Ceriatone Forum

And it arrived amazingly fast - shipped on Monday, arrived on Thursday.

Here are some excited unboxing photos - I'll add build pictures as I go along (if I remember!)

Edit: as of December 2011 the account where I hosted the pics is closed - if there's much demand I'll repost them here as attachments.

Edit: Here I am in February of 2013 replacing the pictures. Go figure.

Got to spend some time this evening doing some of the basic assembly, plus just sorting through the parts trying to get a feel for what's going to be involved.

I've been building modular synthesizer modules for many years, so so far this is fairly similar to certain parts of that process.

Only problem so far - the hole for the slo-blo fuse on the back panel didn't line up with the hole in the chassis, so I had to do some dremeling. I wasn't as careful as I usually try to be, and managed to carve a little gouge in the back - nuts.  :-\

Awesome, I wish I had a kit waiting for me to be built.

 ;)

Ok, I think at this point I have all the preliminary hardware installed.

Some observations - to persons starting one of these kits - despite what my pictures and various other picture sets I've seen show, do NOT install the front and back panel hardware first! Install all the tube sockets and little stuff that goes around the edges of the bottom first. Trust me on this - you'll thank me later. The knobs and such, especially on the back really get in the way of installing stuff, especially the tube sockets. I ended up removing stuff to make it easier. BTW the tube sockets are just a pita to intall anyway.

I highly recommend the use of Loctite Blue thread locker. While the lock washers will probably do a good enough job on their own, these amps typically get used in high vibration situations, and any extra little protection helps. The blue version of Loctite is basically a kind of glue that never really dries, so the screws are removable down the line if need be.

Soldered in the heater wires. Not a very neat job, at least compared to some of the pictures I've seen. I'm planning to glue them down a little neater.

Heater wires are probably the hardest thing to do when wiring the amp (at least for me).... and to do it as neat as Niks guys can do it.... that's another story all together.  ???

BTW have you seen this...
http://www.brown-note.com/heaters/ (http://www.brown-note.com/heaters/)

I had problems doing my first build, until I put the two wires in a vice and spun the other ends with a drill. Whilst still under tension I then used a hot air gun to soften the plastic and when cool they stayed tightly wound.

Now that a piece of info I didn't know before.... thanks
 ;)

Wow! Thanks for the link and the info. I think mine will look a lot better once I get them glued down. I did spend several days pondering how to do it - in the short time I've been researching this I found several conflicting things about the importance of neatness. And I thank all the people who have posted pics of their builds - I would have been clueless about the heater wires without them.

Tonight I wired up the input jacks. I flipped them around to the outside so there was more room to work on them and keep the spacing right.

(http://home.comcast.net/~sduck409/ampkit%20011.jpg)

Finished -
(http://home.comcast.net/~sduck409/ampkit%20012.jpg)

and a shot of my garage workbench - pretty scary stuff, but consider that I've been cranking out synth modules on this bench for 7+ years, more than 70 of them so far - I know where everything is!
(http://home.comcast.net/~sduck409/ampkit%20013.jpg)

(btw, if you're at all curious about these synth modules I'm talking about, pics are here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sduck409/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sduck409/))

WOW! Nice photos. Your a detail guy.  I just bought a new OTS HRM complete with Cabinet from Nik. Wont get it until december sometime. I guess they have an internal pot I can tweak to change gain or drive intensity.    These amps sound great on you tube videos and the price was right. Im 55 and play a strat. I like SRV. and Robben ford.  It will be interseting to see if I can coax some bluesy SRV tones out of this thing. Im sure I will be happy if its just too brown soundin for that cause I love Robben ford sound too. I got cheap and ordered a Warehouse et-65 nstead of a celestion g12 h65 at 1/3 the cost of a celestion. Good luck in your build and will keep an eye on your progress.
jack

I finished wiring the switches, volume and tone pots. I was going to get some of that thin heat shrink to put around the cap and resistor leads like in the pictures, but the place I get that from was closed, and I figured that if I'm careful I won't actually need it. Note that I wired the deep switch upside down - I pondered how to do this; whether to flip the whole thing 180 degrees, but then figured I could just mirror image it as the 2 poles are connected anyway whichever way the switch is set.



