How To Build Low Noise Tube Amp Turret Boards - W.I.S.C - GT5 'Halcyon' Build 2
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- Опубликовано: 25 апр 2021
- Disclaimer: I am sponsored by neither company nor product. I have no affiliation to any website. The products in this video are those that I prefer to use.
Visit www.elamscafeboutique.com for these plans and other tube amp plan packs. Wire your filament pair the correct way. Avoid common mistakes and eliminate hum from your circuit.
NOTE ClassicTone may have discontinued production. Please use the following Hammond transformers as direct replacements.
Power Transformer: 270CX 550V CT 75mA (North America 115V-125V)
Power Transformer: 370CX 550V CT 75mA (Universal 110V-240V)
Output Transformer: 125CSE 8W, use the 5k primary
Update May 2021: GT5 Plans (TB and TMB models) now available@: www.elamscafeboutique.com/shop
Mark II Version now available in comprehensive Full Plans Pack.
Chassis construction video: • Small Tube Amp Build -...
Useful Tools and Equipment
Pliers: Facom 403
Ground hookup cable: 22awg
Filament cable: 20awg
Heat shrink tubing material: Polyolefin
Turret size and source: AmplifiedParts.com - Item ID 040351
Pan Head Machine Bolts M20 source: www.albanycountyfasteners.com...
Turret Board Material: Glass fiber, self made
Resistors used: PRP
Capacitors used: Sozo, F&T, ClarityCap
Film Gear
Camera: Canon 70D
Lens: 1965 Macro Takumar 50mm f4 preset
Audio
Mic: R0DE Wireless Go
Digital Interface: Apogee Duet Mark I
Editing: Final Cut Pro X 
Кино
That was really good - slow, methodical well explained, calm, logical, well filmed, easy to follow. I loved your labelling of the components. Great work, I’ll look forward to more on this, or wherever you go along these line. If you leave it there, what you have already done is enough in itself! Ta .
Whoops, you HAVE done more! Now to have a look at that . . .
Your most welcome, glad you enjoyed it. I have a 6V6 jcm800 build with free plans coming soon, but alas, due to my over the top OCD, it's taken me about 18 months to do this project. But nearly finished. Cheers
Respect for the amount of work put into just EDITTING this video together. Both the physical build of the board and video creation for this is are straight but amp tech porn. So well done.
I am shure you don't need more compliments but you deserve more just for keeping calm and designing those fab lolly-stick pincers, you just need all the help you can get when preparing and soldering . Nice work Man.
Those are clearly the most beautiful electronic builds i ever seen in modern time!
Thank You for still making those wonderful videos!
Thats very kind. Ha ha, im sure there are better jobs out but I do appreciate your kind words! Cheers
This is brilliant. I can only imagine how long the video took to put together. Work of art in my opinion.
Really appreciate it bb!. Indeed, the video took maybe 4 x as long as the build part. Something like 350 clips, however i'm finding the video and editing side almost as enjoyable as the build. Cheers!
@@elams1894 The video looked as great as the amp.
This is a masterclass of in turret-board assembly. I wish I was this patient. I’m still near the “dogs breakfast” level.
Thanks Bill! It may be just a case of my OCD ha ha. Cheers!
The immaculate construction approach is for visual pleasure, mechanical reliability, serviceability. Electrically it guarantees nothing, one small ground return path error and it will buzz as any.
It really is up to the individual builder. If one ensures that significant magnetic fields have the least possible chance of induction, then that is your goal. How you achieve that goal is up to you. I prefer neatness and attention to detail, others not so much, and to each their own.. as with anything in life.
Ive been building/working on tube amps for years and I tried out your heater wire routing(last video) on a few amps. Absolutely decimated the 60 cycle hum in my tweed amps.
Thank you!!
Thats fantastic! Glad to hear Matt, indeed it makes a monster difference when you get it right. I was wiring it wrong for so long until my father set me straight. Cheers!
Can you please explain on the heater wire routing ?
This was very relaxing, but also very informative
Glad it was of interest, cheers
Dude! Your attention to detail is off the scale! So glad I found your channel and website! I'm in the middle of setting up my bench. After that I'm restoring a complete system of Dynaco ST70/PAS-3/FM-3, then recapping the crossover on a vintage set of Dynaco A25's. After that, total restoration of my Luxman PD-72 TT. But my very first project is a combo Isolation transformer/Variac/Current Limiter! I really liked your layout technique, I'll be using that! I've built several guitars and switched out pups. Building an amp to go with the guitars is sweet ! Thanks for your time, much appreciated!
Youre welcome Ek! Thanks for checking in.
