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That'll Teach Me... (Chinese Valve Amp)
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I bought a Chinese valve amp (Yaoin 300B job), on Ebay. Like this one:
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Why do you say 'That'll teach me'??
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Disappointment at the failure, and sick realization that I couldn't really
send it back.
Darned thing sat there looking accusingly at me for months every time I went
into the "office".
Now the offers of help from a couple of the board members has improved my
outlook.
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Like you could have bought a Border Patrol 300B amp (say) for anything
upwards of 4K:
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No, but I could have bought a used Sugden Class A amp, for example?
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...but chose the Chinaman for what - less than 400 quid instead? (You
get what you pay for in this life!! :-)
Anyway, I see you've had a couple of kind offers of help already -
expect to pay for some parts, needless to say...
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It worked great for quite a while and I enjoyed the sound.
Now the left channel has gone dodgy. The music is still barely "there", but
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Jammy sod....
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Yep, that was it, just randomly checking things, and I fell on the fault
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Well you'll be pleased to hear that your email diagnosis/fix on the
Bluebell Audios has held up nicely - I was speaking to Tony on the
blower last night and he tells me they are rock-steady (meters) and
sounding absolutely fine!
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entirly by chance.
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all scratchy and weak. The right channel is fine.
I've swapped leads and connectors to establish that the speakers/cables/CD
player are not at fault. It definitely seems to be the amplifier. The left
output valve doesn't get as hot as the right one. Swapping the valves
indicates that the valve is not the problem.
Can anyone suggest a solution (other than using it as the world's heaviest
paperweight)?
I live in the North West of England. Is there anyone in the region who could
fix it?
Thanks for any help.
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If all else fails, you can use the good channel for karaoke, you won't need
a mic, just sing into the 12AT7 on the front end.
If you get it fixed, do replace the 12AT7s with 12AU7s or 12AX7s
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I'm in Stockport and restore valve radios as a hobby.
I'd be happy to look at it, and repair it if it's a fairly common component
at fault.
Martin.
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I would guess Stockport is nearer to you, but I am in the general area
of Halifax, if you need any more help.
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