Well, you're sort of confusing the function of a choke vs. a transformer. With transformers you're typically stepping up or down voltage. In our case stepping up the voltage a good bit. Mainly the reason there is a distinction made with transformers is that a 100 watt will have a slightly different construction needs than the 50 watt. And the cost will be more. Most of the time anyway. I'm no electro-magnetics expert by any stretch.

The chokes are for filtering and it's probably just a expensive to make a choke that can handle 50 watts as it is 100 watts.

Check this out.
http://www.aikenamps.com/Chokes.html

I'm pretty sure you want it to be rated well within the potential of the amp. So no I believe this is correct. My HRM 50 has the same choke.

Yeah, mine is like that too. I take an xacto and carefully cut down the middle and then peel it off instead of trying to slide it off. I think it's there to serve a benificial purpose and not just a manufacturing byproduct, but not exactly sure what. (anti-oxidant/moistore barrier, or to hold the shield tight together....)

Also, use care when removing the insulation not to nick the braid. It is very fragile and will cause it to break quickly. Same goes for the core too. And actually if you do nick the other end it makes it easy to get a clean break of the shield. I actually use a "spinning type" wire coax stripper to do this. You can use for for everything, but be careful not to cut what you don't want to.

There was a link to a little photo step by step of how to dress the ground lead for the coax, but I can't find it now. Anyone know where it is?

hmm, either I'm crazy or those are new photos for the FM50. I'm almost positive I went through all the photos of the different models and don't remember seeing those photos. I suppose I could've missed it. 

Your photos are pretty small, but from what I can tell the heater wires look pretty good.

Really?
Thanks!

Yeah, I lurk over at ampgarage, and yes most all the clones there are on top. I just figured there must be a reason why Nik liked placing them the way they were. I sent an email to him asking about this and waiting for a reply.

P.S. know any where I can get one eyelet? I just finished soldering up the main board and there was one eyelet missing for the 47pf/470k in parallel connection.

So is this actually the case?

Dang, I went back and forth on this, but decided to stick to the way Ceriatone (Nik) is/was indicating. (based on the build photos on the site)

I suppose it's not the end of world to change them. I'm just now finishing up the first stage of the build. I haven't installed the boards yet. Actually I'm just finishing up their assembly. I ordered the boards unassembled.

Yep, that's what I have been doing. In fact I'm not sure if a nut driver will be the most appropriate in some areas. But then again there were some situations that one would make easier. I have a few nut drivers but they're all standard sizes. You know here in the states we don't like the metric system.

Congrats!
I just received my HRM 50 about a week ago. Been building steadily. But my time is somewhat limited and I also want to take my time since this is my first amp build. So far everything is going well.

The main screws and nuts are M3x12 & M3X6 w/M3 nuts and star washers. These are small and can be a little hard to deal with in some areas. A nut driver for these would be helpful. Then there are connections for the pots, jack, and switches. As far as the transformers, I'm not sure if yours will be the same, but there's not much to that anyway.

You're gonna love the kit. I know a did.

It's a home run in my book.

Congrats on all the nice amp builds. I'm in the midst of building an HRM 50 and very excited.

whoa, that should really peel some paint off the walls!

Thanks hired hand for the info.

I downloaded all the photos from the site and have been going over them along with the layout diagram. But it's hard to completely get a feel for it until I get it on the bench and see it in 3D. I'm planning on taking my time and do a little bit each night. That's the plan anyway. I won't have the head cabinet ready for a little while and as it stands right now I'll be using a 1X12 speaker cab with a Vintage 30. This isn't ideal, but until I build or buy a 2X12 cabinet that's what I'll be using. I haven't decided what speakers I'll be going with yet.

I ordered this past Monday Feb, 7.
 
Nik said since it was a kit it would just take a couple days. Which it did! With all the great things said on this site about Nik & Ceiratone, I was feeling pretty good about everything, but you know there's always that concern about how long it would take. We gear junkies tend to be rather impatient when it comes to waiting for our toys.

So, it seems that the wait time is pretty good for kits right now. Go order it.

Just got notification that my HRM 50 Kit shipped today.

I'm so stoked to start building. I have a good bit of electronic experience. So even though this is my first amp build, I feel pretty confident in my abilities. That doesn't mean I won't need some help now and then. Especially when it comes time to setup. I hope some of you are up for some questions. 

I own a 4 channel 100Mhz Tektronix O-scope. I Don't know how much it will really be needed, but it might come in handy.

I've been reading, studying layouts, and looking and listening at/to video and audo clips all week. Seem like that is pretty much par for the course when buying these things.