I love the thoughtful approach. I still have your amp plans squirreled away. Every couple months I hunt a few parts for it.
Thanks Greg! Hope you are doing good over there. Love you alloy machine vids, very cool. I want one but my wife says otherwise ha ha.
Takumar lens. Yes! Nice and neat. Love it!
With simple tools this video takes us back in time..
I'm planning on getting all the plan packs. Nothing beats a clean Point-to-point! Science meets art! KUDOS!
Thanks Ek! Much appreciated
Such awesome cinematography. Just purchased the entire 5 watt plan pack, even though I already had the Mark 1, but why not? Great to see new stuff coming out.
Thanks so much Dave! Much appreciated!
Holy cow, that is one clean build. Thoroughly impressed over here!
People who claim that tube gear is less reliable than transistor/ic great have probably never seen or used tube gear made on proper turret boards with high reliability lead handling and soldering techniques. Harry Joyce era Hiwatt amps are an example of a consumer product built like this. I've been building on turret boards for 20 years using a layout method developed by Doug Hoffman (el34world).
The Hiwatt 100 custom was my 1st band amp(overkill), it handled everything thrown at it till( me being absent) some-one used a guitar lead as a speaker lead which among other things rang the final bell on that work of art, it went out with a giant blue flash which was remarked upon for years afterwards. I also think our rehearsal space(a dress making factory) was wired for industrial machines but in the cheap, the place burned down a few months later. Have'nt seen an amp as well made since 1981.
@@giulioluzzardi7632 Unloaded output transformer is a common cause of premature death worth tube amps. It's still easy to repair.
I don't think anyone is claiming tube equipment is less reliable than SS because of layout or wiring method. What they're usually referring to is the tubes themselves, which are somewhat fragile and now quite expensive. It's hard to argue against that.
But I'd much rather service a tube amp than a SS amp built on a pcb with tiny SMD components.
You can toast an electrolytic capacitor if you wire it too close to a cathode bias resistor, either on PCB or turret board. I'd say it's probably easier to design a good layout on PCB, because it doesn't cost extra time or money to use longer tracks to separate components.
But I do agree with the above, they can be far harder to modify and service. I've got a hybrid Trace Elliott that needs fixing and I'm not looking forward to cracking that one open.
I am deeply sympathetic with the methods demonstrated here
Thanks Philip! I'm more in favour of field theory rather than a particle based model. Particles interacting in some way to create an electrical system just doesn't seem plausible in my opinion. Good for math, but not for wisdom. Have a great day!
Your precision and skill levels are off the charts! Excellent!
Восхитительное видео. Очень профессионально и с любовью к технике, подан материал. Очень доходчиво, спокойно и красиво показаны все этапы изготовления изделия. Даже плавно идущий дым от жала паяльника, говорит о том насколько высокий уровень мастера, который заботится о температуре жала паяльника, позволяющего выполнять такую качественную пайку. Спасибо огромное за великолепный материал, любовь к творчеству и технике. Успехов Вам в ваших делах, творческой энергии и здоровья.
Thank you immensely! You're very easy to watch and follow along with and the information you are sharing is greatly appreciated !
Very nicely filmed and you obviously put an enormous amount of time and work into this. The only criticism I would make is, I was taught by the old timers 40 years ago, and they never bent leads without supporting the lead at the component. In other words, you hold the lead with pliers where it meets the component, then use another pair of pliers (or your fingers) to bend the lead. That way you don't stress the lead/component connection joint.
And yes I have seen resistors pull apart from their leads.
Cheers, and happy building.
Very wise words indeed. It definitely pays to protect the joint of the component lead. I've had a few break myself. Thanks Joel, much appreciated.
It's like an ASMR, but way better!
Thanks Vin!
omg.......this was so pleasing/relaxing to watch. Glorious artistry
Broo, just found a new ASMR channel, why learning always turns to sleeping what the heck))
Amazing choice of high quality components. The build is beautiful.
The little Vishay Sprague Atom capacitors. Insane film caps wooow. And those Red resistors look like PRP. Just an amazing build.
Thanks Kevin!
Incredibly sanitary build • Hat's off! Thanks
Love the way you work. Great job of precision.
absolutly clean and fine point to point wiring
superb report on the assembly of this amp and the minucie to achieve a perfect job electrically and to the eye ... !! Well done !
Thanks Vincent!! Really appreciate it!
What an absolutely MARVELOUS video and project! So relaxing and interesting!
As always, meticulous and patient...great video !
Glad you enjoyed it Tempbond, much appreciated!
Gosh this is some pretty wiring! Well done!
Nice to hear you again!
Thanks VA! and thanks for stopping by again, much apprecited!
