PL-400 DCP and WO light board

[AngrySailor]

Going to start picking at this project I guess... Recieved a box of goodies for her (Thanks Lee!) and she’s due for a little love. This amp is stock right now other than main caps being replaced when I bought it maybe 10 years ago. I used it last maybe 4 years ago and it’s been in the closet since. I just plugged it in and no smoke came out. I’ll check DC offset then re-read the DCP instructions and dive in. Plan to hit the hardware store and build a DBT also.

Cosmetic question. The face plate has some stains on it. Almost like greasy fingerprints smudges that don’t seem to want to wipe off. How aggressive can I get cleaning this before I take the lettering off or cause any damage? Is there a clear coat or is it just the brushed/anodized finish?

 

[AngrySailor]

13mV right
2mV left.

The stock light board is a mess, had some bulbs changed, solder joint where the wiring joins is a mess (not that I may do much better but the bar is set pretty low...) and someone installed a power switch which sits between the back of the face plate and light board. This shorted 110vac to the light board and fried my meter. I plan to leave the switch (disconnected) in place to fill the hole in the face plate so long as it can be insulated and doesn’t interfere with the new light board.

Can’t find my small soldering iron... got lots of oxy/acetylene though...

 

[AngrySailor]

“TONIGHT YOU MAGGOTS WILL SLEEP WITH YOUR PHASE LINEAR. YOU WILL GIVE YOUR PHASE LINEAR A GIRLS NAME BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY PUSSY YOU MAGGOTS ARE GOING TO GET!!!”

Well she’s officially “Linda”

 

[AngrySailor]

There are some stand-offs included which I guess are for the binding posts? Looks like it will fit without as I don’t have any 4-40 screws on hand and just realized it’s sunday so the hardware store is closed...

 

[AngrySailor]

DCP installed. Seemed to go OK... this amp needs some work. The rectifier was held up by the rubber grommet and not sitting flush against the back of the transformer housing, there’s some lousy solder joints at the fuse holders and the back of the driver board looks pretty dirty. Guess I’ll find a light bulb and power her up.

 

[AngrySailor]

Cleaning up the rail fuse holders and connections. They were ugly asf

 

[AngrySailor]

A little cleaner...

 

[AngrySailor]

Lee, is the light board ready to install? There’s a couple extra resistors and a spare LED in the bag? I’m trying to read the instructions on Joe’s site but it’s tiny on my phone!

The face plate cleaned up some with some glass cleaner and serious scrubbing with a soft cloth. Must be nicotine stains on it. Better but she’s got a few miles on her... hopefully still a smooth ride though!

Oh yeah, do you think I can find an incandescent light bulb anywhere? Frig...

 

[AngrySailor]

Passed DBT, relay clicked after a few seconds.

 

[AngrySailor]

I have the PL18A (rev B) light board. The connection pads are labelled differently than the online instructions. Does anyone have the pin out for this board? I’m almost done and don’t want to let smoke out!

 

[Gepetto]

sent

 

[Gepetto]

Lee, is the light board ready to install? There’s a couple extra resistors and a spare LED in the bag? I’m trying to read the instructions on Joe’s site but it’s tiny on my phone!

The face plate cleaned up some with some glass cleaner and serious scrubbing with a soft cloth. Must be nicotine stains on it. Better but she’s got a few miles on her... hopefully still a smooth ride though!

Oh yeah, do you think I can find an incandescent light bulb anywhere? Frig...

For your DBT? Home Depot has tons of them. They are back after that silly ruling got rescinded.

 

[AngrySailor]

Looking at the board it looks like pad 4&5 are the AC (grey) leads?

 

[Gepetto]

Look in your email Andrew

 

[AngrySailor]

Thanks Joe. It was in the “junk” folder. Looking at it now

 

[AngrySailor]

So if I leave r10&12 uninstalled this is stock meter sensitivity and ready to use?

 

[AngrySailor]

No smoke! Meters swing right then back to zero. I don’t remember if it did that before...

 

[Gepetto]

Yes, if you leave the jumper in position 2-3 and resistors uninstalled, it is stock.

 

[Gepetto]

Unique DBT you got going there Andrew. Not UL listed but probably works fine...

 

[AngrySailor]

Linda’s alive! Need some 10-32 bolts and a little massaging of the holes for the 700b rack handles to fit. I figured they would be standard rack spacing no?

One meter sits off -20dB naturally. Might see if I can tweak it to zero but that’s splitting hairs now! I can hook up a sine wave generator to test the DCP but I gotta read the destructions again...