How to Fix Fatman 182 Hi Fi Amplifier Low Volume on One Channel
A common sort of Hi Fi Valve stereo amplifier, low output on one channel. Useful video for basic amp fault finding.
Жүктеу.....
Пікірлер: 48
@brandonv1603 Жыл бұрын
plz post more im a college student studying ce trying to make me own guitar amps and pedals as projects. i really enjoy your content and your one of the few people on youtube who can actually teach me these things!
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Hi Brandon I'll keep them coming!
@richardk7256 Жыл бұрын
Nice troubleshooting! And a good explanation of cathode biasing.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Richard
@PhuketMyMac7 ай бұрын
Thank you for the explanation at the end. Made sense.
@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher Жыл бұрын
Good fix. Enjoyed that. Good job it wasn't one of the KT88s. They cost a kidney. I have four in a 200 watt Carlsbro PA, which I plan to turn in to a beastly guitar amp. Thanks for another great video!
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks.
@pda49184 Жыл бұрын
Excellent video Stuart.. Much like a doctor, it's all down to diagnosis to find the fix for the patient .. Very informative and great explanation of how different systems of biasing valves work.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Pete
@edwardhannigan6324 Жыл бұрын
Hey Stuart, nice video once again.. Great explanation for the different bias configurations. Cleared it up for me anyway..Top job..Ed..uk..😀
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Ed I'm glad you enjoyed it.
@electrolytics Жыл бұрын
Thanks alot Mr. Stuart. Yes, the bias schematic rundown at the end was helpful. Always appreciate those educational demos.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
@rgbplumbinghilton Жыл бұрын
Nice fix!! Very nice quality pcb and decent tracks
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Yes I thought so too. It probably cost a fair bit.
@michaelevans3852 Жыл бұрын
Stuart, you have provided another entertaining/educational video. I had to laugh at the placement of the screws on the cover (another way for engineers to mess with techs). Thanks again for the talk through the troubleshooting and the explanation with diagrams. Yes, I can follow as you explain (you do well with this ). Thank you again for your time.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
I'm pleased you enjoyed it Michael.
@tjsogmc Жыл бұрын
I love gear with "magic eyes". I have several Grundig and Telefunken radios with them, and much of my bench test equipment has some type of magic eye. I think they are excellent for repairing vintage electronics and I use them to verify the results of my digital test equipment. If nothing else, they look really cool and give that mad scientist vibe ;)
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Yes super cool! Huge nostalgia value for me.
@rjprivate Жыл бұрын
Thanks for this very useful lesson
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it.
@goodun2974 Жыл бұрын
The defective cathode bypass capacitor appears to my eyes to be bulging slightly. It's also located closer to the hot-running cathode resistor then the capacitor for the other channel is, so its not surprising for that particular cap to fail first. I would have installed it with the leads left a bit long so that the capacitor could be bent or tilted away from the heat generated by that resistor. PS, the bypass capacitor also increases gain, improves frequency response, lowers distortion and improves linearity.
@zbaby82 Жыл бұрын
Good job Stuart!
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Cheers Zack!
@wadehicks9270 Жыл бұрын
I’ve had questions about cathode bias that you answered. Thank you Stuart I appreciate that be safe.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Excellent thanks Wade
@user-rf9me7xm1w Жыл бұрын
A brilliant explanation regarding “auto biasing” but sometimes, what you call the “wasted voltage”, developed across the cathode resistor is intentional and used to introduce negative feedback for that stage. Although this reduces the gain, as in this case, it produces gain stability and increases the bandwidth. I frequently used to find exploded electrolytic bypass capacitors in amplifiers where the cathode resistors went open circuit. The voltage across them used to rise to way above their rated value, used to make such a mess. Keep up the good work, really enjoy your channel.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@paulsto6516 Жыл бұрын
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Cheers Paul
@goodun2974 Жыл бұрын
An old serviceman's trick for replacing screws such as the hidden one down at the bottom of the tube cage: put a dab of soft, sticky beeswax inside the screwhead and push the screw onto the screwdriver tip. We would collect the soft wax that comes out of hot-running transformers, and every tech had a little vial with a ball of it on their bench. In a case like this, the problem with using a magnetic screwdriver is that the screw itself will tend to tip sideways off of the screwdriver tip, going off in search of the nearest ferro-magnetic device, like the transformer housing or the amp chassis. Anyway, if you don't have any soft beeswax from a transformer, a soft resinous putty of almost any kind will work, and you only need the tiniest dab of it inside the head of the screw.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Hi thanks for that. I often just glue the scrw on with a dab of glue. Magnetic screwdrivers are a thing of course, but I don;t own a full set.
@goodun2974
Жыл бұрын
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 , You can temporarily magnetize the tip of any steel screwdriver simply by rubbing it on a speaker magnet or the other large magnet, several times. You can also buy a hollow, torpedo-shaped magnetic adapter made by Makita (it's blue, like their tools are) that will slip right over the shaft of a screwdriver to magnetize it; you can slide the magnet away from the tip for less magnetic force or towards the tip for a stronger magnetic force.
