5E3 Testing and troubleshooting

[Mojojtm]

You don't know that for sure yet, but since you are not hearing a loud squeal (positive feedback) they may be correct as they are. Leave them as they are for now, and look for the break in the signal path.

Here is where I am not getting a little lost, I understand partially signal path. I mean generally speaking I know a little but I am not sure what parts includes the signal path, in other words what do I need to check exactly.

I have checked all volume pots connections wiring, and the 4 jacks Bright and Normal, all seems connected correctly, I have pulled the wire to see if they come lose or something but all seems good, not sure how to proceed

[Mojojtm]

You don't know that for sure yet, but since you are not hearing a loud squeal (positive feedback) they may be correct as they are. Leave them as they are for now, and look for the break in the signal path.

Here is where I am getting a little lost, I understand partially signal path. I mean generally speaking I know a little but I am not sure what parts includes the signal path, in other words what do I need to check exactly.

I have checked all volume pots connections wiring, and the 4 jacks Bright and Normal, all seems connected correctly, I have pulled the wire to see if they come lose or something but all seems good, not sure how to proceed

[martin manning]

Sorry, there is no feedback loop in this amp, so the OT secondary connections for signal/ground are not critical.

See below for the signal path.

[Mojojtm]

Sorry, there is no feedback loop in this amp, so the OT secondary connections for signal/ground are not critical.

See below for the signal path.

Yes so something else is causing the buzzy noise when plugin the speaker into the left jack

The buzzy noise is not too loud, but you hear it a lot I mean is nasty but doesn't increase and if I increase the volume nothing happens at least on volume for normal channel, and both channel(Normal) behave the same.

I will reviewing everything something must be wrong somewhere

[Mojojtm]

Sorry, there is no feedback loop in this amp, so the OT secondary connections for signal/ground are not critical.

See below for the signal path.

Yes so something else is causing the buzzy noise when plugin the speaker into the left jack

The buzzy noise is not too loud, but you hear it a lot I mean is nasty but doesn't increase and if I increase the volume nothing happens at least on volume for normal channel, and both input jacks (Normal Channel) behave the same. Btw there is no sound just buzzy noise. I didn't increase the volume too high I am afraid to break something

I will be reviewing everything something must be wrong somewhere

The question is if on this Stewmac layout I invert the connections of the black and yellow will that work?

Because how do I know my green is the yellow in Stewmac and my yellow is what is in black in Stewmac?

[martin manning]

As I tried to say above, it will work either way.

The buzzy noise is likely due to a break (open or missing connection) in the signal path, as opposed to a short to ground.

[Mojojtm]

As I tried to say above, it will work either way.

The buzzy noise is likely due to a break (open or missing connection) in the signal path, as opposed to a short to ground.

Ok what parts, wirings, do I need to check that belongs to the signal path.

Does that includes pot’s wiring, input jacks wiring?

Is there anything on the board that is part of the signal path?

Thanks

[pompeiisneaks]

Yes and Yes,

The signal path is the entire circuit of where signal flows. It's not super easy to explain without drawing, and forum member rob robinette did a great page on it:

https://robrobinette.com/How_The_5E3_Deluxe_Works.htm

if you look down a bit there's a schematic and he shows the signal path with a light grey line. This is just for the bright channel but it should be clear from that how the normal would flow into the same signal path through it's half of the first triode.

~Phil

[Mojojtm]

Yes and Yes,

The signal path is the entire circuit of where signal flows. It's not super easy to explain without drawing, and forum member rob robinette did a great page on it:

https://robrobinette.com/How_The_5E3_Deluxe_Works.htm

if you look down a bit there's a schematic and he shows the signal path with a light grey line. This is just for the bright channel but it should be clear from that how the normal would flow into the same signal path through it's half of the first triode.

~Phil

Ok that is going to be tough for me, I checked what you told me not easy now to troubleshoot, but I can only check the soldering to each connection one by one and see

[martin manning]

Use your multimeter to test for continuity or measure resistance between these points to confirm that the connections are there. Power off, of course. Some of the wire connections will be obvious by inspection, in others the wires are hidden. Measure from component eyelets on the board to the pot lugs and tube pins to verify the connections. On 12AX7, pins 123 and 678 are Anode, Grid, and Cathode. If you don't know how to work from the schematic to the hardware, this is a good time to learn ;^)

If all those connections are good, then you will probably have to trace a live signal through the circuit,

One other thing you can check as you go is resistance to ground along the signal path. You should always get some high value, as long as you have a plug in the input jack, and the volume controls are turned up.

[Mojojtm]

Use your multimeter to test for continuity or measure resistance between these points to confirm that the connections are there. Power off, of course. Some of the wire connections will be obvious by inspection, in others the wires are hidden. Measure from component eyelets on the board to the pot lugs and tube pins to verify the connections. On 12AX7, pins 123 and 678 are Anode, Grid, and Cathode. If you don't know how to work from the schematic to the hardware, this is a good time to learn ;^)

If all those connections are good, then you will probably have to trace a live signal through the circuit,

One other thing you can check as you go is resistance to ground along the signal path. You should always get some high value, as long as you have a plug in the input jack, and the volume controls are turned up.

Yes today I will spend time on that it's a matter of being patient

[Mojojtm]

So far checking all connections, wires and using the multimeter for continuity I can't see anything wrong.
What would happen if the OT if burnout would cause a buzzy noise as it is like having an interruption isn't?

Could that be?

[Mojojtm]

Tested the back-of-board jumpers
I could not test it from the back as the board is already fitted but I did test from turret eyelet number to turret eyelet number
I did use multimeter for test continuity and all is good I did the the followings:
22+23, 22+29, 7+30, 4+18, 4+9, and 9+16.

This is what I have done to check the back connections and that has no issues, I also test wires, and other point to point connections couldn't find a broken connection

[martin manning]

Do you have a way to feed a continuous signal into the input? I would do that, and then trace the signal through the amp, which you can do with your multimeter measuring AC voltage. It's best to avoid points with high DC voltage, so measure on the downstream (grid) side of the coupling caps.

[Mojojtm]

I am not 100% sure and here is where my experience, (little) stops, and I better ask someone I know to have a look with me, he's a guitarist that does Tube Amps since over 35 years and he knows enough.

Strangely enough it seemed much simpler to build a 5E3 than 18 Watts where the 18 Watts succeed 2 times in a raw at first try and the same for the 5F1, but not this one

Will see and I will post here what was wrong