I have a Bad Cat Cougar 5 on my bench. It has the same dry solder joints all over it. I had to resolder the entire thing. Now it works well again. Cheap solder.
Just a quick note to all of Terry's Subscribers...I've been watching his videos for a little over a year, and I do enjoy every one of them. I've been an electronics tech my entire life and still do repairs...I fully endorse, and recommend his services if you're in his area. Frank Ferraro--Audio Craft Electronics.
another nice fix Terry. I always look forward to your videos and it's great you are willing to pass on your knowledge and expertise to all of us. you deserve that glass of red !
hi,mr.d-lab id like to know if you know the spitfire matchless 15 watts .i made this amp but im not sure for the value of the cathode resistor and the value of the output transformer the shematic that i found has 120 ohm 5watt cathode resistor and 4k for the output transformer.thanks to you
Hey man! Thanks for all the great videos!! Sprague Orange drops is your recommendation? How about for the power supply? I've worked mostly on transistor guitar amps and hifi amps and use Elna Silmic II hifi caps. But not sure if they make em in the tube voltage region.... Thanks again, man 🤘👍
Great video as always. I have learned so much from you and I appreciate it. It would be helpful to see the wine come out a little earlier though, since I dont get mine until you get yours!!! Thanx Wayne
Nice Terry. As soon as I saw the part where your hand changed the hum, I know it has to be a problem with the 12ax7 plate - I had a similar problem. Nice job tracking this one down. Excellent video as always - Ron
Interesting video. Thanks. Disappointed that a Bad Cat amp could be so poorly put together. I get that it's their budget end but still... 'Budget' is all relative. They're still expensive enough to expect them to be put together properly. Cool that you were able to diagnose the fault.
This is not a real Bad Cat. This is a made in china junk and has nothing to do with the made in USA Bad Cats. Do your research first before you post B.S.
I believe the Cougar Series that were outsourced to China (The amps were built by Hanser in their Chinese factory ) in this way and apparently bear very little resemblance to a proper USA BadCat. That deal ended in 2014. "The Cougar series has nothing to do with Bad Cat USA. Please contact the manufacturer of the amp Hanzer. Thank you, Brian Kushner Bad Cat Holdings LLC"
Great video Terry! I love these kind of videos you do. Did the new tube have something that caused the plate resister to fail? How are the new Mullards?They cost more than JJs and Sovtecs. Are they as good? Are they as good as the old ones? Thankz
Hey Terry, you're not holding that wine glass correctly. You need to grab it by the stem and extend the pinky!! LOL... You must use the Illinois method. and FYI- I use the Kentucky method, I put my wine in mason or ball jars... :-)
On target as usual! :) This has happened to me a few times in the past where I didn't pay attention to the customer, and thought, "I'll know when I open the amp." However, I discovered that there was more than meets the eye and ear :) Open plate resistors in the preamp has been a common failure especially in the Fender amps. It proves also that just because the tube is a Mullard, doesn't mean it's going to be trouble free. Back in the day, I had many new RCA & Amperex tubes that were duds. Can't win 'em all :) One other thing I found interesting was, the microphonic capacitor. That issue is usually prevalent to Ceramic disc caps. This indeed was an interesting repair. Not too fond of the build quality of the Bad Cat, but it is indeed a loud amplifier! Keep 'em coming...Frank Ferraro--Audio Craft Electronics.
Frank Ferraro I first thought it was a grounding issue. Would it help to use a bigger rated resister, like a 1 watt instead of a1/2 watt? I totally agree about Terry's abilities! I just wish I lived closer. Thankz
It would be better to stay with the 1/2 watt...it acts as a fuse and can prevent extensive damage to other components if the tube develops a short. I recently had 2 Fender Twin Reverb's that had open plate resistors on V2. both tubes were shorted and had the same burnt spot on the side of the plates...and they were old RCA's.
I have this same amp and when you power it up there doesn't seem to be much volume on the clean channel the lead channel is super loud and feeds back you can only raise the gain about 1/3 d and it feeds back. Also every now and then it makes a sound for like 5 seconds it sounds like the cats fighting in you video and it goes away. Any ideas ?
Very interesting. I've got one on the bench that has similar issues. Gain channel is OK after I found the bad tube but I'm not impressed with the clean. This gives me something to look at.
I have had one of these amps for about seven years. The transformers seem small to me. Smaller than my 20w amps. The choke is huge. There is way too much gain for any kind of music after noon on the gain knob. I'm thinking this is a good mod platform.
As usual you demonstrated outstanding troubleshooting skills meshed with a great sense of humor. This should cat-a-pult you to RUclips fame and fortune :) Is there a difference between the wine that is selected for an older tube amp repair vs the new gee whiz circuit boa4rd amp repair? Cabernet or Merlot :)
Thanks man, Love the Cat-a-pult! I normally will drink any Robert Mondavi red, Cab or Merlot. Dont like wines with screw lids. If I have to drink them, I put them in a sack, hang out under a bridge!
