Friedman BE100

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M Fowler
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Friedman BE100

Post by M Fowler »

I'm changing tubes on this Friedman BE100 and admiring the design and workmanship.

I really would like to take my HRP 100w to this level of PCB board design with DC filament on V1-V3 like the BE100.

PT: 40-17452 166-1415
OT: HTS-8346-SL 9961434 BE-100 OT
Choke: 40-17581 166-1439


Mark
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xtian
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Re: Friedman BE100

Post by xtian »

That does look really nice. I wonder why they put that one carbon comp resistor in the dropping string?
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Travis_HY
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Re: Friedman BE100

Post by Travis_HY »

That carbon comp makes everything sound different farther down the B+ string-a little fuzzier and not quite as bright in the top end. Actually, they were a NOS part that Dave had a bunch of but they have the tendency to crack because they are so old which would actually make the B+ fluctuate and thusly the volume, so now that part is replaced with a 1 watt Xicon resistor like the rest of them if an amp comes back for repair or mod. Also the cap across the phase inverter plates has a tendency to go bad if it's Silver Mica causing all types of pops and crackles. They were usually updated to a ceramic of the same value if an amp comes in with a mica cap.
"Genius manifests itself. You got a hammer. You either build a Cathedral or you build a shithouse." - Carl Schroeder
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M Fowler
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Re: Friedman BE100

Post by M Fowler »

The owner uses this amp a lot so I will mention that to him about the CC resistor.
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Travis_HY
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Re: Friedman BE100

Post by Travis_HY »

I would bring it to his attention and have a 1 Watt 10K Xicon ready to drop in when it fails. Some amps are fine, but that resistor really caused headaches when I worked for Dave from 2008-2012, particularly because they would act up when they warmed up, so sometimes you'd have to wait hours for the symptom to appear. If the user says "It starts dropping volume after I play for an hour," it's that resistor usually. The amp will sound ever so slightly different with it being replaced with a Xicon, but it's not a bad sound by any means, and I would recommend doing that before putting the amp back out in the field. In fact, some amps sound better with the Xicon to my ears anyway and they don't seem to have any reliability issues in that application.
Last edited by Travis_HY on Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Genius manifests itself. You got a hammer. You either build a Cathedral or you build a shithouse." - Carl Schroeder
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M Fowler
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Re: Friedman BE100

Post by M Fowler »

Travis_HY,

Thanks for the information, very appreciated.

Mark
Rockwell666
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Re: Friedman BE100

Post by Rockwell666 »

wonderful amps. wonderful design and still look clean inside with all the extra switches and relays.
studiodunn
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Re: Friedman BE100

Post by studiodunn »

These are just great sounding amps. I've played more than my share of HRM types and The BE100 and Wizard MC stand out of the crowd for me.
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