I started connecting the coax wires to the pots. I've worked with coax for years, and it's one of the most annoying kinds of wires to deal with. I was wondering how I was going to make good durable connections for this situation, and found the pictures showing this add-on ground wire method, which as far as I'm concerned is genius.

Today, installed the voltage regulator. This was easy - splay out the legs until they're just far apart enough to fit in the 3 bottom holes of the stand thing, stick the whole thing in a helping hands jig, and solder it on. The spacing for both holes works out perfectly this way. I may have put too much loctite on this one - this part will get hot, I'll need to read up on how loctite reacts to heat - I may need to clean it up a bit.


Finished up the wiring on the pots - all that's left now is the wires that come from the various boards.


I finished up the this thing a few days ago - I don't know what it is, but it's there. I'm unsure about the spacing needed for the cabinet screw that comes through right above it - I'm going to have to check that before final assembly - don't need parts shorting to ground that aren't supposed to.

I don't think that Locktite was the way to go on the voltage regulator. Heat sink compound (sticky white paste) would be more appropriate for something that gets hot - it helps to transfer heat from the component to the chassis. Other than that, nice looking build.

You're right about using white cooling paste instead, but on the other hand, the 7812 hardly get warm because the total wattage of two relays (both OD and PAB) will draw 0.04W.

Thanks, guys. So - should I take it off and clean it off, throw some heat sink gunk on there; or will it not get hot enough to matter one way or the other? Basically, what I'd like to know - how hot does it get? I presume you guys have one of these - if at all possible - turn it on, let it run for 20-30 minutes, and touch the chassis outside of where this device is, and tell me how hot it gets. If it feels like it might be about 120 degrees F or higher (hot tap water temperature) I'll definitely clean it off.

BTW, I didn't mean to get the loctite all over the place like that - I thought I had just put enough for the threads of the screw, but it seeped all over the place.

Also BTW, I really appreciate people jumping in and catching things I might have done wrong - there's a lot of little stuff that can be done wrong, and I'd like to catch it before I power it on for the first time!

is the layout enough for installing all the pots/voltage regulators etc ? or are there specific instructions on how to do it ?


looks awesome btw

sound clips are mandatory :)

Thanks! The layout's all you've got to go by. Don't try this at home boys and girls - unless you've looked at the layout and feel comfortable with it.

As far as getting the hardware in place, the layout is no problem to follow. It's all the subsequent wiring that's the tricky part - you're going to need to be able to identify electronic parts, know the basic wiring and soldering techniques, etc.

I haven't had any problems with figuring stuff out mostly, and Nik is extremely helpful via email if you have questions. Also this forum is useful - for instance, I'm about to take my voltage regulator out and clean it off based on comments on this forum.

I've found several things to be very helpful - a thread by mcinku - http://ceriatoneforum.com/index.php?topic=1160.0 (http://ceriatoneforum.com/index.php?topic=1160.0) and Tony McKenzie's videos - at http://www.overtonehrm.com/ (http://www.overtonehrm.com/) or on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/tonymckenziecom (http://www.youtube.com/user/tonymckenziecom) - thanks for posting these guys!

Today I fixed the voltage regulator - took it out, cleaned it up, reinstalled it with a dab of heat sink compound (the radio shack kind). There's still loctite on the screw threads, just in the right amount this time.



installed some of the stuff around the power tubes-



and the preamp tubes -

Some more stuff today -

installed the power supply for the switches and relays - note that the light really gets in the way of installing the nut on the right side of this. I had to loosen the light up so I could get adequate clearance to get the nut on. My advice would be to install the light last of all - it can wait. Also note - I don't know if I just got the wrong screws or what, but nothing in my bags of hardware would work for installing these boards. I got some bags of 4-40 nuts and bolts from Home Depot in various sizes - the 1/2 inch ones worked well.


Got the footswitch jack and the manual switches wired up -


and finished most of the wiring around the speaker and effect loop jacks - just waiting on the main boards and transformers for the rest -

Tonight, put in the relay boards - the PAB relay board on mine had some extra wires attached to either end of the 22M resistor - I don't know exactly what these are for, as they're not in the layout, but I suspect you could attach a pot or trimmer to these to adjust the PAB level.

