DC-3 problem

[Shakma]

Hi, new poster here. I just got a DC-3 recently, and its been working great (Awesome tone-- i love it!), but recently, i heard a pop in the the amp, and i checked it in the back, and the power amp tube furthest to the right was glowing a lot brighter than the oher tubes, so i, according to the manual, kicked it over to standby and waited a few. Turned it back on, the one tube fires back up. Thought it might be the tube, flipped around the power tubes, and the tube that was now sitting where the old one was is now glowing brighter. IE, flipping tubes doesnt do anything, but no matter what tube is in that slot will glow.

I had put in some new tubes (mesa), but to be safe, i tried the old ones as well. Same thing.

I've turned it off and unplugged it for about 20 mins and tried again, and the problem persists. Whats this a symptom of?

 

[Boogiebabies]

There is a definite problem with that socket, so you can save some money by not eating your new tubes up by using them in that socket.
I would surmise that the pop may have been the screen grid resistor, but basically something blew and your tube is drawing too much voltage and the bias is spiking the tube into a redplate condition. If the fuse does not blow, it may still be running within a limit that is not doing any permanent damage, but it's probably a good time to take it to a tech or pull the chassis and play find the burnt spot. Those DC's can be a pain in the *** to pull the chassis due to that goofy long screw on the rear of the chassis.

 

[Shakma]

Is it a relatively cheaper repair?

Well, i eyed into the chassis through the back, and i dont see anything burnt. It also didn't burn any fuses, so i suppose thats cool.

What causes this kind of thing?


edit: Just called the repair guy, and the shop he works at is in the process of moving... to their shop next door. So he wont be online for another week. :/

 

[Shakma]

Well, i took it in to have it looked at today. They said they'd get a chance to look at it in the next few days and gave me a 'rough estimate' of 4-6 weeks. Seems a bit ludicrous of a time frame considering the guy has a repair shop inside the store. Apparently , he's the 'best guy in town' according to a couple of people who were that the store who didnt actually work there.

How will i live 4 weeks without my DC3? : (

 

[Fxrs]

The 1st time I put mine in the shop, it was gone for 9 weeks, granted, I did have a 6L6/EL34 switch put in at the same time, but the problem (no rythm channel) was only a bad 12AX7.

 

[Shakma]

well, im 99% sure it wasnt a tube issue, though, it'd be nice to get that kind of phone call back. The thing that really surprised me about the wait is that this is such a small town where i'm at, and its an in-house repair as well. I mean, how much traffic can he possibly have?

Oh well.

 

[Fxrs]

All of the places around me that advertise "in-house" repair sent their stuff to the guy I brought my amp to. You have to ask them straight up if they actually perform the repairs on-site.

 

[Shakma]

All of the places around me that advertise "in-house" repair sent their stuff to the guy I brought my amp to. You have to ask them straight up if they actually perform the repairs on-site.

Yeah, he was actually in the back of the store. The place just moved locations, and he opened up his work shop in there yesterday. Plus, they're the only mesa dealer in about... about almost a 2 hour drive of here.