Amplifier transformer

[xorophone]

Hello! Sorry if this isn't the right forum for this question. I'm repairing an old Hughes & Kettner Edition Blue 60-r and the transformer is broken, but I don't know how to find a replacement. I've found some numbers and stuff on it, but I need help interpreting it:

066-EDE
GT 0406
HD66-30

I'm guessing it has a 230v input and two 12v outputs, but I'm not sure. Here's a picture of it:

[thermionix]

Heckler & K  Hughes & Kettner are still around, right?  I bet you could send them an email and they would help you with specs and/or a replacement.  I've dealt with them in the past and had good luck, not an authorized tech for them or anything.

[xorophone]

Heckler & K  Hughes & Kettner are still around, right?  I bet you could send them an email and they would help you with specs and/or a replacement.  I've dealt with them in the past and had good luck, not an authorized tech for them or anything.

I just sent them an email. I don't know why I haven't done that before.. Well I guess I can post the specifications here when I get a reply, in case anyone encounters a similar problem in the future.

[xorophone]

I just got a reply from them.

1x 230vAC input
2x 22v 1.1A AC outputs

[duck_arse]

in what way is your Tx "broken", just out of interest?

[xorophone]

in what way is your Tx "broken", just out of interest?

Well... Turns out it wasn't.
I was pretty sure it was broken since I was feeding 230v into the primary and nothing came out of the secondary. I still wasn't sure, but decided to write "broken" just to keep the discussion away from fault diagnosing and then I could test it a bit more while waiting for replies. I also wanted the voltage rating for the testing, to know what I should expect. I am aware that the circuitry around it can affect the measurements.

So I just plugged it in again, flicked the power switch and... the LED turned on. It seems to be flickering a bit so there's probably a loose connection or something somewhere, but that's better than a broken transformer. I honestly might have forgotten to turn it on when I measured it the first time..


Edit: And now I tried plugging in a guitar and it turns out the whole damn thing is working. Wow. This is pretty embarassing! But it turns out there's a loose connection somewhere, because as I'm writing this the amp stopped working for a second.

[PRR]

> a loose connection somewhere

In most electronics, bad connections are at least as likely as broken parts.

Maybe more likely. In early mainframe computer days, solder joints caused more trouble than everything else combined. (This is after they lost the tubes; there's pictures of attendants with shopping carts full of tubes trying to stay ahead of tube failures.)

[R.G.]

Let me go even further. In amp-oriented forums, many times there are posts that start:

"My amp is broken!! Help! It's the power transformer or the output transformer isn't it?"

The degree of certainty that it's a broken transformer is amazing. It often takes several posts and some calming to get the poster to do the tests that show that no, it's not the transformer after all.

Transformers do fail, but they are remarkably rugged in general. This is good, because the PT and OT are numbers 1 and 2 for the most expensive single part in an amp, excluding possibly the wooden case and decorative parts and the speakers - although not always the speakers.

[xorophone]

> a loose connection somewhere

In most electronics, bad connections are at least as likely as broken parts.

Maybe more likely. In early mainframe computer days, solder joints caused more trouble than everything else combined. (This is after they lost the tubes; there's pictures of attendants with shopping carts full of tubes trying to stay ahead of tube failures.)

Yeah. I reflowed some solder joints using some nice 60/40 and now it works perfectly again! I like the amp too. It sounds much better with pedals than the one I've been using before.

Let me go even further. In amp-oriented forums, many times there are posts that start:

"My amp is broken!! Help! It's the power transformer or the output transformer isn't it?"

The degree of certainty that it's a broken transformer is amazing. It often takes several posts and some calming to get the poster to do the tests that show that no, it's not the transformer after all.

Transformers do fail, but they are remarkably rugged in general. This is good, because the PT and OT are numbers 1 and 2 for the most expensive single part in an amp, excluding possibly the wooden case and decorative parts and the speakers - although not always the speakers.

You're right. I honestly don't even know how I came to that conclusion, but luckily I was planning on further testing it before replacing it. I literally think the amp might have been turned off the first time I tested it.

Well it definitely didn't work before, but now it does, so I guess I did something right. I have zero experience with amplifiers and especially transformers and I basically knew nothing about even the basics of electronics when I got in to pedal building, but I'm learning from my mistakes!

Sorry though for repeating the same mistakes as everyone else.

[thermionix]

Hughes & Kettner...I've dealt with them in the past and had good luck, not an authorized tech for them or anything.

I just got a reply from them.

1x 230vAC input
2x 22v 1.1A AC outputs

in what way is your Tx "broken", just out of interest?

Well... Turns out it wasn't.

I'm glad this all worked out for you.  Turns out I was thinking of Gallien Krueger...I've never dealt with H&K before.  Doh!  Well, at least we know they're helpful folks too.