That is some beautiful work right there. Well done
bloody awesome mate - I'll have to go back and watch the series!
Thanks heaps Rob! Hope you are going well and thanks for stopping by again, have a good one!
I love this clean and straight Layout and Building.👍👍👍🌞
Beautifully filmed and done.
Thank you!
this is so satisfying to watch
Fine job, good explanation. 16 minutes of pleasure.
Well done. That's some beautiful wiring.
Great work!!!! Built like a tank.................
Hello dear Elams! It's nice to see your work. Very good and accurate.
man!! I call it work of art! thanks for shearing this
Single-side PCBs are normally used for the main connections (GND and PWR mainly). Lightweight, in particular replaceable, components such as diodes and resistors are inserted into the hole of the junction turrets, which also serve as power spacers.
Great instruction and tips!
There are so many good tips in this video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks Mikey!
Brilliant separation of DC signals from AC wiring.
Thank you!
great videos just love them so fun to watch please keep making them
Thanks Ian! Will do!
Excellent and very enjoyable, thank you!
You are a master! Thank you for sharing.
you are doing the lords work :) Thank you
I just found you on youtube. That is the most wonderful build I have seen. I have subscribed and will be watching more of your videos.
Thanks Monte!
Again the master of beautiful, clean, and patient amp builds creates another masterpiece. I really love your videos man. I build dozens of amps and while people compliment me all the time on my clean builds, they are nothing like your standards. Just amazing work. I really appreciate you sharing these videos. It’s quite an inspiration for really nice and clean builds. Cheers bro
Thats very kind of you to say thanks Mike, glad you enjoyed the vids. The neat and tidy process was drilled into by my father from early on so I guess its in the genes ha ha. Thanks again Mike and have a good one!!
@@elams1894 you’re welcome man. You do amazing videos. Your close ups are amazing. You have the patience of a saint to video this stuff while building this detailed. Someday I might get into making videos of my builds but I just need to find the patience and time for the video part of it as well. Thanks for sharing. I hope more people subscribe to your channel. This is super helpful.
@@DeathCapAmplification Indeed the videography and audio in particular take forever, way longer than the building ha ha. But I'm learning all the time and every vid is a challenge, but the video side is most rewarding, thanks again Mike and best of' for your own builds!!
This is so amazing, wow, beautiful video!
Thank you! Cheers!
This is very well done....top of the line video. Nyms.
Thank you for adding intelligence and craftsmanship into a world that cares about 15 second TikToks.
Thank you! well said!
@@elams1894 I worked in an electronics manufacturing “sweatshop” at the age of 12. Probably shortened my life a few years from the heavy burning of flux. They handed me a soldering iron, bottle of flux, and a wet sponge and said go! I probably soldered close to 300-500K connections.
That was long ago and now I’m in AI and business development. Your level of detail, care, and mindfulness makes me want to pickup a soldering iron again and make something beautiful and meaningful this time around. All your videos are a great contribution to humanity. Cheers!🍻
Thanks 4 sharing. Very useful
Brilliant. Surgical approach
Thank you!
This surely looks beautiful! Great work!
And the video itself is so soothing ...
But I've noticed some dubious practices:
- mechanically stressing solder joints, eg. in a vice (main ground connector) is a bad idea (also it doesn't make much sense in preventing it touching the chassis, it's just an inch earlier than at the screw)
- you take extreme care bending the leads of resistors (which are pretty solid inside), but freely bend ElAl leads (which are quite fragile inside) - makes no sense. Caps are the first ones which need very gentle touch and solid grip by the enclosure when doing the bending, every time. Also, can caps are good exactly for a reason they can be very close to the tube - if you place them there. They enable you to have both sides very close to the tube they provide ground and DC to. Or, really one component far in most cases (plate and cathode resistors).
- using ground bus is generally not a low noise practice; if the wires leading to it are so long as in this circuit it gets even worse. The layout here could and should be much better for a low noise build. More important than the circuit looking tidy is taking in account some common sense layout practices - short and thought through grounding being one of the most important.
Thanks for your reply. Some good points. Resolder any stressed joints indeed. Try not to stress leads of capacitors is a good practice, yes. I dissagree with you regarding your earth theory, particularly with regard to can caps. Introducing multiple earth points on the chassis, as you have suggested using can cap earths, close to the tubes is not recommended. There should only be, at most, two earth points, one for the audio (or even preamp only) and one for the power circuit (sometimes including PI and tonestck).
