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bimmermanshane

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  1. I was actually just reading up on the mercury replacement and found a couple people who fried capacitors on the main circuit, probably due to the fact mercury doesn't match wire color. The other reviews seem positive, and yes it's a cheap amo but no reason for me to on purposely fry it or take chances. They sound great, that's why I like them. I may grab a couple used ones from eBay or reverb if there's any left. I heard that tech bulletin 059 may have applied to this amp, but I suppose that wouldn't mean anything seeing as how they don't have any more transformers lol. Just a simple fix, but such a supply problem. Oh well, we live and we learn. Besides switching brands when my main dt50 also dies eventually, do you have any suggestions on new or newer line6 amps? I'm really a fan of the marshall/mesa sound, high gain, thick, tube sound, but with decent clean/non distorted tone. I'd really prefer to stick in the line6/bogner area, and I'd really like it if I kept a decent tube amp around. I'm assuming you're a tech so you might have better suggestions than just some guy I know who has a spider valve or something. I've heard some axe fx, and also some line6 helix modeling thats impressive, just don't know if I'm willing to let go of tubes yet. I have a solid state amp with a modeling pedal (different brand amp, it was too cheap not to buy) but it just doesn't...well...something is slightly off about it. If you pick or pinch a harmonic, say a high e, 12th or 24th fret, it doesn't have the same, constant linear smooth drop in volume that it should, it surges just a little once the signals dropped below the input threshold/lost power a bit. Most people don't attempt to sustain notes until they've completely lost volume though so I may be the first guy to complain about that. I know I'm nitpicking but I haven't heard the dt50 doing that. Or any tube amp for that matter. So if you have suggestions on a new or used line 6 tube amp, or perhaps...maybe a modeling amp if it's good enough, let me know.
  2. Ah ok, was afraid of that with the original transformer. May just have to go with the mercury. Slightly skeptical, but have heard from one or two guys that run them in their gigging or home recording amo that the seem to work fine. May have my father disassemble the original transformer that's currently installed, either repair it or come up with a more exact reason for the failure. He just reminded me that he's done this on transformers and relays, and I remember it from childhood. I'm more of a "replace what's broken and move on" kind of guy, he's more of a "it's probably designed wrong so let's fix the failures and then repair" kind of guy. The little/littel fuses I'm familiar with, thanks for confirming what brand for sure those are. Yea, tried repairing something when I was about 12, a battery charger that ran off of ac, and got some...fun sparks and shocks out of it. Numb arm for half a day. Learned the hard way that electricity is not my friend, haven't ever worked on anything plugged in since. I'll unplug and then flip switches with power off, then probe with a multimeter to avoid....extreme shocks. Takes time but avoids that fun shock you were mentioning. Good news is at least I don't have to buy any circuit boards or controls. Bad news is I'm really not wanting to spend 2-300 on a transformer that may not function up to spec. But at least I have solid answers now and can proceed from here.
  3. Totally understood, that's why I mentioned pcm's/ecu's and control boards. That's the beauty of this amp, but also apparently a source of confusion for many people. Perhaps my English is bad and I need to be more...specific. We have already tested most of the control boards, rheostats/potentiometers, and have found the most likely culprit of the previous owner selling it super cheap to be that the transformer went out, probably around the same time the main fuse blew, as well as one of the el34's being bad. Perhaps the previous owner was an idiot and incorrectly matched ohms between speaker and amplifier. We can debate which caused which all day. The reason I also mentioned marshalls and fenders is simply because...finding parts for them are a breeze. Due to their popularity I mean, not because they combine active and passive electronics, nor because I think they are anything similar to a dt50. Just that I wish line 6 had a larger supply of original or aftermarket parts. So what I would like to find are a transformer, and main and accessory fuses. Preferably in the proper brand. There are many times when people have put knock off/modified ignition coils on say a vw/ag product and found that they still had a misfire. The knock off products had a slightly different amount of resistance or current draw, and that caused some computer/wiring issues. Were talking thousands of volts here. To make it more friendly in layman's terms. So I understand the possible risks of replacing with non o.e.m parts. We are equipped with more anti static spray, gloves, soldering irons, helping hands, etc than probably most service centers have gone through in 10+ years. If I did not work so much, and if it wasn't a 100 dollar amp, perhaps I would drive about 6 hours one way to the nearest service center. Pay between x-x amount an hour for labor, plus parts, and come out with a 100 dollar amp that ends up costing 6-900 dollars when it's all said and done. Plus probably 2-3 days off work to travel there and back. They'll also have to probably custom order the transformer, and then they will perform the tests we already performed, in order to verify, yes, it is indeed a bad transformer, a bad main fuse, and one bad el34. Then they'll do what we were already planning to do, install new matching sets of electro-harmonix tubes, order a transformer and fuses, and install. Easy peasy. I'm sure someone who does it all the time or specializes in that one amp in particular, may be faster with a diagnosis than we were.
