mfg can use for various applications. Don’t worry about it.
One thing though. There are many electrolytic capacitors on that board. Those are the little blue cans. Over time they can dry out and not work. Just an FYI.
So, James building a narrowboat has turned into my mate Vince fixing things.
🤣
Woke up to an unexpected James video, beginning cracked me up LOL, happy Saturday mate, love the progress !!
I don’t think anyone spotted the intro gag mate !!
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt I spotted it too, you _dirty_ boy! ;o)
I woke up to James polishing his brass! Yeah, I think we all caught it! 😂😂😂😂😂
I screwed it up, my original thought was Is James polishing his knob? YES!
The missing wire connection could be only fitted for another variant, like 110v. The Brown lead I suspect just does to a secondary winding tap. The more likely intermittent fault might be a solder dry joint.
Maybe a local TV or music shop could check that amp out. Theres lots of old capacitors in there and they are notorious for dying after a while. Just visually, the mains cable right where it goes into the unit looks like its been folded, pinched or crimped. That might give the bad connection so that might be something to look at.
It would seem the speaker feed goes through the white Molex plug. Those plugs often go loose. Ther is a pin on one side and a sleeve on the other. In the past I have only had to tighten (squeeze with narrow pliers) the sleeve. Not so much it won't fit over the pin.
It might be dust in the knobs, clean all the input and blow air into the knobs while turning them
You could get an amp that works, put wheels on the bottom and a cushion on the top and you have an extra seat or foot stall
Keep them brass. Next time you need to clean them mix lemon juice and dishwasher liquid soap and soak them in that for a while. Thereafter spray them with a clear lacquer and they will stay shiny for long.
The missing wire may just be an extra winding from the transformer that is not used in that model as often there can be multiple windings to produce different voltages for different parts of the device is there a wiring diagram online? . If the amp works but is noisy and sounds bad when the controls are used you could try cleaning all the rotary encoders or switches with something like deoxit. If you are going to wire this up to 240v mains to test it be very careful and make sure even after you unplug you don’t touch any capacitors or parts of the boards as they can discharge and give you a big shock. Looked like a lot of rusty solder joints on the board adjacent to the 9 pin plug maybe check for loose joints and components.
Good job with the mushroom caps James. I have done one of mine but have another four to go. As you clearly enjoyed it so much can I send you mine to clean ;)
Super fine sandpaper and an electric sander, Just saying.
You using one of Carol’s T Towels James?
Ok watched to the end. You should have tried it before cutting the plug off so use some connectors to put the plug back on. Put it on a stable safe surface and power it up. Check that the power is going to the AC transformer by tracing along the power cable. That should be 230 v then trace from transformer and measure output voltage of the transformer. This will tell what the voltage will be and if it will run on 12v or not.
Then go to the bridge rectifier and measure the DC output, this may be more easily measured at the smoothing capacitors ( look like cans). This is the actual DC output of the power circuit. Check also the power is coming out the two glass fuses (think DC fuses)
Other comments are if you mount it on side of dinette the knobs will catch your legs so maybe best to recess it.
Also keep in mind it will produce heat so will need ventilation or might over heat.
All from Richard!
Your family are going to love it once you've finished!
I'll wager, it ain't going to happen! ; o)
I must have missed the vlog, on getting the water running.shower finished etc, priorities long since forgotten. Any way crack on.
Had been thinking that myself as that seems to of been missed out upon the vlogs 🤔
He is waiting for parts, and not working remotely as much - be patient!
😂🤣😂🤣😂 I was thinking similar but didn’t wish to spoil his evident fun at repurposing amp
good vid keep up the good vid on your boat thank four the good vids you do
The way to track down what is wrong with the amp is to go at it with a multimeter and work your way through the circuit. You should also be able to download the schematic from Rowland to see how it should be wired together. At some point you are going to find the offending part although in a digital amp like that, it may not be simple to replace whatever is broken without some solid soldering skills. You are correct that is the transformer. The transformer is changing 230v AC to the ambient voltage of the amp. You'll need to replace that with a a different transformer that takes your boat's DC input and maintains the conversion. That may mean getting one made, it all depends how the voltages work out. You can test all of the wires with a multimeter as well although the schematic will also most likely tell you what you need.
hi James, it could be the fuse in the old plug, your doing a great job on the boat
I think you should keep them brass and take a clue from your smokestack. Maybe in the future a small black detail on your dark blue.
Amps and Guitars are susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity the issue is most likely the circuit board or a non visual issue with the speaker. A narrowboat is not the ideal place for stringed instruments, they should be stored in a case and kept in an area were atmospheric changes are favourable. When conditions are not ideal you will be constantly finding your guitar is out of tune, neck adjustment is required at the very best.
James - 1st things first- does it work? - and only then start to see if the amp will fit into anything - the problem could be hundreds of things - only a specialist will be able to diagnose the problem/s
6000K is the bright white. The warm white is 2800K or 3000K. Just FYI.
Once you have the mushroom vents nice and shiny, spray them with clear polyurethane lacquer.
Hi James, hope your well ??
Check the 12v lead you cut off. Looks a bit squishes about an inch from the unit. Could be a crushed wire maybe ?? Also, Love the videos mate, me & the mrs watch them EVERY NIGHT, a she now asks me around 10pm “have a look and see if James has put one on”
Brilliant dude, keep it up !!!