I think you're right about those wires.

Today, installed this board - the one with all the diodes -


And finished up the power amp sockets - except for the stuff that comes from the main board -


And installed the gain tone control board, and dropped the main board in, but haven't bolted it down - I'll wait till I have all the wires from the back sorted out -

...and my build is stalled for a few days.  :-\ After pondering what to do I decided to wait until I got my transformers and could install them before installing the main board, to make sure I could get good access for the mounting bolts.

The UPS guy brought my package from Mercury Magnetics on Friday, but no-one was home to sign for it, so I have to wait until Monday.

Fascinating build thread- wish I had the know how to put one of these together. I however took the easier route and bought a HRM Bluesmaster 100 head which had been built by Niks guys. I'd like to open it up and experiment with the HRM trimmers but haven't worked up the courage yet.. A mate who built a Trainwreck clone said he'd help me with it.

Anyways good luck with the rest of your build- you're in for a real treat when you get it fired up and burned in- awesome amps :)

Cheers

Kieran

Thanks Kieran!

So my transformers arrived today. Man are they heavy. 20 lbs total. Once they're installed they make handling the chassis a pretty serious matter. So I took the main board back out, drilled some holes and installed these. I need to get some bigger bolts or some washers for the output transformer - I'm not really happy with the way the bolts I had fit. They're #6-32 1/2" ones - I'll probably get #8-32's and/or some washers.

Great thread.
And yes, mckinku's thread is invaluable.
I just finished an HRM 100 watt build with Twin iron, and his pics and comments
were a lifesaver.
Many thanks mcinku! Many thanks!
Definitely install and wire tube sockets, and install power supply
boards and relay boards before installing hardware.
Very tight clearances.
Mine fired right up though, no smoke, no flame so far.
Now I'm learning my way around it-complex beast.
Good luck with yours.
George

Thanks guys...
...I'm glad my thread is useful.
I learned a lot from forums (this one and others),... so I'm really glad I can give something back.
 ;)


Now, get busy...
 ;D

Ok, ok. Glad others are finding this thread interesting - I wasn't actually planning on doing daily progress reports on this, but once I started, it was kind of fun, so here it is.

Got new hardware to attach the OT and choke correctly, and got them tightened in. Then proceeded to wire in the PT. The sheet from Mercury had some of the wires labeled a bit differently from the layout, but I sent some questions to Nik about it, and he answered them quickly (actually within minutes - pretty amazing!) and I was able to finish it up confidently.


Another shot of this mess -


And the OT wires that can be hooked up without the other boards -

I also started on the main board installation - lots of little wires to connect!

And I noticed that I still have a lone 10k resistor left in my parts bag - as far as I can tell I've already installed the only 10k resistor - is there another one besides the one that attaches to the deep switch?

Yes, great thread as are the other ones.
It's nice to have the progress report with pics especially for a new builder as myself. I bought a HRM BM 50w kit for my first build and I've had to walk away a few times. This thread has made me want to step back up and finish my build now.

Nice work!

Ack! No! Don't walk away!

Well, actually sometimes that's the best idea. I've built a LOT of DIY stuff over the years, and I've found the best way to keep my head in it and stay sane is to have a lot of patience. I've discovered that my useful attention span for any kind of decent detail work is an hour max, sometimes less. After that I start making mistakes. So while for some people a kit like this might take a few days, many hours a day, I'll spread the job out over a month or more, making sure I get everything right, and trying to learn a bit about how the thing works along the way.

Tonight I got engrossed in wiring up the main board, and got to the "just one more wire..." place, which is exactly where I start making mistakes. I did manage to get most of the wires along one side of the board done, so I'm happy. Oh, and I went out and bought the tubes for it today - tungsol 12ax7's, and JJ 6L6GC's - they were probably as good as I was going to do at the closest music store here. I've been watching the various tube threads with great interest - after I get this thing going I may want to experiment.

Today, over the course of 2 hour long sessions, finished up the main board wiring.



Here's a closer view of V1-3



And a closer view of V4-5

Are you going to leave those wires like that? Definitely not a standard D-style wiring on those preamp sockets... normally those wires would go against the chassis parallel to each other.

