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

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 -

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.

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 -

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

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

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?

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.