Fifty/Fifty fan - Anybody ever install an on/off switch?

[joegold]

Or on the 2:50 or the 2:90.

I've got a rented Fifty/Fifty right now and there isn't even any way to disconnect the fan.

Can the fan be disconnected, or switched off, on the newer 2:50 or the 2:90?

 

[fatboy135]

yes it is posible :wink:

 

[joegold]

yes it is posible :wink:

Thanks for the reply, but I'm not sure I understand.

Do the 2:50 and 2:90 actually have a switch for the fan, or a plug that be unplugged?

Or are you saying that any of these power amps can be modded with a switch for the fan?

 

[t0aj15]

Why would you want to turn the fan off? It's there for a reason. :roll:

 

[joegold]

Why would you want to turn the fan off? It's there for a reason. :roll:

At a jazz gig in a small intimate club the fan noise would detract from the performance. :roll:

 

[nocluejimbo]

Why would you want to turn the fan off? It's there for a reason. :roll:

At a jazz gig in a small intimate club the fan noise would detract from the performance. :roll:

You've got to be kidding me.

Talking, let alone the amplifier's own volume drowns out the fan.

 

[joegold]

Why would you want to turn the fan off? It's there for a reason. :roll:

At a jazz gig in a small intimate club the fan noise would detract from the performance. :roll:

You've got to be kidding me.

Talking, let alone the amplifier's own volume drowns out the fan.

Nope. I'm not kidding.
Maybe the rented Fifty/Fifty I have in front of me now has an exceptionally loud fan?
But it's just a little bit louder than the fan on my Simul Satellite in Full-Power mode. It's pretty quiet in Tweed Power mode though.
But the Fifty/Fifty doesn't have a Tweed Power mode.
I'd unplug the fan in the Satellite if I was doing a quiet jazz gig even in Tweed mode.

 

[fatboy135]

Or are you saying that any of these power amps can be modded with a switch for the fan?

it is posible. I have another two solutions, first getting slower fans that makes less noise... and second install thermal sensors that activates the fan only when the tubes are so high

 

[t0aj15]

If it's quiet enough to hear the fan I think a much smaller poweramp without a fan is called for.

 

[joegold]

If it's quiet enough to hear the fan I think a much smaller poweramp without a fan is called for.

Except on those gigs where I might want to use it.
Jeez.

 

[Boogiebabies]

The fan would have to be de-soldered from the power board and put on a switch. I just did a tune up for a friend of mine. It was a 50/50 and the fan was hardwired.

 

[joegold]

The fan would have to be de-soldered from the power board and put on a switch. I just did a tune up for a friend of mine. It was a 50/50 and the fan was hardwired.

Thanks. I noticed that too when I opened it up.

Is this, de-soldering and installing a switch, something that is especially tricky to do, or is it fairly routine?

 

[DNW]

The fan would have to be de-soldered from the power board and put on a switch. I just did a tune up for a friend of mine. It was a 50/50 and the fan was hardwired.

Thanks. I noticed that too when I opened it up.

Is this, de-soldering and installing a switch, something that is especially tricky to do, or is it fairly routine?

If you're already handy with a soldering iron, and are confident you can do it without rogering the board or anything, it wouldn't be all too tricky to do. Although, while I've not seen the inside of a 50/50, Mesa boards are generally packed in pretty tight, in terms of spacing between components.


But seeing as you're asking if it's tricky or not, I'd get a tech to do it for you. :wink:

 

[luigi]

Do you really think you should be doing this with a RENTED piece of gear? If I were renting it to you and I heard that you even took the cover off I would be pretty pissed......seeing as these things cost a small fortune.

 

[joegold]

Do you really think you should be doing this with a RENTED piece of gear? If I were renting it to you and I heard that you even took the cover off I would be pretty pissed......seeing as these things cost a small fortune.

Oy.

Of course I'm not going to install a fan in a rented power amp.
I'm thinking of buying one. That's why I rented it. Duh.

And taking the top off is no big deal. It's part of inspecting the thing. When you change driver tubes that's where they are.
If you rented a stomp-box and you looked inside the battery compartment do you think the store that rented it to you would be pissed?

And the Fifty/Fifty hardly costs a small fortune. They're going for around $500 US on eBay these days.

 

[luigi]

Nowhere in this thread did you mention buying a 50/50. The only thing you ever did mention was the rented one you now have. That lead me to believe that you were considering modifying the one you have. That's my mistake....but your intentions were not clear.

Also, every rental company I have ever dealt with, as far as music gear is concerned, has ALWAYS (written right in the contract) specified that for no reason should the amp fail or become inoperative should the amp be opened or worked on. If it fails, bring it back for servicing or replacement. So yes, they would be pissed. Taking the cover off an AC powered amp where voltages and current are high enough to kill you is hardly the same as looking in the battery compartment.

That being said, that may not be your case as your agreement may not specify anything like that.