Build Log - #102 - So it Begins

[PicknStrum]

As promised, I'm officially starting a build log here for a 102 High Plate Skyline, as recommended by Tony. I'm just going to mention right off the bat, this is going to be a bit of an endurance project as I'm still in the planning process and just started to order some parts. I'm going to try to be organized in these posts and hopefully I'm not too wordy (but that tends to be a problem for me). Here goes:

Parts List

I was able to get a BOM together. If anyone is willing, I'd love if you'd look it over and let me know of any errors, recommendations, etc. I worked off the layouts, Tony's recommendations, and Joost's #124 BOM. Thank you to Joost and Tony for that and also thank you to Sean (Vertigo) for helping me plan and pointing out helpful tips. Here is the list I have:

#102.BOM.pdf

*Please note, I did try to go budget-minded on some of the items (transformers for example)

Like I said, this is considered a work-in-progress list so all suggestions and corrections are welcome. I didn't go as far as listing prices. I did keep part #'s in there but I have not verified all of them and many are obsolete. They still helped me find current parts though so I thought it was useful.

Other notes:

The only place I could find a premade chassis was overseas (solandfa.com). I'm going to try and find a creative way to remove / hide the Dumble name out of respect. I really couldn't find a pre-bent chassis that is that large (Hammonds seem to stop @ 17") and I don't have the tools to bend one efficiently. Also, Taylor at Amplified Nation advised me that he no longer had them in stock. It was between Solandfa and Ceriatone - I just went for the cheaper of the 2.

Upon recommendations from speaking with Taylor, Sean, and all you guys who pitched into my other thread, I decided to go with making my own boards. This is a first for me. I got a staking tool and went with fiberboard (again budget-minded) but I may bite the bullet and go for G10 depending on how this 1st attempt goes.

Upcoming Posts

-Mod plans and questions
-Questions about relay circuit (planning on going with FWR @ 12v) but want to better understand the relay circuits in general
-My first attempt at putting together boards

***EDIT: The BOM list above has been updated as of 11/12/2020

[martin manning]

Go with G10 for the boards. McMaster car has small sheets so you can cut and drill them yourself using the .pdf's in the files section, or maybe get Hoffman to make them for you if you don't have the right tools. Member Dorrisant can make them too, I believe. Taylor had some made a while ago, but I don't know if he has any stock.

Nothing wrong or cheap about Mag Components transformers.

[PicknStrum]

Go with G10 for the boards.

Done! Just put in the order. I'll just use the fiberboard for practice.

That didn't take much convincing because I love the G10 look. I went for it.

[ijedouglas]

As promised, I'm officially starting a build log here for a 102 High Plate Skyline, as recommended by Tony. I'm just going to mention right off the bat, this is going to be a bit of an endurance project as I'm still in the planning process and just started to order some parts. I'm going to try to be organized in these posts and hopefully I'm not too wordy (but that tends to be a problem for me). Here goes:

Parts List

I was able to get a BOM together. If anyone is willing, I'd love if you'd look it over and let me know of any errors, recommendations, etc. I worked off the layouts, Tony's recommendations, and Joost's #124 BOM. Thank you to Joost and Tony for that and also thank you to Sean (Vertigo) for helping me plan and pointing out helpful tips. Here is the list I have:

#102.BOM.pdf


*Please note, I did try to go budget-minded on some of the items (transformers for example)

Like I said, this is considered a work-in-progress list so all suggestions and corrections are welcome. I didn't go as far as listing prices. I did keep part #'s in there but I have not verified all of them and many are obsolete. They still helped me find current parts though so I thought it was useful.

Other notes:

The only place I could find a premade chassis was overseas (solandfa.com). I'm going to try and find a creative way to remove / hide the Dumble name out of respect. I really couldn't find a pre-bent chassis that is that large (Hammonds seem to stop @ 17") and I don't have the tools to bend one efficiently. Also, Taylor at Amplified Nation advised me that he no longer had them in stock. It was between Solandfa and Ceriatone - I just went for the cheaper of the 2.