Me too 🐨
Looks like the soldering is in bad condition, thats where I would start by putting new solder on and its easy to do
Hi James, been following your journey and your doing an awesome job.
the brown wire is probably just a different voltage from the transfomer not in use.
Check all your Capicators, make sure they haven't Dommed, they should all be flat.
The strip lights can also be held up with blobs from a hot glue gun - I used them for my aquarium - are they the waterproof strips?
Ha ha love the opening few seconds 🧐🤔
Cheeky boy James~
If you get it working, I suggest you setback the amp's control panel so not to scrape the back of yours or a guest legs? ;-)
Maybe a lite that will turn on when you power up the amp?
Use "Clear Coat" or you will have a green patina on your brass as they weather. You can get a power converter for 250Volts for your Amp.
please dont paint the mushroom vents they look much nicer polished and eventually the paint will fade and get dirty etc so its much easier just to polish then
James there were a number of Cube 40 models through the years. What is the model number on that panel on the bottom left of the back of the cabinet? By the way the guitar inputs are the two jacks next to the control knobs.
Hi James, you smutty boy. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be... ;o)
If there is no info written on the transformer or inside the case, the only way to find out the output voltages is to plug it in, and check between all the wires with a multi-meter. With that many outputs, there is a good chance some might be centre tapped ground, to give plus and minus voltages. I think it's unlikely you'll get it running on 12VDC.
Cool idea :-) ...if you cant get it working though, you could instead install a small and cheap hifi amplifyer with bluetooth: that way you also can have music from your phone!
Brasso way togo James...
When you make that AMP work, you might be the first on the cut to get fish with sound! Lots of dancing fish around your home. I'm looking forward to that vlog!
You might have a dry solder joint.
I do not think you would really want the switches were legs can accidently hit them. maybe the wall under the window would be better for that. I would imagine your Input jacks could go were ever you want them though .And yes that is a transformer. Normally there are schematic's glued in the case in there as well
Looks like damp has got in at some point. Soldering has corrosion, most like reason it's not working.
James! Don't be so rude...
Oh it's mushrooms.
The very beginning looked a bit suss lol
"mostly 'orrible". . (Are you using the water hose yet James?)
That brown cable from the transformer to the missing pinout maybe for a different model of electronics that demands that brown cable that your device does not need or for a accessory your amp does not provide.
Get a spray can of contact cleaner and spray those potentiometers (dial switches).
I would test the fuses with a multimeter to make sure they are not blown. Also, one of the first components to go are the capacitors, either they will bulge or dry out.
Don't paint them they look very nice as is also brass is an oily metal and paint will flake over time if you don't use an expensive etch primer
OK.. I'm going to call it if no one else is. Your first few secs intentionally edited to create a particularly amusing opening. You rascal.
😂😂😂😂
Step down transformer. Stepping the voltage down from the mains power to whatever the electronics need to operate
It could be the circuit board James,the soldering gets old and crusty and fails when they are old.
Toothpaste is a very mild abrasive. !
Please please before you cut anything and if the amp works test it under the dinette as it could create a hell of a bass boost which will resin ate all over .
Polishing brass is a complete waste of time, when there are more beneficial jobs to be completed.
The shiny look will rapidly fade, particularly outdoors.
Either have them clear epoxy powder coated or paint.
You enjoy polishing brass? Then crack on!
Watched more. The brown wire is for a different voltage tapping on the transformer
Should have tested the Amp before you took it apart.
Morning James,, been away for a few weeks, how's progress on the aft deck.
The built in amp would be cool, especially since it has a spring reverb, love those. If you can't get it going, there are tiny cheap amps that run on a 9v battery that would probably be plenty loud. Or, since you're a Metallica fan, maybe you should upgrade to a Marshall half stack. Shred on metal riffs while cruising the peaceful countryside, I'm sure that would be well received by the locals; )
Don't paint them, would look lovely natural!
You really make me nervous looking at that amp. your description of "live and negative" and mis-identifying the earth wire - really worrying. It will be live, neutral and earth, respectively red, black and green (if i have guessed the age right, otherwise brown, blue and green/yellow if newer)
I appreciate you are doing your boat on a budget, and are trying to be creative, indeed with success so far. The amp may be free, but you should be able to do better - even something second hand from Cash Converters (other second hand outlets available!). Something that is designed to work in a car will be happy on 12v, and quite possibly would be smaller - and what is more -SAFE!
If you are wanting to get it working, the easiest way would be to run it off an inverter, as it will have more than one low voltage supply anyway, not just one, such as a convenient 12v.
The reason for the "spare" wire on the transformer plug MAY be that the same power supply transformer was meant to go into more than one model, using different supply voltages.
I did not see heat sinks, but this possibly means the whole of that Black metal part IS heat sink, so needs to have free circulation of air round it. I know nothing about that particular amp so I guess we are equal, except that I do not share your optimism, and am naturally risk-averse.
If you do manage to get it going, please ensure the electronics are enclosed in a childrens-fingers-and-stray-objects-proof enclosure, as there is live mains in that chassis.
Hi Young James. Ive sent you a text message.