the good, the bad, and the ugly (part II) (Yet another Ampzilla restoration thread)
I wonder what has become of him...I was going to ask him about the boards he redesigned to see if I could get a pair from him to rebuild the one I have here. Mine has however the later 121G board. I see that blank 121G boards are being offered by someone on the bay but pricey for what they are. I also see that the same person is offering the IC that monitors the HS temp. Anyone here in Ampzilla land purchased these for their resto ? I don't think that I will go to the extreme measures Cornholio did to rebuild mine. I just want a working unit or else part it out and scrap the aluminum. That option is looking more and more desirable due to prices for getting the needed parts to rebuild it. Is it really worth spending about $200 to $300 to get mine operational again or is this just another money pit for another so so amp. This thing has been in a box in my dry basement for about 30 years waiting for its place in the sun - but all I see is dark clouds and money possibly better spent on something else. Your opinions are wanted. I need 1 driver board as the amp was missing one when I purchased it. I have 1 older rev board with no identifiers on it that looks like it has been through Dr. Frankenstein's lab. I purchased it years ago from someone on line but it is way different from the 121G board. Seems that these amp drive circuits were a work in progress when made - at least 3 or 4 versions. Was the 121G board the latest design for the original Ampzilla ? I want a dependable amp if I spend the time and money rebuilding it. But looks like this is the wrong design to me to try to revive from what I have read. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mr. Bill
Thanks
Mr. Bill
It is good cosmetically not perfect. 1 scratch on front has small Ampzilla printed on front in normal lettering not the big "monster" print. Meters look OK , all parts including ends are present. Just needs a rebuild and missing 1 of the 2 large boards 121G. Are these amps as clean sounding as they were were written up to be ?
Thanks Mr. Bill
Thanks Mr. Bill
Craig: I also have the Frankenstein PWB that looks like a big experimental mess. I think it is for the original Ampzilla model. If I decide to purchase one of the circuit boards on the bay to rebuild this I certainly will not want or need that. Not sure if it would be much use to anyone.Roughly where are you located east west mid south ?
Thanks
Mr. Bill
Thanks
Mr. Bill
Craig: Thank you. If someone comes up with a 121 G board I can donate my Franken rev 1 I believe driver board to your collection. I can post a photo also if that would be helpful. I checked all the outputs on this amp today - looks like they are all blown except possibly a 101C in each channel may be good. I got more than opens and shorts on those 2 101's with a meter on ohms out of the amp and also some voltages between pins with my fluke in the voltage mode. I need to put them on my old Tektronics curve tracer and see if they are still alive. no time today for that maybe tomorrow. So looks like the one I have needs all the finals and probably I am guessing all of the predrive semis plus some passive parts during a good rebuild PLUS it is totally missing the other pre drive board. So my guess is around $300 to $500 to repair it with just a blank board needed going for $100 on the bay......and doing the work myself ( guessing around 20 to 40 hours ) So I am thinking now it is just scrap. With current shipping costs probably not worth shipping all the way from me to you. I am in central MA ( East Coast ) I'll bet shipping itoday is at least $100 to $150 for this beast.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Mr. Bill
Please let me know your thoughts.
Mr. Bill
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I have four populated "G" boards and two unpopulated "G" boards. I know where two of the populated ones go, not sure on the other two. I'll have to pull out my other Ampzilla II to see if it has boards in it. Most of my work lately has been Ampzilla I, people ship me their heatsink assy by itself to save on shipping.
Craig: When I pulled the HS asembly on mine I noticed the wires for the fan got squished under the assembly because the wires were not guided correctly though the hole for them. It may have imploded because that fan voltage may have been put on the HS.... not sure if there was a short there or not. need to check further. If you can spare a blank board that can be used for a rebuild I might buy one from you if possible. I hate to junk this amp but I have to add everything up and see what the total will cost me.
Thanks for looking for me
Mr. Bill
Thanks for looking for me
Mr. Bill
Craig:I I am still trying to figure out what this will cost me. Looking for semi's now on line. Looks like the world is chock full oif fake parts. I have a BOM for the Ampzilla that was listed on another AK post. I am trying to figure out where to buy the outputs. Have you used DigiParts they claim they only sell original NOS devices. What do you recommend for the finals...EG what has worked well for you reliably on these amps ?
Heading for the Tek 575 curve tracer in my shop now to check some of the finals I removed yesterday and see if any are still alive.
Thanks again
Mr. Bill
Heading for the Tek 575 curve tracer in my shop now to check some of the finals I removed yesterday and see if any are still alive.
Thanks again
Mr. Bill
Place and hold the cursor over the @llwhtt name or avatar for a couple of seconds. A pop-up should appear and you can click on "Start conversation" from there and exchange information.
Yes I would like to discuss further with you when you have a minute