Oh - I wasn't aware of that. Hmmm. Just took another look at your pictures - I see. Again, hmmm.

I am capable of wildly overthinking this, and as I'm brand new at this the overthinking can go wildly wrong. I think that I was trying to keep the wires carrying the signals away from the heater wires for some reason. Would putting them over by the grounded chassis make a difference? They're not shielded wires to begin with, so I'd doubt it, but again, I just don't know.

I'm not excited about the idea of moving these wires unless it's deemed a Really Good Idea™ because most likely it'll involve cutting and splicing little pieces onto each of those wires.

Put the heater wires up and neatly twisted (look at some D-style examples) and the other wires parallel and flat on the chassis.
These amps are very sensitive to lead dress and this can affect tone, sustain, bloom and BUZZZZZZZ ;D

Don't splice wires, it will look a mess, redo it with new wire.

I really would advise you to follow accepted methods with D style amps, otherwise you will be in for a rough ride when you get it going.

Wires wired in parallel will add some capaticance which help recreating that famous smooth D tone.

Thanks, guys. I may well change the wiring around, depending on the results. One thing I know for sure is that the amp will still work with the wires where they are, just maybe not ideally. But if it doesn't meet expectations, I'll know at least one thing to fix. I appreciate your catching that for me!

I finished the power board today and did all the little final things - installed the knobs, nitpicky cleaning of the interior, etc. I will be giving everything a second thorough once-over to make sure all wiring, parts, etc are in the right place. And I still have some testing to do before powering it up. I do not want flames to be a part of the first powering up of this amp!

IT WORKS!!!!!!!

I assembled all the last little parts pieces. Then triple checked everything, mechanically and electrically. One big problem I caught was that I installed the power and standby switches upside down - followed the layout a little too literally on those. Hence they have new labels - maybe if I get around to rebuilding parts of this those will get flipped, but in the meantime the new labels will have to do. Installed the tubes, attached the footswitch and speakers, then powered it on, and the tubes starting glowing nicely. Plugged in a guitar, and it made sounds!!! Tested all the knobs and switches, and they all work as their supposed to. Even the deep switch works the right way. No extraneous hums or buzzes. I was only able to just turn it on barely, as my daughter had just gone to bed, but I'll sure be playing it a lot in the next few... years?



Now it's on to building a cabinet for it. I've got a lot of nice red oak left over from some synth cabinets I built last year, although I don't know, it's kind of heavy... hmmm.

Awesome!  Been following this thread from the start, great job, congrats on the new build.  Play the snot out of it now!

Congrats and thanks for sharing your build. It's been interesting.

Enjoy your new amp compadre :) I'm still learning with mine- they're a very versatile amp with a LOT of tones inside.

Don't forget, your amp won't sound as good as it could before a good burn in is done.... so play it as much as you can.
 ;)

Yes sir!!! Spent a good hour or more today trying out the new toy. (First I set the bias level). This thing is Really Amazing Sounding. The clean sounds are out of this world fantastic, just about anywhere you set the knobs (within reason). I had to do some tweaking of the OD tone pots, which will probably take a few more tries before it's perfect, but it's pretty close at the moment. The stock settings sounded like a heavy blanket had been thrown over the amp, so I turned the treble trimpot up to about 11:30 and it sounds a lot better. Overall I'm very happy!

Saaaawwweeeeeeet!

2 years later, still has the original tubes I installed, still sounds amazing!

(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5099/5538348519_16ae1f2369_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sduck409/5538348519/)
Green Amp front (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sduck409/5538348519/) by sduck409 (http://www.flickr.com/people/sduck409/), on Flickr

(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5093/5538927102_5d7c9ebfa4_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sduck409/5538927102/)
Green Amp back (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sduck409/5538927102/) by sduck409 (http://www.flickr.com/people/sduck409/), on Flickr

Great job.

What speakers are you using?

I've never actually gotten around to getting a proper speaker cab for this. Although what I'm using isn't too shabby - a pair of EV's. Ones in my Mesa Boogie Mark IV combo, and the second one is in a Boogie Thiele cabinet under the combo. I switch the speakers back and forth depending on which amp I feel like using. I don't have a lot of room for another speaker, so I may leave it like this, and get a tonebone amp/speaker switcher.