Upon recommendations from speaking with Taylor, Sean, and all you guys who pitched into my other thread, I decided to go with making my own boards. This is a first for me. I got a staking tool and went with fiberboard (again budget-minded) but I may bite the bullet and go for G10 depending on how this 1st attempt goes.

Upcoming Posts

-Mod plans and questions
-Questions about relay circuit (planning on going with FWR @ 12v) but want to better understand the relay circuits in general
-My first attempt at putting together boards

I would highly recommend using good quality 1/2w carbon film resistors for the preamp. Jelle Welagen (forum member / Welagen Amps) is selling NOS Draloric LCA resistors which are closer to the Sprague Q-Lines that Dumble used. You can try PM him here or go to his eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/usr/lampje*2007
Here is a great thread by Gil on using these resistors : https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=32580

[Lothy]

Just had a look at your BOM.
The OT you choose has only a 4 ohm tab.
Maybe you should consider this one, with 4/8/16
http://www.classictone.net/40-18102.html

I've done the same mistake, by ordering a standard Twin OT. It's not a big deal, my cab runs on 4, but when I have to use a cab with a different impedance, it will be a missmatch.

Cheers
Gerhard

[PicknStrum]

Good Catch! For the other 2 amps I built, I was only ever planning on using an 8 ohm speaker, so I didn't worry about OT's with multiple secondary taps. I'll get that fixed because I am planning on adding the impedance selector.

I did get the G10 board in today and started cutting. My cuts aren't super square but I really don't have great tools for cutting pieces of that size. I used my miter.





I did cut an extra relay board because I'm toying with the idea of putting the mid boost on a stomp switch like member Chris Brown did. I got a lot to figure out with that before I commit though.

So, I ended up doing a test run drilling holes - YIKES! I don't have a drill press but check this out - it's awful:



I attempted to use my handheld drill and the bit was sliding all over the place. I even used a punch for getting the bit started. I'm thinking I may have to invest in a drill press? I have wanted to pick one up for a while so maybe this will be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Final problem of the day: I did order depth 1/8 on the G10. But I actually ordered eyelets before I ordered the G10. So the eyelets were short. Based on another thread, it looks like I should order these eyelets to fit with the 1/8: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ke ... %252bdL99H. Can anyone confirm that these eyelets on Mouser are what I need for the 1/8 G10?

[pompeiisneaks]

Those seem like they'd work they have a depth of .156 and 1/8 is .125 so you've got a slight overlap that can then flex into the hole correctly. '

I don't recall what exact ones I got for board OR for eyelets, as I got them probably 2 years ago or more.

But I think that should work for you.

~Phil

[drew]

I can’t see the images in the above post. You should be able to get the job done with a handheld drill if you use an automatic center punch and a new drill bit.

[PicknStrum]

I can’t see the images in the above post. You should be able to get the job done with a handheld drill if you use an automatic center punch and a new drill bit.

Sorry about that. I just re-posted the pictures - let me know if you guys still can't see them.

So I ended up ordering the eyelets I linked above. We will see on those.

Also, Harbor Freight had $15 off an 8" press, so I picked one up today. Super excited to try out my new toy!

As promised, I'm officially starting a build log here for a 102 High Plate Skyline, as recommended by Tony. I'm just going to mention right off the bat, this is going to be a bit of an endurance project as I'm still in the planning process and just started to order some parts. I'm going to try to be organized in these posts and hopefully I'm not too wordy (but that tends to be a problem for me). Here goes:

Parts List

I was able to get a BOM together. If anyone is willing, I'd love if you'd look it over and let me know of any errors, recommendations, etc. I worked off the layouts, Tony's recommendations, and Joost's #124 BOM. Thank you to Joost and Tony for that and also thank you to Sean (Vertigo) for helping me plan and pointing out helpful tips. Here is the list I have:

#102.BOM.pdf


*Please note, I did try to go budget-minded on some of the items (transformers for example)

Like I said, this is considered a work-in-progress list so all suggestions and corrections are welcome. I didn't go as far as listing prices. I did keep part #'s in there but I have not verified all of them and many are obsolete. They still helped me find current parts though so I thought it was useful.

