PL 400, what have I got?

[Bill B]

I just got started on the Phase Linear 400 I picked up that had mismatched meter lenses. I got a new lens for one of teh meters but swapping the meter lens opened a bit of a can of worms I just now am beginning to sort out:

1. When I removed the left meter, there were a couple of small (1/8" X 1/8" X 1/4") metal pieces between the meter and the clamps;
2. Then I realized that the new and old lens covers were identical in color;
3. I lifted the face plate and a couple of metal strips (1/8" X 1/8" X 2") fell out of somewhere;
4. Looking inside, the power supply caps look brand new and are a blue color. It looks like a new pair;
5. I swapped the lens and when I replaced the face plate, the left side meter hit the capacitors;
6. I pulled it back apart and removed the right side meter carefully to try to figure out where the pieces of metal went and discovered that there were none;
7. However, there was a piece of smoked glass in front of the meter. Removing that revealed that the meters had identical clear plastic covers, and
8. I finally figured out that the metal strips were installed under the black meter surround on the left side meter to pull it away from the face plate so that the meter didn't hit the capacitors.

So, I've come to the conclusion that someone upgraded the power supply caps (see picture below if I can figure out how to post them). Unfortunately, I cannot read the value on the caps without removing them.

So, my questions are:

1. How can I verify that these capacitors are new and or an upgrade?
2. The lights have not been replaced with LEDs, but what should I look for to determine if other upgrades were performed along with the caps?
3. I do not want to use the smoked glass over the meters. Can I install them without glass or should I get clear glass pieces cut to fit to protect the plastic meter covers?
4. I want to make the metes identical, so i need to uses the same spacers under both. Does you know what might have been used or where I can source something approximately 1/8" square to use to make identical spacers?

I'm going to post this on AK and also have sent an email to Laatsch on AK since he is my go-to guru re Phase Linear. Anything else I should look at on this amp. FWIW, it's a 4 fin model and has fuse-lights for illumination.

Thanks.
Bill B

 

[laatsch55]

Bill, some more pics would be nice...the caps are not stock, they read only 75 volt.....What part of the meters hit the caps?? The terminals??

 

[Bill B]

Not the meter terminals, the meter itself. If I space the black meter surrounds about 1/8" from the front of the face plate, effectively moving the meter itself out further to the front, it clears. No problem to do it, I am sure I can find some sort of material to do that. My real question is, does this look like a WOPL upgrade or something else? I would need to remove caps themselves to be able to read how many micro farads they are. Also, where do I look or what area do I photograph to see if there is some sort of output protection added too? Should I remove a rear cover to see how many output devices it has? How can I determine what if any other mods have been done? Also, dumb question I know, but, can I safely plug this unit in without a load on the outputs to test the lamps?

Thanks

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

Not even close to a WOPL upgrade

 

[WOPL Sniffer]

You can put new bulk caps in anything including a WOPL

 

[laatsch55]

Yes Bill, you can power it up with no problems. Nothing WOPL about that bugger. There is no DC protect in that amp. A pic of the complete driver board would be nice...
I would replace the new caps, not enough voltage rating, should be at least 80. Preferably 100.

 

[VSAT88]

Looks like whoever did the new filter cap install did a nice job however as they said 75V is a no no. I bought the filter cap set in my PL 400 (pretty much stock, not WOPL) from White Oak and the DC protect from Watts Abundant.The bare board is what I bought from Watts Abundant. The IC was included. I bought the parts to populate the DC protect board from Mouser. I enjoyed building it myself, a fun project and very simple to do. I needed help to get it back up and running and the guys here were more than just helpful. They helped me find all the issues with my PL 400 and I think it sounds great and I am proud to have it. One more thing. At the back of the amp where all the point to point wiring is there are two transistors in metal P straps mounted there. You can see them to the left and right towards the bottom side of the main board. Those wires that go into the bias transistors are easy to break and caused me havoc so please be careful if you move the wires or the main board around. Have a look here.
http://forums.phxaudiotape.com/showthread.php/8067-So-here-I-go-Phase-Linear-400/page12 Look at the image in post # 167. The bias transistors I am talking about are the ones with the metal P strap red/brown/black wire (on mine anyway) They also cured up the latch up issue for me. I know you did not ask directly about well, anything I typed here but this was useful information to me so I thought I would pass it on. Beat of luck and if I can be helpful let me know. Jim.