PL400 glad I found this forum.

WOPL Sniffer

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i learned to disconnect wires from board...trim and retin...then resolder...they always break...
even had one do that when i recapped hafler p230...

Retin? As in Retina??

Never mind, got it (re-tin is what you are saying). Must have been your new accent. :)
 
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George S.

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Nice job Gary. I did something similar with LED lamps in my PL5000S2 tuner.
Going to revisit that piece of gear in the future and make additional changes and improvements.
As we hobbyists work on and learn more about electronics, we have ample opportunity to refine our prior work.
Have to wonder what they were thinking when they made smoked meters.:). Nice job!
 
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Found me another 400 fourfin but this one seems to be made for a band maybe ,it black plain face with a power toggle switch and input pots. Power switch looks factory wiring ect. Has pl14 board . You may have seen it on eBay I got it for two hundred at my door . Guess what it works the input jacks are junk and pots are not so good have bad spots. Output is clean signal into load . Got watts dc protection board on the way . Installing input jacks and prepping for my board.
IMG_20231123_202255898.jpg IMG_20231123_202326586.jpg IMG_20231123_202602626.jpg IMG_20231123_202639778.jpg
 

mlucitt

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I believe that Phase Linear amplifiers that have a Serial Number ending in "A" went to employees or friends at a discount. They were not "Seconds" or blemished amplifiers. There were no blemished amplifiers that left the Phase Linear factory.
Is that correct oldphaser?
 
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Found me another 400 fourfin but this one seems to be made for a band maybe ,it black plain face with a power toggle switch and input pots. Power switch looks factory wiring ect. Has pl14 board . You may have seen it on eBay I got it for two hundred at my door . Guess what it works the input jacks are junk and pots are not so good have bad spots. Output is clean signal into load . Got watts dc protection board on the way . Installing input jacks and prepping for my board.
View attachment 78493 View attachment 78494 View attachment 78495 View attachment 78496
This unit being sn A so I'm told was a special in house unit being said this 1973 unit is equipped with three prong so chassis is grounded the white wire going to the two junctions for output has been replaced with a .01 1kv cap to isolate chassis from 0 volt dc buss .
My question is does this mean I need to run new common back to cap buss for my watts dc board? I'm sure it does .
 

mlucitt

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this 1973 unit is equipped with three prong
Gary, it is unlikely that Phase Linear used a three-prong plug on an amplifier back in 1973, but there are people on this Forum that would know.
More likely it was an upgrade made by a previous owner, possibly to use as a stage or studio amplifier. Most stage electricians and all studio electricians demanded that all electrical equipment be grounded to prevent hum or electrocution.
Not sure what "two junctions for output" means... How about a picture of that capacitor that you mentioned.
I always run a new Ground wire from the Capacitor Buss (STAR Ground) to the Watts Abundant Board. Why not, wire is cheap.
 

mlucitt

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That is a variable dc power supply I bought for bench experiment can't remember where I got it eBay moat likely.
Interesting... I found the item on ebay. It is a DC to DC Converter 5V-30V.
So, the voltage going to the Meter Lamps in a PL400 is 6VAC. And the LEDs you used need DC.
You used a DC to DC Converter as an AC to DC Converter. And as a bonus, it is adjustable so you can change the illumination of your meters.
Genius!
I wonder what the current flow would be on those Transformer Secondary 6VAC wires?
 
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