Yeah... I haven't touched a screw top wine since I was a teenager and had to get someone to buy us a bottle of Boones Farm Strawberry Hill so we could feel like crap the next morning lol But... come to think of it, maybe I should hang out under a bridge... might be a great place to meet hot chicks :D
D Labs, you are such a great teacher. Been working on amps for years...always learn a lot from you. Thanks for sharing! Love your shelves & equipment, your shop is awesome.....if you ever need an apprentice, I am up for it. & I play guitar! Ever try moonshine? True brain juice, bwahahaha.....thanks again!
I'm scared by equipment that won't use metallized vias on PCB - what's the difference in price per board - ten cents, fifty? If someone makes things in a way to get even such marginal cut on few hundred bucks worth device then I don't even want to imagine what other cost-saving measures not visible in plain sight were employed by manufacturer.
Wow! Bad Cat or mad cat intro? MiC? Like the chicken heads. 50watts? i hate these circuit board amps..sometimes its the plated thru connection, some times its not. Not the reliability that 'you need on stage. Chinese tubes..ptewww!!
I have a Bad Cat Cougar 5 on my bench. It has the same dry solder joints all over it. I had to resolder the entire thing. Now it works well again. Cheap solder.
Ah, that was good. Enjoyed the session Terry!
Just a quick note to all of Terry's Subscribers...I've been watching his videos for a little over a year, and I do enjoy every one of them. I've been an electronics tech my entire life and still do repairs...I fully endorse, and recommend his services if you're in his area. Frank Ferraro--Audio Craft Electronics.
Very well done. It’s a relief knowing it could be fairly simple to diagnose and correct .
another nice fix Terry. I always look forward to your videos and it's great you are willing to pass on your knowledge and expertise to all of us. you deserve that glass of red !
Thanks for your faith in me my friend
I'm pleasantly surprised and happy to have found your channel.
Thank You Terry , The amp sounds great with the new tubes in it and now I can hear my lead channel. You're right this thing really has some gain.
Cool deal man, It was a great repair
hi,mr.d-lab id like to know if you know the spitfire matchless 15 watts .i made this amp but im not sure for the value of the cathode resistor and the value of the output transformer the shematic that i found has 120 ohm 5watt cathode resistor and 4k for the output transformer.thanks to you
great intro and outro Terry, and as usual excellent troubleshooting logic!
Hey man! Thanks for all the great videos!!
Sprague Orange drops is your recommendation? How about for the power supply?
I've worked mostly on transistor guitar amps and hifi amps and use Elna Silmic II hifi caps. But not sure if they make em in the tube voltage region....
Thanks again, man 🤘👍
Terry, what brand are those shop grey steel shelving ?
Great video as always. I have learned so much from you and I appreciate it.
It would be helpful to see the wine come out a little earlier though, since I dont get mine until you get yours!!!
Thanx
Wayne
Nice Terry. As soon as I saw the part where your hand changed the hum, I know it has to be a problem with the 12ax7 plate - I had a similar problem. Nice job tracking this one down. Excellent video as always - Ron
Interesting video. Thanks. Disappointed that a Bad Cat amp could be so poorly put together. I get that it's their budget end but still... 'Budget' is all relative. They're still expensive enough to expect them to be put together properly. Cool that you were able to diagnose the fault.
This is not a real Bad Cat. This is a made in china junk and has nothing to do with the made in USA Bad Cats. Do your research first before you post B.S.
What part of "I get that this is their budget end" didn't you understand? Read AND comprehend before YOU post BS.
Agree this may be budget....but company name ...still attached to it.
I believe the Cougar Series that were outsourced to China (The amps were built by Hanser in their Chinese factory ) in this way and apparently bear very little resemblance to a proper USA BadCat. That deal ended in 2014. "The Cougar series has nothing to do with Bad Cat USA. Please contact the manufacturer of the amp Hanzer.
Thank you,
Brian Kushner
Bad Cat Holdings LLC"
Great video Terry! I love these kind of videos you do. Did the new tube have something that caused the plate resister to fail? How are the new Mullards?They cost more than JJs and Sovtecs. Are they as good? Are they as good as the old ones? Thankz
I believe the tube was installed incorrectly initially, causing the resistor to pop. I like the Mullards and Sovtek 12ax7lps
Any luck on getting Bad Cat schematics?
