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Finally Getting to Any Audio Projects During Covid-19?

BassKulcha

BassKulcha

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After over a week of strict self-isolation, I'm realizing that the next couple months could be a prime time to finally get to some audio projects that have been languishing in the closet. Does anyone else have any projects they are planning to attack during the Covid-19 self-isolation period?

Here are a few of mine (optimistically):
  • Heathkit SA-2 that I completely recapped and swapped out out-of-spec resistors....and...it doesn't work. (I know, I know, I should've really done one section at a time, test, then continue in order to avoid this very issue. But I was just having so much fun desoldering and resoldering, that I couldn't help myself, lol...) Going to have to retrace every step and follow the Healthkit build instructions carefully...
  • Thorens TD-124 motor disassembly & cleaning.
  • Rek O Kut B-12GH spindle/bearing well polish and mount cart on Micropoise tonearm
  • MC-225 restoration. This is a "reach" project: I don't have a functioning scope, signal generator, etc, or the knowledge to use them for "proper" restoration, so I may just wait on this...
 
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I've got a couple of old tube amps from organs that I am converting into guitar amps. A Conn 56665 and a Wurlitzer 6144. The Wurly is all octal tubes and is full of nice RCA 6SN7, 6SQ7 and 6SL7 types. The Conn has 6L6GB output tubes and the Wurly has 6L6G outputs. I have a stash of 5881 tubes and will probably go with those. They were given to me without output tubes and rectifiers. I have NOS/AOS 5U4 rectifiers for both.
 
Not so much technical as reevaluating my hoard to decide what to cull.Listening to some gear I acquired but never heard.Getting all my cables and speaker wire etc organized.It was a mess for a couple of years.Wanted to put some on ebay,cl but the virus put a halt to all that.
 
I was informed that my system would be moving today....
Been moving stuff all day and finding some interesting stuff in my albums that I forgot that I have...
 
GaryM said:
I've got a couple of old tube amps from organs that I am converting into guitar amps. A Conn 56665 and a Wurlitzer 6144. The Wurly is all octal tubes and is full of nice RCA 6SN7, 6SQ7 and 6SL7 types. The Conn has 6L6GB output tubes and the Wurly has 6L6G outputs. I have a stash of 5881 tubes and will probably go with those. They were given to me without output tubes and rectifiers. I have NOS/AOS 5U4 rectifiers for both.
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Last year I built a 10 watt tube amp head for my son. I used a single 5881 output tube and a 12ax7 driver. To keep it from being too tall the tubes are horizontal at the rear of the chassis to fit the cabinet. I chose the 5881 because it's a shorter sturdier tube compared to the 6l6. We tried several 6l6's, but the 5881 sounded the best. I just figured the 5881 would be a better choice running the tube horizontal, and for a guitar amp that can get knocked around.
 
Too many to list. Whatever I have materials on hand to start and finish because I think ordering now might be iffy. Whichever scratches, I'll itch.
 
Going to have to dig into my TT again, it is still losing the left channel. :mad: Not sure if it counts, but today I finally replaced the thin, stamped terminal jumpers with 12 ga OFC wire jumpers on my speakers.
 
GaryM said:
I've got a couple of old tube amps from organs that I am converting into guitar amps. A Conn 56665 and a Wurlitzer 6144. The Wurly is all octal tubes and is full of nice RCA 6SN7, 6SQ7 and 6SL7 types. The Conn has 6L6GB output tubes and the Wurly has 6L6G outputs. I have a stash of 5881 tubes and will probably go with those. They were given to me without output tubes and rectifiers. I have NOS/AOS 5U4 rectifiers for both.
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Last time i substituted a 5881 tube for a 6L6 it blew in short order. Maybe a fluke, and I'm not that up on tubes and amps lately. Just a thought.
 
KEB said:
Last time i substituted a 5881 tube for a 6L6 it blew in short order. Maybe a fluke, and I'm not that up on tubes and amps lately. Just a thought.
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The 6L6G and 6L6GB called out in the schematics for my “organ donor” amps are 19 watt tubes. The 5881, aka the 6L6WGB, is a military grade tube with 23 watts of pale dissipation. The two organ amps I have run at a B+ of 400 V and 320V respectively. I should be good to go.

I have a bunch of 6L6GC (30 watt) tubes on hand. I just needed a place to use my 5881 types up.
 
I'm not really in self quarantine yet since my job is considered 'essential' for now but I did order a pile of stuff just in case.
I’m the spirit of getting things done I finally finished my Yamaha A-950/1000 project. It's basically an A-1000 with all of the Japanese market goodies that came on the A-950. I could have just swapped transformers but the one I bought from Japan didn't work and I'd already restored mine so went the other way instead. Today I installed new filter caps just to finish the project off.

I’ve got a few other things I’ll tackle if we end up cutting hours like they were talking about last week.
 

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OMGCat! said:
I'm not really in self quarantine yet since my job is considered 'essential' for now but I did order a pile of stuff just in case.
I’m the spirit of getting things done I finally finished my Yamaha A-950/1000 project. It's basically an A-1000 with all of the Japanese market goodies that came on the A-950. I could have just swapped transformers but the one I bought from Japan didn't work and I'd already restored mine so went the other way instead. Today I installed new filter caps just to finish the project off.

I’ve got a few other things I’ll tackle if we end up cutting hours like they were talking about last week.
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Very cool.
So, are you going to swap in the copper chassis too?
 
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