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BC30 died...


Svet

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You must have used the standby switch. This amp is notorious for blowing fuses and rectifier valves because of the flyback voltage from the choke when the standby switch is flicked. Just replace the mains fuse (located in the power socket drawer) and check your rectifier, then leave the standby switch in 'Play' mode permanently. Don't worry, this kind of amp (it's a guitar amp, not radio transmitter) doesn't need a standby switch.

 

Andy

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks Andy. I checked the mains fuse with multimeter and it tests fine. Switched rectifier valve too, no go. I have been using standby but I have now been told here and elsewhere not to unless it is diode rectified.

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switched the rectifier tube and mains fuse, no luck. Of course I stripped the dang mains screw thinking maybe it needed an extra turn. Now that's stuck too and is going to need to be replaced... sigh I guess Ill try the switch next

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Stupid question but have you tried the wall socket with anything else? I say that because I've spent hours in the past trying to find a fault in an electrical item only to find that in one instance the fuse in the plug had blown (blindingly obvious to check but somehow I forgot) and in the other it was a broken wire in the wall socket.

If that doesn't work and it isn't the mains switch then it's going to be a chassis out and visual inspection to see if anything is showing burn marks or has popped.

 

If you take a decent hi res photo of the chassis and post it up on here it might help as many eyes increase the chances of finding the offending component.

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Hey Wiggy, the outlet is fine as I have other amps that I use off the same duplex with no issuses. Those pics are from my Samsung phone at4128x2322 with aspect ratio of 16:9. I think photobucket is compressing big time but I will try it on my dlsr camera tomorrow. Thank you

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Hey Wiggy, the outlet is fine as I have other amps that I use off the same duplex with no issuses. Those pics are from my Samsung phone at4128x2322 with aspect ratio of 16:9. I think photobucket is compressing big time but I will try it on my dlsr camera tomorrow. Thank you

 

Not heard any more - have you got it sorted (BTW your mobile phone pics never appeared)

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  • 4 weeks later...

You say you turned something to get to the main fuse, that sounds like the HT fuse. There is also a 'master' fuse drawer built into the IEC(power) socket. I use a small flat screw driver to lever out the fuse drawer a bit like in this picture, only the BC30 one is much better, it also has a slot for a spare fuse and Epiphone will have included one! There are also seven different fuses on the actual circuit board inside the amp, I think about three of them are directly in line with the power transformer and could be to blame. BTW even with a silicone diode rectifier you only need standby to help protect badly designed DC coupled gain stages and the BC30 doesn't have any, badly designed or not. Standby switches in most guitar amps are really nothing but a mistake copied from Leo Fenders 'mute' switch, and now that guitarists expect them, manufacturers can't really sell amps without them!

 

13498737234_f698e7b432_o.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've just found another design flaw that may be the sole reason the BC30 self destructs. There is not enough limiting resistance before the rectifier. Limiting resistance helps keep ripple current within limits and is stated on the datasheet.

 

14054956103_ee737e8325_o_d.gif

 

It is worth noting that the choke will slightly lower the required limiting resistance, but not by much. The above datasheet chart provides the calculation necessary to determine the limiting resistance provided by the transformer:

 

Rs = Rsec + N2Rpri

 

I have measured Rpri to be 5.5R and Rsec to be 37.5R (75R for the entire winding) so...

 

Transformer ratio N = 350 / 240 = 1.45 so...

 

37.5 + (1.45 * 1.45 * 5.5) = 49R

 

The chart shows that for a 350V tap, the limiting resistance needs to be around 105R for EACH PLATE of the rectifier, and this is for a fresh valve manufactured to 1959 standards. So lets assume 115R will be safer for modern 5AR4s,

 

115R - 49R = 66R

 

68R is the nearest standard resistor, two of these should be chassis mounted inside the amp, and the transformer secondary taps (350V) should be wired directly to these and then the other ends of the resistors wired to the PCB. I recommend 25W types, as the voltage rating should be in the region of 550V. The working voltage in practice will be much much lower than this but at the moment of power on, it will be higher and it's nice to know that nothing can go wrong! I over spec almost everything in my amps!

 

BTW, using the standby switch makes the problem worse because the rectifier is fully ready to conduct. If you are unlucky enough to flip the switch at the moment the mains AC voltage is at it's peak then destruction is almost guaranteed. Starting the amp from cold (without the standby) will slightly reduce the likelihood of failure. So, for a happy BC30, don't use the standby and install limiting resistors!

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  • 1 month later...

THIS IS A REPLY POSTED TO THE BC30 MOD THREAD, I THOUGHT IT WOULD ALSO BE USEFUL HERE

 

 

 

Hi, my previous post may be a little difficult to read, I've never been good at writing. So, I'll show you two schematics, the original, then the modded one. The first one shows the original power supply. The transformer secondaries (350-0-350) go to the 'Standby' switch and then to the main circuit board. These are relatively thin red wires that come from the power transformer, through a rubber grommet in the chassis and then go directly to the 'Standby' switch.

 

14299937322_9d303e5cb4_o.gif

 

The next schematic includes the two new 68R resistors, the green arrows point to them.

 

14278732876_aae5287642_o.gif

 

There is plenty of free space on the end of the chassis to bolt on the new resistors. This is probably the trickiest part of the mod if you want it to look tidy, as you obviously have to drill from the outside, but the resistors go in the inside. The important thing is that the mounting holes are the correct distance apart and that it is electrically safe. I sort of eyeballed it and used the resistors as a guide to get the holes the right distance from each other. If you see what I mean...

 

On to the wiring. All soldered connections should be covered with heat shrink, simply slide an appropriate length of heat shrink down the wire before soldering, then you can slide it back over the finished solder joint when you are done.

 

I recommend cutting these secondary (350-0-350) wires and inch or so from the standby switch (to allow easy joining of new wire). You now have two long (6 or 7 inches) of thin red wire coming from the power transformer. These will be tied to other wires to keep things tidy (you may find it easiest to cut the plastic cable ties to free things up). Strip some of the sleeve from the ends of these two and solder them to the new resistors. You then need two additional pieces of wire to go from the other ends of the resistors to the inch or so of wires hanging from the standby switch. Attach them accordingly and don't forget the heat shrink!

 

I find the best way to attach two lengths of wire is to twist and tin each of them, then bend them into hooks. Hook them together and squeeze them tight using pliers. Then solder them together properly, cover with heat shrink, and you're done!

 

 

 

Too the guys that say you can't run KT-66 tubes The guy who made the BC30 said it could handle the 66's plus

the ot is 22k ohms and the KT-66 are rated at ahhhh 22k ohms. Sounds like it might work...

 

 

In an amp like the BC30, KT66's actually want to see something like an 8k load. The BC30 transformer presents something like 4.4k. So simply plug you speakers into the 'next socket down'. On the back of the amp there are sockets for 4, 8 and 16 ohms. Relabel them to 8, 16 and 32 ohms and you wont go far wrong.

BTW I ripped the guts out of one of my BC30 amps and gave it a Selmer Treble and Bass preamp, Fender-ish reverb and a sort of SoCal power amp using KT66s. Sounds fecking awesome. Turn the Presence and Reverb down and it's a killer bass amp too! (Still building the head cabinet though, no bass combo should ever have valves in it!!)

 

Hope this lot helps!

Andy

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