Banana Jack Amps: No-Solder, All-Tube Guitar Amp Kits

[italianguy63]

Also, I'd like to add this photo of B1, B2, and their gnome-in-the-box patients as a token of my sincere esteem:

It's too bad you couldn't find a pic of their cousins-- Q1 and Q2.

MC

[bool]

[deadastronaut]

http://vimeo.com/77732818

srry

where can i get the johnny space commander mask?.. i tried making my own, but its not the same...

[bool]

Mr. "Banana Amp" Gerry:

I think that everybody would agree that 99.9% of "don't do that because ..." arguments would vanish IF you changed your mind and instead ... offer a LOW-VOLTAGE TUBE BANANA-AMP KIT.

I think the low-volt thing is trendy enough to not be only entirely "educational" if you know what I mean...

But enough rambling ... let's get on with banana-themed pics, shall we?

[samhay]

http://vimeo.com/77732818

srry

where can i get the johnny space commander mask?.. i tried making my own, but its not the same...

You need the right kind of NOS plastic bag.

[duck_arse]

Prediction: this thread will not progress.

Also, I'd like to add this photo of B1, B2, and their gnome-in-the-box patients as a token of my sincere esteem:

like the capacitor threads, I'd decided to give up on this thread as well. I was going to post a story about a dog, but now, seeing as it is already headed to derailsville: I built a Dr Quack with too much extra junk, and named it "the doctors banana" from watching those very doctors! and the panel is yellow/blue/white!

I hate the gnomes, they wrecked linux.

carry on.

[Gerry Rzeppa]

I think that everybody would agree that 99.9% of "don't do that because ..." arguments would vanish IF you changed your mind and instead ... offer a LOW-VOLTAGE TUBE BANANA-AMP KIT. I think the low-volt thing is trendy enough to not be only entirely "educational" if you know what I mean...

I'm all for that. Just point me to a schematic for a 5-watt, low-voltage tube amp that sounds as good as a Fender Champ and I'll get right on it.

[R.G.]

But what are you on now?

[Ice-9]

What happens if some bright spark thinks "I wonder what happens if I stick a red lead into a red socket and the other end into a green socket" or similar experiment ? People do decide to try these sort of things. 

[mth5044]

^ That's a good idea - doing a square peg in a round hole thing. Dedicated cables for power that can't plug into other sockets. Different size or something.

[Gerry Rzeppa]

But what are you on now?

Right now, I'm right on target, as described above: seeking funding for further development of a tube amp kit that is (1) educational, (2) more than a toy, and (3) made with nothing but fundamental electronic components (like resistors and capacitors rather than integrated circuits and microprocessors). Something that puts the student in a position to learn real-life electronics from the ground up while building something he won't be throwing away. Quickly and painlessly. With no "stumbling blocks" -- like learning how to solder, or going back to high school to learn algebra -- placed in his way. In other words, the Banana Jack Amp kit: Kenn Amdahl's delightful and informative book + our easy-to-configure transparent plastic modules + detailed step-by-step instructions chock full of warnings like this:

"DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE! ALWAYS REMOVE THE POWER CORD BEFORE WORKING ON THE AMP. DO NOT INSERT, REMOVE, OR OTHERWISE FIDDLE WITH THE BANANA CABLES WHEN THE POWER CORD IS PLUGGED IN. DO NOT OPEN THE MODULES WHEN THE POWER CORD IS PLUGGED IN. AND DO NOT PLUG IN THE AMP UNLESS ALL MODULES ARE CLOSED AND BOTH ENDS OF ALL CABLES ARE SECURELY INSERTED IN THE SPECIFIED JACKS."

[Gerry Rzeppa]

What happens if some bright spark thinks "I wonder what happens if I stick a red lead into a red socket and the other end into a green socket" or similar experiment ? People do decide to try these sort of things. 

Nothing different than would happen with any other amp kit if the "bright spark" decided to hook up those wires contrary to the instructions.

[pickdropper]

What happens if some bright spark thinks "I wonder what happens if I stick a red lead into a red socket and the other end into a green socket" or similar experiment ? People do decide to try these sort of things. 

Nothing different than would happen with any other amp kit if the "bright spark" decided to hook up those wires contrary to the instructions.

Yeah, but you have to admit that the ease of  how the blocks in your kit go together makes the danger less intuitive.  If Lego released a kit where somebody could hurt themselves by putting the blocks together in some configurations, they would get destroyed for obvious reasons.

A wired tube amp, kit or otherwise, requires a minimum level of technical proficiency generally beyond that of the average layperson.  It will require some level of learning before it can be built.  I would bet folks that are not knowledgable about electronics would assume that there are some dangers in wiring up your own amp.