Earth is earth. It matters not how long the earth cable is, however it matters where the earth is located. Multiple earth points introduce multiple points at which the magnetic field is eliminated, which absolutely causes unwanted noise points all over your chassis. Hence it is far adventageous if the magnetic field is eliminated in one place only, away from the tubes. Having a high frequency, large amplitude magnetic field (as in can caps) eliminated next to a tube is the last place you want it, as the high frequency is amplified through your tube.
I agree that a well thought out earth plan is essential, however certainly not with multiple earths as you have suggested. Using a bus is a good idea as the axial electrolytic capacitors act as an interim star point, and neatly introduce one earth potential away from the tubes. Cheers.
@@elams1894 You got me wrong here. Old practice to connect ground to chassis on filter caps is far from being noiseless friendly. No, you run cathode resistor (with eventual cap) directly to cancap minus pole), and from there run wire to starground point - and there it connects to chassis /earth (I differentiate earth and ground here to be clear about it). So each segment is a star in itself and those segments form another star; it may sound complicated, but tube amps generally have very simple circuitry, so it's easily achievable with some planning. Older cancaps were made in a way that they were mounted via flaps with soldering, negative directly to the chassis - newer ones are mounted in such a way they can be isolated from the chassis (and they should be). My reference in this field is "Valve Wizard"'s article on the topic, www.valvewizard.co.uk/Grounding.pdf
This approach has never failed me. Long ground wires in your design are calling for potential to develop over them.
Cancap in direct vicinity of the end of cathode resistor (resistors in double triode design) can also be pretty close to the input jack and ends of shield sleeves, so you have all the preamp grounded in a breeze with minimal wiring. Axial caps, because of their size, introduce long wire and component runs, so they are not really noiseless friendly. For the illustration, a snip from my unfinished project (components are further apart here for clarity and the wires made longer). mega.nz/file/vwd1zDSS#KGw6Pkmuuo74GfHo4ysNbKehVT_2TAFZkm7j9IZKIV0
The only downside of it all is it can get pretty crowded doing it that way ...
@@jernejkurincic9050 I think, from reading your post, you are most concerned about axial caps in comparison to can caps, with regard to earth wire length. From studying your linked diagram, our layouts are the similar. That is, the cathode resistor earth lead goes to electrolytic star ground. From a schematic (and magnetic field theory) point of view, it does not matter the length of the cathode resistor earth lead, as long as it goes to electrolytic star ground. This is because they are the same point. They are connected. Magnetic field elimination is exactly the same across the whole lead length (they are at the same potential as this star ground point also is connected to earth, let's say at input). There is no time difference as mag field elimination is instantaneous. Potential cannot develop across this lead as it is earth, and earth is earth. Even if your dual triode cathode resistor leads were short, and connected to a can cap star ground, as you have illustrated, you will still need another cable to eventual earth at input, or wherever.
If the resistor lead were somehow looped, then the loop will form a larger magnetic field, and as Merlin Valve Wizard states, avoid loops are not good and must be avoided at all cost.
If you have managed a layout that enables you the shortest earth leads possible in a star ground formation, then that is great as you have achieved the best possible layout. If can caps enable you to achieve this more effectively, then absolutely fantastic as I have no issues with can caps used in this way.
I prefer to use axial caps as it enables me to reach a compromise between neatness and sound earthing.
In conclusion I think we are achieving the same goal, however you perhaps are achieving a more robust grounding plan due to the use of can caps and that's great.
Everything in tube amp building is a compromise and no path is simple that is for certain. Thanks for your input, you obviously give this a great deal of thought.
Thanks for your very informative video. Everything looks very tidy. Looking forward for your next vid. tnx
Thanks KL! Really appreciate it!
THAT is a very neat layout. For my next build I have bought 50 uF 600v SCR MKP caps for the PSU. They are quite large, but possible to fit in.
Wpw that is a work of art!! Im playing to give a kit a go. I'm very overkill and methodical when building things so I only have to do it once. So thank you for the inspiration friendo!!
Thanks for kind words Justin. I'm the same, a bit OCD actually, but it's a fun ride. All the best.
Beautiful work
Cheers!!
Great job looks great, i want to build my own 👍😀
Awesome. Nice job.
Thank you!!
Pure art!
Thank you Antonio!
love sozo caps using in my valve phono preamp build
I agree, They are fantastic caps. I have found that they have superior note separation to others that I have tried. I wouldn't have believed there was that much of a difference until I made my experiments. i was surprised. I'm interested to try the ClarityCaps. This will be the first time I try them.
Amazing bro.. Amazing.. Congratulations. 👌👌
Zen... pure love and expression.
Really appreciate it, thank you!
Well done mate...
Thank you!
Hey bro great stuff keep it up !!!!!! Love ya
Thanks! Will do!
