erickompositör72
Well-known member
It came from Europe, in nothing but a flight case with the shipping label taped on. Here's what I found when I opened it:
Please send me positive vibes so that UPS will sponsor a brand new cabinet from Boogie!
And then there was the export voltage switch, which, for whatever reason, had been detached from chassis and pushed behind it, and then taped over:
Caveat 1: I know very little about electronics, so the comedy does not necessarily exclude my own actions, going foward:
I pulled out the chassis to find the voltage switch, and could still turn it to the five positions on the outside label. I turned it to what I thought was "117" - I as had used on my Mark IIb DRGX.
The cooling fan was not attached., but TAPED to the outside of the cabinet. Whatever. Let's just see if this thing works; I'll worry about that later...
I turned the amp on with the tubes that had come with it (TAD 6L6GC STR). It sounded like a Mark IIC+. Good!
I didn't want to play it too long without the fan attached. I turned it off. After 2 minutes of playing, these tubes were hotter than I've ever known tubes to get. Sometimes I swap them (with gloves on) not long after powering-off, but these things were burning through my gloves.
The tubes have labels that say "Bias- 63 (first slot, class A); 57 (second slot); 53 (third slot); 60 (fourth slot, class A). Not sure what the meaning is exactly, but if it's what I thought it meant, these numbers seem to be high?
I then looked at the fuse. According to the label on the voltage switch, the export transformer should have a 1.5mA fuse. This one had a 2.5. I swapped it for a 1mA, thinking that'd be safer, since I don't have a 1.5mA
I tried some other 6L6 tubes I had. Same thing. Burning hot after 2min.
I looked at the voltage switch again. Yep, seems to be in what would be the "117" position (1 "click" from farthest left).
I decided to attached the cooling fan. There was one lone, loose screw stuck to the magnet on the speaker. I guess I'll use that. Used another screw I had at home and secured it, plugged it in.
I plug the amp in. The fan turns on right away, before I even power the amp on. Just when plugged into the wall. OK.
Back to the tubes that came with it. I don't want to mess up my tubes. Let's see if the cooling fan solves the issue. Fuse blows in 1 minute.
So here I am. Will be taking it to the local Boogie service center tomorrow. They did a fantastic job fixing my studio preamp and replacing the reverb apparatus, so I may just ask them to recap this, as well as figure out what is going on with it. Let me know if this is a good idea, as opposed to sending it back to Boogie for new caps. It'd be cheaper to have it done here, and I trust them.
Any ideas on the other issues? Could the bias have been changed/altered? Could it have been modified to want to see less voltage from the wall?
Please send me positive vibes so that UPS will sponsor a brand new cabinet from Boogie!
And then there was the export voltage switch, which, for whatever reason, had been detached from chassis and pushed behind it, and then taped over:
Caveat 1: I know very little about electronics, so the comedy does not necessarily exclude my own actions, going foward:
I pulled out the chassis to find the voltage switch, and could still turn it to the five positions on the outside label. I turned it to what I thought was "117" - I as had used on my Mark IIb DRGX.
The cooling fan was not attached., but TAPED to the outside of the cabinet. Whatever. Let's just see if this thing works; I'll worry about that later...
I turned the amp on with the tubes that had come with it (TAD 6L6GC STR). It sounded like a Mark IIC+. Good!
I didn't want to play it too long without the fan attached. I turned it off. After 2 minutes of playing, these tubes were hotter than I've ever known tubes to get. Sometimes I swap them (with gloves on) not long after powering-off, but these things were burning through my gloves.
The tubes have labels that say "Bias- 63 (first slot, class A); 57 (second slot); 53 (third slot); 60 (fourth slot, class A). Not sure what the meaning is exactly, but if it's what I thought it meant, these numbers seem to be high?
I then looked at the fuse. According to the label on the voltage switch, the export transformer should have a 1.5mA fuse. This one had a 2.5. I swapped it for a 1mA, thinking that'd be safer, since I don't have a 1.5mA
I tried some other 6L6 tubes I had. Same thing. Burning hot after 2min.
I looked at the voltage switch again. Yep, seems to be in what would be the "117" position (1 "click" from farthest left).
I decided to attached the cooling fan. There was one lone, loose screw stuck to the magnet on the speaker. I guess I'll use that. Used another screw I had at home and secured it, plugged it in.
I plug the amp in. The fan turns on right away, before I even power the amp on. Just when plugged into the wall. OK.
Back to the tubes that came with it. I don't want to mess up my tubes. Let's see if the cooling fan solves the issue. Fuse blows in 1 minute.
So here I am. Will be taking it to the local Boogie service center tomorrow. They did a fantastic job fixing my studio preamp and replacing the reverb apparatus, so I may just ask them to recap this, as well as figure out what is going on with it. Let me know if this is a good idea, as opposed to sending it back to Boogie for new caps. It'd be cheaper to have it done here, and I trust them.
Any ideas on the other issues? Could the bias have been changed/altered? Could it have been modified to want to see less voltage from the wall?