One of the neatest things about your kit is that just about anybody could put it together and learn from it.  The scary thing about it is that it LOOKS safe, but isn't.  I think that's why folks are nudging you towards low voltage.  Sure, it won't sound like a champ, but it could still be a useful teaching tool.

I am sure you are feeling like everybody is pouring cold water on your idea, which is frustrating (I get that from time to time on projects I've worked on).  But keep in mind that this is a generally enthusiastic community that loves guitar gear and thrives on both learning and building things ourselves.  We probably have taken more risks with electricity than most folks.  If something sets off warning lights and sparks this kind of reaction, then maybe, just maybe, there might be something to it.  Nobody is rooting for your project to fail, but some of us have been around the block too and see some scary potential in an otherwise really cool idea.  We're trying to help.  Really.

[Ice-9]

What happens if some bright spark thinks "I wonder what happens if I stick a red lead into a red socket and the other end into a green socket" or similar experiment ? People do decide to try these sort of things.  

Nothing different than would happen with any other amp kit if the "bright spark" decided to hook up those wires contrary to the instructions.

Decided to or if accidentally did. it all amounts to the same thing here, possible DEATH.  I do think what you are trying to achieve is good but there are buts involved when working with these voltages. For instance in a post above highlighted in red it says

DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE! ALWAYS REMOVE THE POWER CORD BEFORE WORKING ON THE AMP. DO NOT INSERT, REMOVE, OR OTHERWISE FIDDLE WITH THE BANANA CABLES WHEN THE POWER CORD IS PLUGGED IN. DO NOT OPEN THE MODULES WHEN THE POWER CORD IS PLUGGED IN. AND DO NOT PLUG IN THE AMP UNLESS ALL MODULES ARE CLOSED AND BOTH ENDS OF ALL CABLES ARE SECURELY INSERTED IN THE SPECIFIED JACKS."

This really means nothing, as you will be aware a long time after power is disconnected the power caps will still hold the HT voltage unless they are bled off. I hate to say this but when you are selling a product like this you have to think you are dealing with fools, (I'm not calling anyone a fool by the way) you must think of anything that can go wrong will go wrong and the fact that if it does go wrong you will be sued to sh*t.

At the end of the day their has been some knowledgeable people here trying to point you in the right direction and it seems to me you have taken offense at good advice.

I really hope you get this building block up and running but I would look into a different option to this banana's plug thing.

I wish you all the best with this but please listen to some of the advice and idea's this forum has given.

[Gerry Rzeppa]

...a long time after power is disconnected the power caps will still hold the HT voltage unless they are bled off.

There's a bleeder resistor in the rectifier/filter module. It gets down to 5 volts in less than 3 seconds.

[R.G.]

It's fairly clear that Gerry isn't up for taking advice. He's interested in blathering about how it's not so bad, it's really OK, it's no worse than some other bad example, and so on.

His response will always be one of those.

It reminds me of the old Arkansas saying - never mud wrestle with a pig; after a while, you realize that the pig enjoys it.

[pickdropper]

It's fairly clear that Gerry isn't up for taking advice. He's interested in blathering about how it's not so bad, it's really OK, it's no worse than some other bad example, and so on.

His response will always be one of those.

It reminds me of the old Arkansas saying - never mud wrestle with a pig; after a while, you realize that the pig enjoys it.

Yeah, it does sort of seem that way.

It doesn't look like the Kickstarter is going to get funded, but I'll be curious to see what he does with the idea going forward.

Hopefully, he finds a way to make it safe while still meeting his general design goals.

[Gerry Rzeppa]

It doesn't look like the Kickstarter is going to get funded, but I'll be curious to see what he does with the idea going forward. Hopefully, he finds a way to make it safe while still meeting his general design goals.

If our Banana Jack project doesn't get funded, we've got another Kickstarter waiting in the wings; it has nothing to do with guitar amps, however, so you won't get a chance to read about it here.

But the amp project will undoubtedly come around again sooner or later. I'll probably give some thought to re-packaging the thing as a kit with a permanent case and screw-in panels, more like my Coppertone Model 101 or Model 201-B or Model 5c1 (all pictured below, the 201-B in both kit and assembled form). That would at least keep all the wiring enclosed (in a fully assembled kit) and that, in turn, would hopefully allay some of the concerns expressed here -- without sacrificing the "modular" and "no solder" aspects of the idea. (Including "no solder" on the copper pipes -- they're assembled with expanding Gorilla glue!) Of course, if we get sufficient funding this time around, that could happen sooner rather than later...

[pickdropper]

I like the copperwork.  Functional art.

[Thecomedian]

It's fairly clear that Gerry isn't up for taking advice. He's interested in blathering about how it's not so bad, it's really OK, it's no worse than some other bad example, and so on.

His response will always be one of those.

It reminds me of the old Arkansas saying - never mud wrestle with a pig; after a while, you realize that the pig enjoys it.

Not if you're a bear