D-lab series Basic Training Tube Guitar amp repair Fender mini Tweed 5F1 Kit No Output ask Fred

D-Lab electronics basic training. This time we troubleshoot a Fender type 5F1 design made by a kit company. After completing the build, the amp would not produce audio. This is a common problem which can be caused by many things. Normally, its due to poor or missing grounds. The grounding scheme in this kit is not a good design. They utilize 2-3 terminal TB's held in place by the transformers mounting bolts. The TB's base hole is too small for the transformer screw size, so they have you clip the base and shove it under the transformer mount nut. Then of course these TB's are out of sight, so working on them is next to impossible. I elect to abandon them and install 1 accessible ground + filament resistor TB. It really cleans up wire routing. Yes, I do solder the TB ground tab, but you can accomplish the same thing with a #6 screw and dual lock washers. Diagram of the new wire routing/ground distribution is shown in the video. If you'd like a copy, e-mail me. Other build errors were discovered but not covered in this video.