Other notes:

The only place I could find a premade chassis was overseas (solandfa.com). I'm going to try and find a creative way to remove / hide the Dumble name out of respect. I really couldn't find a pre-bent chassis that is that large (Hammonds seem to stop @ 17") and I don't have the tools to bend one efficiently. Also, Taylor at Amplified Nation advised me that he no longer had them in stock. It was between Solandfa and Ceriatone - I just went for the cheaper of the 2.

Upon recommendations from speaking with Taylor, Sean, and all you guys who pitched into my other thread, I decided to go with making my own boards. This is a first for me. I got a staking tool and went with fiberboard (again budget-minded) but I may bite the bullet and go for G10 depending on how this 1st attempt goes.

Upcoming Posts

-Mod plans and questions
-Questions about relay circuit (planning on going with FWR @ 12v) but want to better understand the relay circuits in general
-My first attempt at putting together boards

I would highly recommend using good quality 1/2w carbon film resistors for the preamp. Jelle Welagen (forum member / Welagen Amps) is selling NOS Draloric LCA resistors which are closer to the Sprague Q-Lines that Dumble used. You can try PM him here or go to his eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/usr/lampje*2007
Here is a great thread by Gil on using these resistors : https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=32580

I did e-mail Jelle through his website but haven't heard anything yet. No worries if I don't hear from him - I told him what I was looking for but I only see a few different values posted on ebay. I decided to go with Dale's throughout the pre-amp board and around the pots and tubes. I have them in my cart at Mouser so haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any reason not to give the Dale's a shot - I like the look and tolerance of them. From a carbon film standpoint, I could only really find generic stuff.

[ijedouglas]

I did e-mail Jelle through his website but haven't heard anything yet. No worries if I don't hear from him - I told him what I was looking for but I only see a few different values posted on ebay. I decided to go with Dale's throughout the pre-amp board and around the pots and tubes. I have them in my cart at Mouser so haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any reason not to give the Dale's a shot - I like the look and tolerance of them. From a carbon film standpoint, I could only really find generic stuff.

If you want to get closer to #0102 I would stick with (or as close to) what Mr. Dumble used I have never built an amp with Dale MF throughout the preamp but I did a ton of research when I first started and the consensus was to use MF on the plates and CF on the rest. There are multiple (heated) discussions around resistor types imparting different character to the end result which I'd prefer to avoid but in my own experience, the Dralorics had a massive difference over the Xicon CF that I built my first amp with.

[PicknStrum]

Thought I'd give a quick update. Drill press worked fantastic for drilling boards, so much easier. It's still hard to get the holes on the relay board drilled fairly straight; but they will function and they look much better than before. Also, the eyelets I linked above worked great on the 1/8 G10 board. I was about 70% done before running out of eyelets (should've estimated better).

Also, I did hear back from Jelle and I have an ODS kit of Draloric resistors coming my way. I'm pretty excited. Not typically the type to go for mojo parts, only because I usually aim to be more budget-minded. But after reading through some threads and taking ijedouglas' advice into account, I thought it was worth a shot; especially because I've obviously never heard / played a dumble in person. Actually, scratch that, I saw Joey Landreth with what I thought was a Dumble - may have been a clone (looks like he's even played through norburybrook's builds too - very cool). Anyways, I decided to go for the Dralorics.

[ijedouglas]

Thought I'd give a quick update. Drill press worked fantastic for drilling boards, so much easier. It's still hard to get the holes on the relay board drilled fairly straight; but they will function and they look much better than before. Also, the eyelets I linked above worked great on the 1/8 G10 board. I was about 70% done before running out of eyelets (should've estimated better).

