New builder with questions (J5mk1)

  • Hello,
    I am expecting my J5 kit this week, and have read twice through the manual already.
    I am not completely a beginner, I have already done a mic preamp almost 10 years ago.
    However one thing that confuses me a bit is checking voltages. I understand sometimes you have to do it between + and - on a part, and sometimes with the ground?
    I'm not lazy but I'm not sure what to read or look for to understand these:

    "a) At the rectifier (+) 358V
    b) Output of the power supply board => C17 (+) 358V
    c) Heater voltage (red against white wire) 7,4V"

    "Now these voltages (+/- 5%) are to be measured at the taps of the power
    transformer:
    a) Primary
    Pins 2-6 230V
    b) Secondary
    Pins 8-9 265V
    Pins 11-12 24V
    Pins 13-14 7,4V"

    Now, I'm sure I'll have more questions when I actually start building the kit, but that is all for now.
    Thank you to who will take the time to answer this (probably very basic) question.

  • Hi and welcome to the forum,
    you're right, most measurements in the circuit (typically DC voltages) are against (star)-ground, sometimes it's between two lugs (typically AC voltages). If there is only one point specified (e.g. "at the rectifier (+)") it's against ground, if two points are specified (e.g. "Primary Pins 2-6") it's between these lugs. Please take care that you set your meter to DC or AC respectively for reasonable values!
    Martin

  • Hello!
    So, I've started building, everything is going OK so far, well not great but OK.
    However I noticed I've received 500 pF instead of 470pF caps for C4 and 11, should I worry about this?
    Thanks!

  • Just as a precaution (because I just finished mine): please check if your 470k resistors are actual 470k and not just 470 ohms.

  • I see, thank you both for your replies.
    I have finished the main board, and PSU and drilled most holes in the case, but as I'm reading through the rest of the manual again and again, some things are not very clear

    • The plastic roller for R27 at the star ground point. I'm a bit confused by the word "roller" first, this is a small plastic cylinder, but mostly by the fact I can't really see it on the pictures. Aren't there some higher resolution pictures somewhere?
    • "Then connect both electrolytic caps (-) separately with the star ground point, please use one lug there for the two green wires." Those from the PSU board, right? I'm a bit unsure because there's a ground symbol next to R9/- on C8
    • Everything's that AC: heater, primary, secondary windings, as long as I'm connecting the correct pair of lugs, it doesn't matter which is which?
      What about heater wires after they go through the PSU board, and from one tube to the next?

    Thanks in advance, maybe it seems like a lot but I think most of the questions can be answered in one word, I just wanted to be thorough.

  • 1) the plastic screw and the roller (between the lugs and chassis) isolate the star ground from the chassis, so the only connection between star ground nd earth (chassis) is the big resistor.
    2) Yes, each (-) from the two electrolytic caps is connected separately wit a green wire toe star ground, where they "meet" at then same lug.
    3) Yes, because it's AC, there is no polarity. Nevertheless, to avoid hum the heater wires should be connected using the same scheme (pin 9 of V1 and V2 should be connected to each other, same with pin 4/5).

    In a nutshell: Just wire it as shown in the layout plan!

  • Thank you for your help, I think that answers all my questions for the moment.
    I can finish drilling the chassis, mount and test the TR, wire the heaters.

    I'll be back when all of this is done, I suppose!

  • I'm making good progress, PSU is complete with correct voltages, but it's almost time to wire the output transformer
    I know it has been discussed a lot but my question is for 16 ohm output:

    Should I bridge 4 ohm taps (3 and 16) and 8 ohms (4-15) ?
    So my output is just all the green wires together?

    Also can you confirm what another user said about the "mod" pdf:
    The picture isn't correct (7and 12 for plate voltage) but the text is (7 and 13)?

    Thanks in advance

    edit: I'd like to add a question. Shielded wires are shown to be connected to ground. It's the shielding only that should be connected to ground? How do you do that?

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von amaurythewarrior (22. August 2020 um 15:35)

  • So I finished building (I'd like it if someone could confirm I wired the output trafo correctly though)
    And I measured my voltages without tubes, most are good,
    but in a few places i only get 310v instead of 360:

    pin 1 and 6 of V1
    and pin 2 of v2.

    Thanks in advance to whoever can help a bit. Also lower voltages shouldn't be dangerous for the tubes? Can I put the tubes in and see if it works?

  • Should I bridge 4 ohm taps (3 and 16) and 8 ohms (4-15) ?

    Connect them as set out in the document, otherwise it won't work...

    So my output is just all the green wires together?

    As set out in the document, the four green wires you've connected to each other are the 16 Ohm output (and lug 18 = ground, lug 15 = 8 Ohm, lug 16 = 4 Ohm).

    The picture isn't correct (7and 12 for plate voltage) but the text is (7 and 13)?

    Yes, there is unfortunately a typo in the document, use either lugs 6 and 12 OR lugs 7 and 13 as primary.

    edit: I'd like to add a question. Shielded wires are shown to be connected to ground. It's the shielding only that should be connected to ground? How do you do that?

    I'm not sure to understand what you mean - just connect the shield to ground as shown in the manual. On page 20 you see some ends of the shielded wire, where only the inner wire is connected (the shield is isolated with shrinking tube to prevent shortcuts). On page 22 you see some ends of the shielded wire, were the inner wire (signal) is connected to the switch and the shield ist connected to ground with a green wire. Please follow the layout plan to connect the shield to ground only at one end per cable!

    Thanks in advance to whoever can help a bit. Also lower voltages shouldn't be dangerous for the tubes? Can I put the tubes in and see if it works?

    No, the voltage at pins 1 & 6 (V1, V2) and pins 7 & 9 (V3) shall be about 360V and the same value at all six pins! If this is not the case, your wiring is faulty! Given your values, there seems to be a connection to ground (not a shortcut but via a resistor), so some current is flowing and there are voltage drops where they should't be! Please be aware that 360V is above the rating for the electrolytic caps in the power supply, so don't run the amp w/o tubes for minutes and only a few times!

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