Bogen DB20 project with my son

[whittington]

Hello!
This is my first post. I am new to tubes somewhat. I recapped a Fisher 500c recently and my ears have been blessed. More on that later. I have had two old Bogen DB20 s sitting in the garage for about ten years waiting to be worked on. Given to me when I did not own a soldering iron if you get my meaning. I am ready to climb in. One unit is pristine looking. It has had someone do some work on it and they deleted the tall can (boo). Meaning, it is missing. Caps underneath. I want the original look of course. The rest is there except one knob brass cap. This variety or series of the Bogen, understanding there are over a dozen series, has the brass faceplate. It is the green hammered finish. I polished the faceplate according to advice online and it is beautiful. No electronics have been attempted by me yet. My problem. The second unit is not as restorable. The face plate is gold painted steel. Paint has come off. It does have the can I need. But the knobs are different and the chassis is flawed. So, I am hunting for a nice looking green hammered finish unit with a brass faceplate. This is a project my sixteen year old son and I are embarking on. Newbie here. PS I have discovered a new hobby along with my boy that we are passionate about together. I am in my sixties and fear I missed the boat on this one. None the less, solder in hand, and diggin it!

 

[trainbuftony]

Sounds like a fun. Project. Take your time, find or make a schematic, and take notes. The missing can can be sourced from Hayseed hamfest, CE, or replaced with axial caps under the chassis. If the other amp still has the "tall can" I would say it is safe to order 2 of them that are the same value. If you can post some photos of the underside, several of us could give you some advice about what should be changed. Any cardboard or paper capacitors should definitely be changed along with any sprague bumblebee caps. They are more often leaky than not. Bogen made good stuff. These will be nice nc finished. If you have any questions send me a pm...

 

[Transconductor]

I got started in the hobby with a db20 many years ago, one that was found at a local fleamarket, back when you can find things like that out in the wild. They are very nice amps and sound nice once they are recapped. I currently have three of these, one I believe matches the version you’re looking for. It is restored though...the last of the three that I completed.
If you are tackling this project on the one you have, all capacitors will need to be replaced and there are few that are little difficult to get to, but with patience and time not a big deal. The other two that I have I modified into mono blocks, basically bypassing the preamp section and all the switching, etc. They are very versatile & really fun to work with.

 

[whittington]

Sorry fumbling around trying to learn how to post stuff .. Since my last post, my son and I found another matching Bogen Amplifier through and from another AK member. That was cool. Well it arrived in pretty minty condition. We proceeded to mirror the components as we recapped and did other updates. Lots of hours went into cleaning, polishing and detail work. I polished the cans and every screw you can see. Underneath, they are perfectly repaired. Each unit has their components matching to the point of angling and heat shrink. I put over sized hospital grade AC cables on them for looks mostly. I opened the ac hole up a tad for the stainless steel cable glands. All multi-capacitor cans are high polished and dummies. I put axial capacitors underneath. I removed the brass faceplate, boiled it in baking soda and then polished it to a shine. Both units have matching faceplates. I lifted them up on brass feet using the belly pan lips. I used NOS RCA 6L6G in each. There is matching RCA Rectifier tubes with the same Coke Bottle profile. I am rolling different preamp tubes but have settled with RCA 12AU7 and RCA 12 AT7 same vintage. Tubes are from the early fifties The amps have a nice soundstage. Great bass. I run them through my JBL 200s. Here are some pics along the way.. Hope you enjoy them. Let me know what you think.. I picked up a third unit exactly the same. I want to build another set. I am looking for a match. Also, I decided I wanted to create a funky turntable to match. I bought an AR XB from a Goodwill. I striped off the vinyl woodgrain, sanded it and matched the green Hammertoned paint and built the turntable you see. I will have a member here help me upgrade it soon .

 

[gadget73]

Looks good. I love the turntable refinished to match. Its a nice touch.

 

[Josey Wales]

I absolutely love this. I have two DB20's I was planning to restore as well. Absolutely awesome work! I might just have to get started this winter if i can find the replacements caps etc. Also, I see you have recapped a 500c. I'm about to recap a 500b. Any advice?