Also, I did hear back from Jelle and I have an ODS kit of Draloric resistors coming my way. I'm pretty excited. Not typically the type to go for mojo parts, only because I usually aim to be more budget-minded. But after reading through some threads and taking ijedouglas' advice into account, I thought it was worth a shot; especially because I've obviously never heard / played a dumble in person. Actually, scratch that, I saw Joey Landreth with what I thought was a Dumble - may have been a clone (looks like he's even played through norburybrook's builds too - very cool). Anyways, I decided to go for the Dralorics.

Awesome. Keep us up to date on your progress. Excited to see the result

[PicknStrum]

So, I wanted to do a quick post about the mods I'm planning.

The easy ones / questions first.

1. Decided NOT to do the half-power switch based on several recommendations in my initial thread. Sounds like people don't find it necessary in almost any way.

2. I'm going to keep the 5k1's off power tube pin 1's. Another member advised me that I would then have the option to try out EL34's in there (I assume this would just require re-bias)...can anyone confirm?

3. I'm going to wire the power LED from the relay supply - so, I'll use a 12v rated LED. Would I still need 330R and 1N4003 or are those just "decoupling" the power LED from the heaters when tapping into PT wiring?

4. I'm going to put in banana jacks for biasing

5. I'm going to use Martin's footswitchable FET boost with a push/pull pot. I'll probably have some questions when getting into that wiring.

6. The biggie (at least for me) - I want to make the mid boost footswitchable but also still be able to use the panel switch when I want. Based on Birdsnake Brown's (member Chris Brown's) demo of the footswitchable mid boost, I thought it would be worth it. I don't have any experience using relays and very little drafting schematics of switches but this is what I'm thinking:



A couple notes - First of all, I kept the mid boost switch as a SPDT for simplicity. This will be a DPDT in reality. I assume HAD used a DPDT for ease of wiring. Also, the relay shown is obviously SPDT but I'm going to use the same type of DPDT as the other relays and keep one of the sections unwired. I'm basically going for an additional DPDT that will wire the mid boost either to the original panel switch vs. the relay / footswitch. Does this wiring look correct? Anything I would need to minimize popping potential?

For the footswitch, I'm going to use a 6-Pin Jack. This will account for +12, ground, OD, PAB, FET Boost, and Mid Boost. I'm going to wire the footswitch itself as shown by Norburybrook here:

https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 4&start=15

The sixth pin will then account for my 4th relay going to the footswitch.

Does this seem doable? A waste of time?

[norburybrook]

all I'll say is that for me, the mid boost switch is quite a subtle thing, not sure I'd go to the bother of having it on a relay/foot switch and all that entails. I'd be more inclined to tweak the PAB to taste with your particular guitar.

YMMV of course


M

[Vertigo]

3. I'm going to wire the power LED from the relay supply - so, I'll use a 12v rated LED. Would I still need 330R and 1N4003 or are those just "decoupling" the power LED from the heaters when tapping into PT wiring?

You don't need the resistor, diode or terminal strip between that power tube and the PT. I wired my LED directly to the terminal strip by the 12V regulator (directly under the LED)

5. I'm going to use Martin's footswitchable FET boost with a push/pull pot. I'll probably have some questions when getting into that wiring.

The layout I sent you has that covered. In the layout I separated the switch from the pot for clarity but that's exactly how you'd do it. If you're not using DIYLC, let me know and I'll make a PDF of it and will email it to you.

I agree with Marcus about the mid-boost. It's subtle. I've been noticing that with my single coil equipped guitars, if I engage the mid boost I can make the clean channel a bit crunchy more easily by digging in a little harder. I don't think I miss not having it on a FS, but it's your amp and if you want it, that's all the reason you need to do it. Shouldn't be much more effort than not having it.