Ceriatone Forum

Hi all,
I'll be ordering my 50w HRM BluesMaster tomorrow without the trannies.

I'd like to know what transformers you guys used other than Ceriatone or Mercury Magnetics.

What would be the best Fender transformers to buy?


Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Thanks,
Bob

im using a hammond choke and OT with a weber PT for my KT-88 build

Thanks JD,

I'm slightly confused now about ordering different trannies.
I sent Nik an email asking about it and apparently nobody has the same trannies except Mercury Magnetics? Something about an extra 6-0 tap is needed to power up the relays and most other companies don't have this.

I'm totally new at building amps so I have no idea what any of that means.

I'm not sure what or where to order trannies now. If anyone has suggestions as to what to order I'd appreciate it.

I'll call around tomorrow and maybe talk to someone.

Thanks,
Bob

For my 50w ceriatone OTS with 6L6 tubes, I've used a hammond power transformer (model: fe022798) and choke (model: fe125c1a) The transformer has all the windings needed e.g. 6.3V and 5V. The latter used for the relays in the amp.

For Output I bought a Mercury Magnetics FTBO. The MMs are a little hyped and I'd probably be just as happy with Niks output transformer or Hammond or Heyboer ditto. Go for a 'Bassman' capable version preferably with multible secondary windings (4 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 ohm) for relevant speaker cabinets. Even though, I only use the 8 ohm tab on mine.

I've read some posts on Ampgarage.com about Niks power transformer being a little underrated. I don't know if this is true (or would be relevant for your specific application), since I ordered my kit without trannies and bought the above mentioned transformers locally in order to save expensive fraight costs.

You can be quite confident that Nik's amps will deliver the goods, once you allow a 'burn in' period of 50-100 hours, which is common for all amps. 

bluesfendermanblues,
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check out those Hammond trannies. I'm also going to call Heyboer tomorrow and see what they can  do for me. I'm in Southeast Michigan and noticed they are located in Grand Haven which I thought was cool. I've heard good things about Heyboer so I may lean towards them if the price is right.

Thanks again -

Has anyone used Heyboer trannies in their Overtone?

So a PT with the 5v winding can be used to power the relays?

correct me if im wrong, but i think you could just use the filament heater 6.3V tap for the relays. My non ceriatone Dumble build does this and works fine

Yes, thats what I do on my Ceriatone with the Hammond 22798 PT, using the 5V winding.

Does it matter if the PT that I want to use has 358v but the layout shows 345v?

Also, the layout shows 60v , but the PT I want has 53v?

I ordered my trannies today.

PT: Hammond T290DX (022798, 125P5D)

OT: Magnetic Components 40-18001

Choke: Hammond C194B (022699, 125C1A)

The PT and Choke came from Tubes and More (Antique Electronic Supply) which had FREE SHIPPING!
The OT came from Triode Electronics

I should be good to go, just waiting for UPS! Should be here Monday 1/8


Thanks to everyone that helped!

Don't be disappointed when you get the amp assembled...you gotta allow it some burn in time, around 40-100 hours before it 'opens up'. I you don't have time to play the amp connct a CD player instead.

A lot of people have made the mistake to do all kinds of mods to soften the amps sound etc., only to realise that after the burn in period, the amp tone will change somewhat.

I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

By the way, how is a CD player connected?

I use an ol' discman (or IPOD) connected from the headphoneout on the discman to the input of the amp, where I would connect a guitar.

Had to bump this thread. I also am considering the Hammond PT but had a concern that the mounting screw centers don't fit the chassis mounting holes. Any suggestions on a fix?

Thanks,
Rick

A drill?

I ordered Mercury PT/OT/choke from Nik - he's a dealer, and can get a good price - you pay him via paypal, Mercury ships the stuff domestically (I'm in the USA, your mileage may vary in other countries).

The mercury PT fit the existing holes perfectly. The OT however didn't, but it only took a few minutes to drill holes that worked.