I honestly have started building on circuit boards, they are much less noisy, prevent complexities that turret boards have, and are in general much more durable. many companies offer some insanely good ones, I recommend headfirst, or c3.
Fascinating!
love this channel.
Thanks Rob!
Thanx mang... so glad you found me
Any time!
super video, thanks!
Thanks S.C!
Very good job Wonderfulll
I Am front Brazil. is very good!!
Wonderful
wonderful
wild fancy caps
If I ever need a serial killer to build an amplifier, now I know who to call
good job,s
over kill in deed. but amazing attention to details. good job
Thanks Alex! cheers
I don't play guitar, and have no need for a guitar amp.... but MAN i want to build one of these....
Please do a video demo with the epic one piece LP once finished😍
Thanks G! I would prefer to demo it with the Saturn, but 'Bad News Brown' will have to do ha ha. I have a mate who can play and I'll tee up a demo with him for sure, cheers!
@@elams1894 if it wasn't for the overkill price I'd ship that fucker to you tomorrow...
Bad news brown is a killer name 😂
Grande..
Big fan of your work, fettling par excellence, keep up the good work. BTW where do you source your turrets? ....DA
Really appreciate it DA! I used to get my turrets from Watts Tube Audio but that website is discontinued. The same turrets can now be obtained from AmplifiedParts.com - Item ID 040351. Pack of 10 costs about $4:50. I found the original manufacturer at one stage but couldn't make contact, I must try again.
Love your videos, can’t wait for the next one… I’ve built a few tube amps & I like things tidy, so ordered your full pack & can’t wait to get started, your builds are a whole other level…
Keep up the great work & more videos please👍🏻
Thanks Tattoo! Glad you liked the vid and thanks for kind words, have a good one!
like watching a surgeon performing heart surgery ...thanks for the video
Thank you!!
Brilliant videos! It's hard to determine size from the extreme closeups, but the turrets are obviously bigger than the ones from Tube Depot if you can fit a 2M screw through them. So what are they and where can I buy them?
Thanks Per. The turrets are the slightly bigger ones that are designed to fit 3mm turret board. Check the info in the description as that contains the ID number for the turret on AmplifiedParts.com. The website, for whatever reason, wont allow me to make a link directly to the page, however the ID number will get you there, cheers.
Nice build! You may wish to connsider switching to stranded wires at least for tube sockets and any terminals that move. Solid core wires have been knowm to fatigue and crack when subjected to movement. For this reason I avoid mounting leaded components directly to sockets as well.
I use solid core for filaments and hookup. I use stranded for shielded cable as I find shielded cable for the reasons you have stated. I find there is enough slack in the socket lugs to avoid any issues with component leads. Cheers
Solid core sounds better.
Are you going to make a video delving into the theory of capacitors? By the way, amazing video. 11/10.
Thanks for kind words. Re capacitor theory.. I could go into it, however my theory is not mainstream, so I doubt it would be well received, unfortunately. However I'm contemplating it. Cheers
I build P2P with some terminal strips much like what a 1930's radio chassis looks like and have never used a turret board. I know they look neater and is probably easier if you are building multiples of the same amp, but I don't have noise in my amps. I would imagine putting all of your components parallel instead of spreading them about at different spacings and angles in three dimensions would be likely to increase noise but like I said, I have never tried using a turret board.
What's your go to solder? Love the attention to detail!
Thank you! I use Stannol, Kristall 511, 60/40 1.0mm and sometimes 0.7mm. Cheers
At 1:50, referencing the Facom needle nose pliers, I also like to have a second set of needle nose with the spring that pushes the jaws apart removed; further, I add a rubber band around the handles, behind the pivot point, to keep the jaws *closed*, so that the pliers will hold onto parts or jumpers without you keeping hand pressure on the pliers. Especially handy for placing parts when doing *repairs*; perhaps helpful for new amp builds as well. (BTW, latching hemostats suck for placing parts, unless you cut off the latch mechanism and add the rubber band as mentioned above). Wire CUTTERS, however, should always be spring loaded to push the jaws open, IMHO.....
Thanks for that, some good tips. I'll steal the rubber band trick thank you, that's a good one, cheers!!
It’s great, how can I own such an artwork?
very good. One thing I do NOT like about the way you attach the capacitors is if there is any movement in the pcb. card then you get a lot of stress on the component legs and it also affects the soldering. if you mount them upright in the usual way where both legs are on one side, you will not have this problem.
Always when I mount a cable inside a box, I have a little slack in the cable.
That is why I don't use PCB's, cheers
好看，真想能拥有！
谢谢，真的很感激！