@user-rf9me7xm1w
Жыл бұрын
I use blue-tac, works a treat.
@goodun2974
Жыл бұрын
@@user-rf9me7xm1w , auto-body ribbon putty, like a softer version of Mortite ribbon caulking, also works. The trick of course is to use just a tiny bit of it, just enough to hold the screw but sufficiently little that it will easily be displaced if you need to remove that screw again.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
@@goodun2974 Ok useful info thanks.
@paulp2033 Жыл бұрын
Hi Stuart. Another top video, so thanks a lot for that. Do you use an isolation transformer with your oscilloscope? I have read multiple articles on whether you should or shouldn’t use one when using a scope with a guitar amp. Also read a few things saying not to use use the group cable on the scope probe as well. Would love to know if you have any strong opinions on the subject. Many thanks again. Paul
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Paul. No I've never heard of using an isolation transformer for the scope. I can;t think of a good reason? The scope ground and amplifier chassis ground are the same ground. Wonder why they want to use a transformer?
@HH-pu2hf2 ай бұрын
The top of the capacitor was not flat a sign that it is gone. These green resitors can be hot and that is also not good for the capacitor.
@goodun2974 Жыл бұрын
The volume control appears to be a Chinese clone of a high quality Noble potentiometer. The wafers are sandwiched together with a pair of bolts, and so if there's no opening where you can easily inject control cleaner ---- there might or might not be slots underneath the control where the terminals exit, or it might be sealed ---- you can remove one of those bolts and loosen the other and squirt a little cleaner into the gap or space that develops between the wafers, or into the hole that the bolt passes through, and the control cleaner will work itself down inside the control by capillary action. Of course, this means you have to remove the potentiometer from the amp chassis first!. It does appear that there's a section of the main circuit board right behind that control which doesn't have a trace running through it, and so you probably could take a Dremel tool to the edge of the PCB and grind away a little bit of the main board, an 1/8" or so, and perhaps create enough space to angle the control out. Be advised that I have seen eBay sellers hawking what appear to be or are said to be high quality Alps "blue velvet" pots but are actually fakes and have poor resistance tracking between the 2 halves of the stereo control.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Ok thanks for the info.
@alexdeleon7135 Жыл бұрын
Well done, Stuart. Why was it so delayed in posting?
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
I have a backlog of videos for when I haven;t had anything interesting in for a while. I can just use one of my stop-gap vids!
@waynegram8907 Жыл бұрын
What do you mean by the power tube tick over rate? I don't know what the tick over rate is or does
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Hi Wayne. I mean the DC bias current flowing through the tube. KInd of like the car tickover revs when no accelerator is used.
@Tenmilsochet142 ай бұрын
Hi. I have a fatman itube red. With absolutely no sound from both channels.. Do you have any pointers or previous experience thank you Rich.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
2 ай бұрын
Hi unfortuantely that could be one of many things. Check the HT fuise of course.
Пікірлер: 48
plz post more im a college student studying ce trying to make me own guitar amps and pedals as projects. i really enjoy your content and your one of the few people on youtube who can actually teach me these things!
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Hi Brandon I'll keep them coming!
Nice troubleshooting! And a good explanation of cathode biasing.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Richard
Thank you for the explanation at the end. Made sense.
Good fix. Enjoyed that. Good job it wasn't one of the KT88s. They cost a kidney. I have four in a 200 watt Carlsbro PA, which I plan to turn in to a beastly guitar amp. Thanks for another great video!
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks.
Excellent video Stuart.. Much like a doctor, it's all down to diagnosis to find the fix for the patient .. Very informative and great explanation of how different systems of biasing valves work.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Pete
Hey Stuart, nice video once again.. Great explanation for the different bias configurations. Cleared it up for me anyway..Top job..Ed..uk..😀
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Ed I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks alot Mr. Stuart. Yes, the bias schematic rundown at the end was helpful. Always appreciate those educational demos.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
Nice fix!! Very nice quality pcb and decent tracks
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Yes I thought so too. It probably cost a fair bit.
Stuart, you have provided another entertaining/educational video. I had to laugh at the placement of the screws on the cover (another way for engineers to mess with techs). Thanks again for the talk through the troubleshooting and the explanation with diagrams. Yes, I can follow as you explain (you do well with this ). Thank you again for your time.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
I'm pleased you enjoyed it Michael.
I love gear with "magic eyes". I have several Grundig and Telefunken radios with them, and much of my bench test equipment has some type of magic eye. I think they are excellent for repairing vintage electronics and I use them to verify the results of my digital test equipment. If nothing else, they look really cool and give that mad scientist vibe ;)
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Yes super cool! Huge nostalgia value for me.
Thanks for this very useful lesson
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it.
