Ceriatone Forum

I'm new to this amp kit building and have little knowledge of electronics, only having built a 5W single ended amp prior to the OT, so theres a lot I don't know and am learning quite quickly.

Now it occurs to me that there must be others in the same situation who would appreciate some help and guidance and in the abscence of a set of instructions, how would it be if kit builders kept notes of their build and we put it altogether into one document for others to access  to give them confidence to give it a go?

This could be extended to include the various mods that some more experienced builders have carried out, though initially it would be easier to keep it simple and not confuse folks.

Anyone any ideas how this might be accomplished, like a private wiki or similar? PDF to download?

How does Nik feel about this? (are you there Nik?)

Cheers

Hywel Harris

i am in exactly the same situation, as i have only ever made the SE-5A amp maker kit and i have just this instant recieved the overtone.
What i would really like to know is what order it would be wise to start the build. Do you start with the boards and controls, or the transformers and the valves or what?

Funnily enough I started with the SE5a from Ampmaker aswell. I love it, its got something none of my other amps have, clarity.

Well, my OT kit arrived last week and I've made a start over the weekend. I started with mounting all the faceplate hardware. Be very careful with the mini DPDT switches they are very fragile, I sheared two of them off when tightening them up and I was being careful with the second one that went. You'll need to wire the two input sockets before mounting them as the contacts need to face the corner of the chassis. I then went on to mount all the valve sockets and tag boards then mounted the trannies only to find I should have fixed the board mounting stands first.

I've left the main boards out for now, because they are so high up, getting at the other stuff will be more difficult with them in place. So I'm starting from the FET board, wiring as much as possible without the main boards in place, moving on to the relay boards then the power supply boards. Then I'll do the heater cables before anything else. It certainly pays to have decent prints of the photos on hand when deciding which to fix next.

I've printed a large version of the layout so that I can mark each wire with a highlighter pen when its completed. I would put a fibre washer between the small circuit boards and their backing insulating plate, if you don't and do the screws up tight it bends the boards.

I'm now on to wiring the pots and the busbar above. Thats a fiddly slow job and its best to solder all the connections to this busbar before its put in place. You'll need some heat shrink tubing here and there isn't any in the kit. You'll need 1.5mm, 2.5mm, and possibly 7-10mm for the ends of the coax cable.

Won't be able to get any more work done to it before next weekend now, so if you get ahead of me in the week I'd appreciate your comments.

I must admit I have got my amp tech lined up to check it all over and power it up for me and fully test it before I plug into it. I would be able to bias it but I don't have a scope to be able to set the PI trimmer (and even if I had one I wouldn't know what to do with it!).

Hope thats of some help, I'm keeping notes as I go along with the intention of writing it all up at the end

Cheers

Hywel Harris

ah thanks! i didn't even think about balancing the PI, eek!

Here is a thread to 9 pages on the construction of my amp. You might have to join that forum to see the pictures. Joining that ampgarage forum is probably a good idea anyway, as there is a lot of good info in the old posts, and there are many people to help with new questions.

http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4294

Fascinating read ic-racer. Well beyond my knowledge level much of the time but still very interesting.  What I had in mind was something a lot more basic, for someone following the Ceriatone build religiously. I reckon if I had read your write up before ordering it might have put me off!!

Cheers

Hywel Harris

I found 4 plastic gromet like things today in my kit. 2 big, 2 small. You can fit the smALLER ones into thed big ones and they all have these little bits that stick out so they can hold them selves in place. you wouldnt happen to know what these are for would you?

thanks.

oh wait, also, are you based in east anglia at all? i could do with an amp tech my self.

thanks again.

Those grommetts are for the holes that the transformer cables thread through.

No I'm in Nottingham I'm afraid.

Cheers

Hywel Harris