Ceriatone Forum

Got my kit and it's build time..... Thanks to the pics posted by Hywelg during his build it has already kept me out of trouble.. If it was not for his posted images I would have missed the Red rubber ring on the EF86 socket. So I plan to post pics as I go of some of the confusing (at least to me anyway)parts of the build... all I got done tonight was the sockets installed.... And don't be like me and forget the little anchors for the tube retainers....

Knowing what I know now I would have mounted the EF socket differently. Soft rubber washers under the mounting lugs only, doing away with the rubber ring which is quite hard and unyielding and just nip them up using nyloc nuts. EF86 is very prone to microphonics and you need to isolate the socket as much as you can from vibrations in the chassis. I've cured the problem by using NOS Mullard vavles, but how long will they be available?

Got the heater wires hooked up... This is always tough for me... They aren't pretty but have continuity throughout the black and red paths and are wrapped enough to quell the noise...time now to tackle the power supply.. my turret's for the boards will be here along with my remaining caps and resistors in a couple of days and I can populate the boards... until then I will get done what I can.. hywelg, did you use Teflon wire on the heaters????

I bought the whole kit from Nik so I used the wire he supplied, no idea what sort it is, sorry

Got most of the PS wired... one spot I am confused on is the on-off switch I followed the layout but the pics on the site seem to show 4 wires wired to the switch where as the layout shows 2 ....

EDITED TO ADD: I am using revision "11 March 2009" shows 2 wires at switch.A previous revision #10 shows  4 wires..I will verify with nik that revision 11 the one I am using is good....

The layout has changed. This was the layout I used. Nik does update layouts, usually making small changes. If you follow the layout you'll be fine or you could use this one.

Got a little more done tonight.  So far nothing has been particularly difficult. I did find the heater wires and the 6 wires coming together at the terminal tough. One thing I need to look at is if I have the red and black heater wires to close to the transformer wiring. I read something one time this could be a source for noise...I will have to stop here until my teflon wire and turrets for the boards arrive. arrives

Thanks hywelg...... I am using revision 11 March 09

Did a couple of more hours tonight. A couple of trying moments but got through them... check the one image out about wire placement.. Any comments?? I don't know if it is critical or not... My 5e7 was a breeze compared to this.. I may do as you hywelg and send this out when complete for the start up?? BTW.... I also build custom guitars and added a pic of my Strat-0-Tele I finished a couple of night s ago......

Whoa! Great guitar- did you get the body & neck from Guitar mill by any chance?  Gotta love that flamey neck!

I make my own bodies and get my necks from Warmoth....

I got a couple of more hours in tonight. I had a couple of issues with the switches on the back panel. I read the layout wrong and wired them backwards. I had to look at the images on nik's site to set me right. After those were fixed I noticed I had one switch upside down... Doohhhh. After that was fixed I went back traced all my wiring from the beginning referencing off the site images. All's good and this is really an enjoyable build..

Did a little more tonight.. a couple of tough spots one being the socket with the little cross wires but we whipped it. I am still waiting on my turret's from Mouser for the boards.Once I get them I can stake and populate the boards and this thing should go pretty quick. I am getting nervous about start up..If Anyone who has done this build would like to share their start up experience it would really be helpful. I also found a good source for 3 conductor shielded wire and they sell by the foot. It looks like the wire nik used in the build pics....

Got back to the build after a few days off. I got my turrets from Mouser and was able to stake the board. Tonight I will start populating and wring it. I also found a source for shielded 2 conductor cable that is sold by the foot and await it's delivery so I can complete the shielded runs... I need now to look at tubes. The only tube I am sure about is the Dario mini watt for the EF86.. I have to say that this is a real fun build......

Great!

A trick is to put a shield fashioned of thin alum between OT and preamp tubes.

No need along length of chassis, but perhaps 6-7" past OT.

Mount the shield using OT screws.

Let me see if I have pics.

Do this if things are oscillat-y (?) and no other explanation is found.

Thanks!

Nik

Got the boards populated and this weekend I will finish wiring.. Need to purchase tubes and fire it up... I have not decided if I will take it to a tech for the initial fire-up... Once complete I will trace all connections and if correct and where they need to be should I hit the switch and fire-up?????? this last part makes me a little nervous I would rather do itmyself then spend money with a tech...

Thanks for the input nik... I will look into the shield you speak of and if you do have pics that would be great....   

Finished wiring and checking all against the layout... I am waiting for my tubes and I am building a current limiter that uses a light bulb to aid in the start-up process. I can't stress enough tracing all the wire and component runs against the layout when complete. I found 2 missing wires and 4 wires soldered to the wrong post or crossed with other wires..

I don't have a lot of amp knowledge and can someone tell me does this design have the resistors that bleed off the power caps when shutting the amp down and where are they located ??? well after I get her started I will let all know how it went....

Well.........how did it go man!? 

Build went together good.... a lot of fun... I am on vacation until 7/3 and my tubes should be waiting when I get home.. I will let you know in a couple of weeks...I can't wait..

hey, did this come with all of the wires you needed?
i noticed from the pictures i'm missing some special wires,
the solid copper wire, the double wire, and the thiner gauged
wires that are used on very short connections.

i checked the parts list check list and saw 60in shielded wire,
which i have, and just 1 wire set?
i'm wondering if they didnt send me all of the wire set or if i am
expected to pick up these wires seperately.

what was your situation for this?

They supply all the wire you need except the buss wire (solid wire connecting jacks) I used 22g solid hook up wire for the buss I just stripped it to the bare wire. The smaller guage wire I supplied which is 22g teflon coated high heat hook up wire.. I did not use the supplied shielded wire. I fabricated the 2 white thick wires that run from jack to pots from 2 conductor shielded cable. But they supply enough except the said buss wire. I just chose to change a little.

thnaks for the help, i'm at the point where i need to wire up the jacks,
i just ripped open some romex house wire and stole the copper cores out of there,
i'll look to measure the gauge but it looks about 20 or 22 so i think it should work out
just fine, thanks.

Just as long as your iron gets hot enough for the romex you should be alright.. if you want to go the route with the 2 conductor shielded wire let me know and I will give you the source..... any questions you can get me at snookfam1@verizon .net

don't know if your in the USA but if so you can go to Radio Shack and buy a spool of buss wire for the jacks......

i went with grabbing some buss wire from radio shack.
all they had was 24G, but it should suffice.
i dont think i'm gonna worry about the 2 conductor shielded wire,
seems a bit extranious to me.
i just dropped my capacator board in yesterday and should have
my amp finished by tonight, i'll put some pics up of the chassis,
then i'm sending it off to my tech who builds his own amps to inspect
and throw in the tubes for me.
look for a thread up soon and tell me if i've missed anything.