The defective cathode bypass capacitor appears to my eyes to be bulging slightly. It's also located closer to the hot-running cathode resistor then the capacitor for the other channel is, so its not surprising for that particular cap to fail first. I would have installed it with the leads left a bit long so that the capacitor could be bent or tilted away from the heat generated by that resistor. PS, the bypass capacitor also increases gain, improves frequency response, lowers distortion and improves linearity.
Good job Stuart!
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Cheers Zack!
I’ve had questions about cathode bias that you answered. Thank you Stuart I appreciate that be safe.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Excellent thanks Wade
A brilliant explanation regarding “auto biasing” but sometimes, what you call the “wasted voltage”, developed across the cathode resistor is intentional and used to introduce negative feedback for that stage. Although this reduces the gain, as in this case, it produces gain stability and increases the bandwidth. I frequently used to find exploded electrolytic bypass capacitors in amplifiers where the cathode resistors went open circuit. The voltage across them used to rise to way above their rated value, used to make such a mess. Keep up the good work, really enjoy your channel.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks!
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Cheers Paul
An old serviceman's trick for replacing screws such as the hidden one down at the bottom of the tube cage: put a dab of soft, sticky beeswax inside the screwhead and push the screw onto the screwdriver tip. We would collect the soft wax that comes out of hot-running transformers, and every tech had a little vial with a ball of it on their bench. In a case like this, the problem with using a magnetic screwdriver is that the screw itself will tend to tip sideways off of the screwdriver tip, going off in search of the nearest ferro-magnetic device, like the transformer housing or the amp chassis. Anyway, if you don't have any soft beeswax from a transformer, a soft resinous putty of almost any kind will work, and you only need the tiniest dab of it inside the head of the screw.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Hi thanks for that. I often just glue the scrw on with a dab of glue. Magnetic screwdrivers are a thing of course, but I don;t own a full set.
@goodun2974
Жыл бұрын
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 , You can temporarily magnetize the tip of any steel screwdriver simply by rubbing it on a speaker magnet or the other large magnet, several times. You can also buy a hollow, torpedo-shaped magnetic adapter made by Makita (it's blue, like their tools are) that will slip right over the shaft of a screwdriver to magnetize it; you can slide the magnet away from the tip for less magnetic force or towards the tip for a stronger magnetic force.
@user-rf9me7xm1w
Жыл бұрын
I use blue-tac, works a treat.
@goodun2974
Жыл бұрын
@@user-rf9me7xm1w , auto-body ribbon putty, like a softer version of Mortite ribbon caulking, also works. The trick of course is to use just a tiny bit of it, just enough to hold the screw but sufficiently little that it will easily be displaced if you need to remove that screw again.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
@@goodun2974 Ok useful info thanks.
Hi Stuart. Another top video, so thanks a lot for that. Do you use an isolation transformer with your oscilloscope? I have read multiple articles on whether you should or shouldn’t use one when using a scope with a guitar amp. Also read a few things saying not to use use the group cable on the scope probe as well. Would love to know if you have any strong opinions on the subject. Many thanks again. Paul
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Paul. No I've never heard of using an isolation transformer for the scope. I can;t think of a good reason? The scope ground and amplifier chassis ground are the same ground. Wonder why they want to use a transformer?
The top of the capacitor was not flat a sign that it is gone. These green resitors can be hot and that is also not good for the capacitor.
The volume control appears to be a Chinese clone of a high quality Noble potentiometer. The wafers are sandwiched together with a pair of bolts, and so if there's no opening where you can easily inject control cleaner ---- there might or might not be slots underneath the control where the terminals exit, or it might be sealed ---- you can remove one of those bolts and loosen the other and squirt a little cleaner into the gap or space that develops between the wafers, or into the hole that the bolt passes through, and the control cleaner will work itself down inside the control by capillary action. Of course, this means you have to remove the potentiometer from the amp chassis first!. It does appear that there's a section of the main circuit board right behind that control which doesn't have a trace running through it, and so you probably could take a Dremel tool to the edge of the PCB and grind away a little bit of the main board, an 1/8" or so, and perhaps create enough space to angle the control out. Be advised that I have seen eBay sellers hawking what appear to be or are said to be high quality Alps "blue velvet" pots but are actually fakes and have poor resistance tracking between the 2 halves of the stereo control.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Ok thanks for the info.
Well done, Stuart. Why was it so delayed in posting?
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
I have a backlog of videos for when I haven;t had anything interesting in for a while. I can just use one of my stop-gap vids!
What do you mean by the power tube tick over rate? I don't know what the tick over rate is or does
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
Жыл бұрын
Hi Wayne. I mean the DC bias current flowing through the tube. KInd of like the car tickover revs when no accelerator is used.
Hi. I have a fatman itube red. With absolutely no sound from both channels.. Do you have any pointers or previous experience thank you Rich.
@stuartukguitarampguy5830
2 ай бұрын
Hi unfortuantely that could be one of many things. Check the HT fuise of course.