Hey Terry, you're not holding that wine glass correctly. You need to grab it by the stem and extend the pinky!! LOL... You must use the Illinois method. and FYI- I use the Kentucky method, I put my wine in mason or ball jars... :-)
On target as usual! :) This has happened to me a few times in the past where I didn't pay attention to the customer, and thought, "I'll know when I open the amp." However, I discovered that there was more than meets the eye and ear :) Open plate resistors in the preamp has been a common failure especially in the Fender amps. It proves also that just because the tube is a Mullard, doesn't mean it's going to be trouble free. Back in the day, I had many new RCA & Amperex tubes that were duds. Can't win 'em all :) One other thing I found interesting was, the microphonic capacitor. That issue is usually prevalent to Ceramic disc caps. This indeed was an interesting repair. Not too fond of the build quality of the Bad Cat, but it is indeed a loud amplifier! Keep 'em coming...Frank Ferraro--Audio Craft Electronics.
Frank Ferraro I first thought it was a grounding issue. Would it help to use a bigger rated resister, like a 1 watt instead of a1/2 watt? I totally agree about Terry's abilities! I just wish I lived closer. Thankz
It would be better to stay with the 1/2 watt...it acts as a fuse and can prevent extensive damage to other components if the tube develops a short. I recently had 2 Fender Twin Reverb's that had open plate resistors on V2. both tubes were shorted and had the same burnt spot on the side of the plates...and they were old RCA's.
I think the problem was just a resistor. But better cap always is better for sound. Especially in the signal circuit.
I have this same amp and when you power it up there doesn't seem to be much volume on the clean channel the lead channel is super loud and feeds back you can only raise the gain about 1/3 d and it feeds back. Also every now and then it makes a sound for like 5 seconds it sounds like the cats fighting in you video and it goes away.
Any ideas ?
Awesome video man. I'm also a ham (KA9WLU) and wanting to get into electronics. The only thing I lack is troubleshooting.
Very interesting. I've got one on the bench that has similar issues. Gain channel is OK after I found the bad tube but I'm not impressed with the clean. This gives me something to look at.
What are you drinking? I'm a merchandiser in the wine biz 😃
I have had one of these amps for about seven years. The transformers seem small to me. Smaller than my 20w amps. The choke is huge. There is way too much gain for any kind of music after noon on the gain knob.
I'm thinking this is a good mod platform.
As usual you demonstrated outstanding troubleshooting skills meshed with a great sense of humor. This should cat-a-pult you to RUclips fame and fortune :)
Is there a difference between the wine that is selected for an older tube amp repair vs the new gee whiz circuit boa4rd amp repair? Cabernet or Merlot :)
Thanks man, Love the Cat-a-pult! I normally will drink any Robert Mondavi red, Cab or Merlot. Dont like wines with screw lids. If I have to drink them, I put them in a sack, hang out under a bridge!
Yeah... I haven't touched a screw top wine since I was a teenager and had to get someone to buy us a bottle of Boones Farm Strawberry Hill so we could feel like crap the next morning lol But... come to think of it, maybe I should hang out under a bridge... might be a great place to meet hot chicks :D
Geez could you have made those cats louder??? Scared the heck out of me. 🍷👍🏻
sometimes guys do the rolling tube thing,subbing 12ax7 for at7 or au7,that can also stress components due to higher current draw.
Im about to buy one of these exact amps
D Labs, you are such a great teacher. Been working on amps for years...always learn a lot from you. Thanks for sharing! Love your shelves & equipment, your shop is awesome.....if you ever need an apprentice, I am up for it. & I play guitar! Ever try moonshine? True brain juice, bwahahaha.....thanks again!
I thought it was just going to be a hairball😁😂🤣
That doesn’t look like a boutique amp to me?
You should change the neon reactor :D it has hum and it's audible :D
TORMY VAN COOL - For that, you'd better contact Homer Simpson, one of the many minions in Sector 7-G of Burns' Nuclear Power Plant.
@@daveogarf :-D :-D :-D
Young Tel TheMan!
I'm scared by equipment that won't use metallized vias on PCB - what's the difference in price per board - ten cents, fifty? If someone makes things in a way to get even such marginal cut on few hundred bucks worth device then I don't even want to imagine what other cost-saving measures not visible in plain sight were employed by manufacturer.
Your the best 👌
I gotta say those cats fighting really turns me off. Please. Isn't there enough fighting in the world? Those poor cats.
Wow! Bad Cat or mad cat intro? MiC? Like the chicken heads. 50watts? i hate these circuit board amps..sometimes its the plated thru connection, some times its not. Not the reliability that 'you need on stage. Chinese tubes..ptewww!!
I thought they were " circus boards". ??
You are confusing an old man. 🙄
stupped cats hahahahaaa.... lol
Brain juice! 🍷
Sorry T man, but I liked the mean cat part the best, LOL. Don
My cat was sitting on my desk. Scared her much. God knows where she is now.
brain juice lol
I saw the same problem on the Jet City JCA100 and JCA50, the components and the jumpers was soldered only on one side... That's a major issue!