  4. Hi all! Been reading l/lurking around these forums for a good year or two, mainly because I own a line 6/bogner dt50. And recently purchased one that needs some parts as well. Don't flame me, it was 100 bucks. Hard to pass up. Real hard... I noticed that most of the websites/stores that used to carry parts for these amplifiers are either no longer in business, or no longer carrying said parts. So I would like to find a good source besides maybe mercury for just the transformer. Before everyone jumps on me about just taking the amp to an "authorized" service center instead of reading everything, understand I am not here to flame anyone or start anything. Perhaps I've just missed it because I am on my mobile work phone 90% of the time, but I've looked a lot of places, including this forum, mainly to hear 2 things: 1 take it to an authorized repair center, and 2, parts are not available. I'm simply wanting to know your/y'all's advice as a forum on obtaining/finding parts. In return, what both I and my father discover can be improved, if anything, I will most certainly share with you. I've had some luck on forums finding control units/pcms/ecu's for obsolete cars that are no longer made by posting and just asking for sources, so perhaps that will happen here. If not, no hard feelings. Since this is my first post and a long one... Some background on me real quick: I am an active member on several high end/exotic ish car forums, and am used to the lingo. "Only porsche approved fluid should be used in this transmission...it has a sensitive electro hydraulic control unit which breaks easy". Yes, and simply by changing to a fluid with a higher boiling point (more resistant to breakdown and boil off at high temperatures), the weakness of that hot running transmission is mainly avoided. A weakness caused by breakdown of fluid at op temperature. Simple solution. Oh but wait, I'm not an "authorized" porsche technician! No, I recently quit mechanical work to work in a laboratory that works for oilfield, and water safety companies. Doing things like water analysis, oil, mud and concrete analysis, etc. Guess who gets to fix 50,000 dollar machines when there are no "authorized" technicians around? Of course, I am able to understand these things in detail, due to receiving high voltage vehicle systems training for hybrids via fiat/chrysler auto group. I've been a mechanic since I was 15. My father was a field engineer for one of the big 3, which typically stole ideas from him and underpaid or didn't pay for work done. Not brand bashing, he enjoys no longer participating in conference calls where some head engineer asks...really intelligent (sarcasm) questions like "what type of wiring and connectors should we use on this..or what metal should we use for the new piston design?" My father enjoys having a complete knowledge of fluid/flow dynamics, which also helps him understand electricity and wiring. There are injectors on some engines in heavy duty machinery, especially large displacement diesels, that have complex parts, and require exact voltages in order to operate, open, and close a solenoid, and for an exact time frame, to inject high pressure fuel into a cylinder. When these voltage requirements are not met, a 50-100,000 dollar engine can malfunction, or at worst case...destroy a cylinder wall, piston ring, valves, or head. Since he's older than me and has more experience with tube amplifiers, I asked him about different scenarios or likely repairs to be made to the amplifier I'm currently working on...of course because I plan of taking it to his shop. There's a non ending supply of probes, circuit testers, multimeters, etc. I asked him some questions about tubes just to make sure nothing I know is wrong. Or educate myself if I am wrong. He basically gave me the elementary, dr. Watson reply. Not that he was saying that knowing how to do such repairs isn't important, just that...he's had many years, of seeing non-trained, or worse yet, trained, but non talented people break expensive things because they think it's so hard to understand... In his words "everything has to follow certain rules of science, liquids must flow in this or that direction, as must electricity, and other things. Your patience and mentality are most important". But I'm not here to ask questions or talk about family. Just letting everyone know I have direct access to one of the most technically talented people I've ever known. I have no doubts about any of this. And all due respect to any line 6 technicians that read this and make money repairing amps and musical instruments. I wish that I had been in the right place at the right time, perhaps I would be getting paid to do what I love and am good at, vs just getting paid to do what I'm...good at. If that makes sense. Y'all help make the dream happen for a lot of people who own your products. But I've dribbled on enough, suffice it to say I am accustomed to people on other forums jumping on me for asking questions, instead of answering them. I understand that a lot of people are probably non-mechanically inclined and could shock themselves. Or break a 1600 dollar amp. I understand they haven't had high voltage battery and transformer control classes. Yes, there's a liability for property damage with people who have no idea what's going on and can't even change their own guitar strings, I understand. However, I'm not that guy. Personally I'm about to the point that I would trade any and all mechanical and electrical training I've ever had, to be able to play music more frequently. I've been in, around, or playing music, mainly as a classical guitarist, but also on electric guitar, piano, violin, etc for exactly 20 years. I am probably younger than most of you, but we all share a similar passion. So enough about me, and hopefully you understand where I am coming from. And right now, I am in the...works f rebuilding an amplifier I bought from a friend for cheap. So if anyone could suggest a supplier for some random bits and pieces, fuses, perhaps a transformer or control board at the worst case scenario, I would appreciate it. I would prefer to stay with oem (original equipment manufacturer) unless updated or strengthened parts are available. And I will message line6 directly as well if necessary to see if they know where to purchase said parts. I am sure there are shortages, if not complete out of stock scenarios going on since from what I understand, the dt50 is no longer produced. I've had some experience with marshall and fender etc but never really ran into a problem where parts just don't come up in any places I normally look. Apologies for such a long first post, and thanks for your replies...
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