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PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:12 pm 
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Hi all, I'm considering building a TC15 as my first amp build. I've built my fair share of pedals, recapped a studio compressor, and built a DIY recording preamp (kit). I've gotten as far as building a couple circuits off of veroboard. I can follow a diagram but am not able to read a schematic. Also, I don't have much experience with a multimeter. I am confident and competent with pedals. I'm not afraid of rolling up my sleeves but didn't want to jump in over my head. Does this sound reasonable for a guy like me?


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:36 am 
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That's about where I was when I built my first Trinity amp - except I never had any electrical or soldering experience.

And by following the instructions and help on the forum they cam out fine!


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 3:41 pm 
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jcny wrote:
That's about where I was when I built my first Trinity amp - except I never had any electrical or soldering experience.

And by following the instructions and help on the forum they cam out fine!


That's good to hear. I ran across an instruction book for an Trinity 18W, and while a lot of steps it looks very manageable. I think I'll give it a crack!


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 7:01 pm 
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Yeah I say go for it.

The TC15 was the first amp I built about three months ago. I did have prior electronics experience though. But, since I built the kit, I am now designing and building my own tube gear. I did a stand-alone tube reverb and now I am in the process of building a custom Fender Deluxe Reverb clone.

If you've built pedals and your solder joints are decent you should have no problem. I would recommend you learn how to read a schematic though. While it is not absolutely needed with a TC15 kit, it does help a lot if you are unclear on something... rather than just guessing you can cross-check with the schematic and be sure. Of course, the help from Stephen and the forum can get you through too. However, the documentation is fantastic, so that may not even be an issue. If you try and follow the schematic as you connect everything with the layouts you should learn how to read them pretty quickly.

Just take your time, triple-check every connection BEFORE you solder and chances are it will fire-up the first time you try. Make copies of the layout and highlight everything you solder as you go to make sure you got it all. Highlight it on a copy of the schematic as you go to help you learn how to read it. Keep the nice originals he sends pristine for reference. They are too pretty to mark up. Almost suitable for framing. In fact, I may start framing schematics of my projects as "wall art" for my computer room/engineering lab. LOL.

Please review and fully understand the safety info though. If you ignore it, there are FATAL voltages inside a tube amp. Nothing to play around with and no place to make dangerous assumptions! Buy a decent volt-meter and a set of alligator clips for it and learn how to use it correctly. There are tons of great resources for this. The Extech EX330 is a great meter at a reasonable price.


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:09 pm 
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I second that.
Tc-15 was 3rd amp I built.
The instructions are the best out there.


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:39 pm 
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Good feedback. My advice is similar. Practice soldering. Read the manual. Follow the layout. Pay attention to details. Take your time.
And you will be successful.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 1:13 am 
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Location: Enderby BC
I recently went on a pedal/signal switching spree and I'll take amp building over cross-eyed pedal building anyday.

Some great advice above. You have probably acquired most of the soldering skills building pedals. My advice...

- Follow the instructions and layouts - These guys do a GREAT job with theirs. Try building someone else's with 'basic' instructions. Trinity includes a lot of good theory and background in the build guides. READ THEM. It will make you more smarter and the amp will make more sense.

- Take a break when things get rough - there's a lot going on in there and tracking down issues later is tough. No 'fixing in the mix' mentality. It's not a race!

- I believe in a good connection first, soldering is just to make it permanent. To make a connection that 'the solder will tighten up' is a recipe for bad connections. Just try holding the solder , the iron and the component at the same time. Good luck.

- Think and make your mods first ie: VRM, FX loops, low power switching etc. (Hint - do the VRM but keep then Master Volume as well. Seems to agree with this amp).

- Read the forums and do the research. Lots of good info out there. Great forums here at Trinity Forums in regards to the products. Good community and support is GREAT. Stephen is awesome and they love their stuff.

- My opinion - Don't mess around with lead free solder. What a mess! So much heat to redo anything and everything turns brown and won't stick.

- Don't sweat not being comfortable with a multimeter. It will make sense once you use it. Buy one and if you can test a 9 Volt battery and stick it the wall to get 110V you are set. Get a simple one for amp/pedal building. I only used mine to check for initial voltages to make sure I was in the ballpark and to double check continuity as connections are made.

- Don't go touching anything inside after you have powered it up. Learn how to drain caps etc. if you need to. It's pretty simple. Ouch if not. SERIOUSLY, BE CAREFUL!

- BUY GOOD TUBES. This is a TUBE amp. You are building it by hand and want good results. Don't cheap out now and you will be grateful.

- Don't forget to plug in a speaker before powering up with output tubes in and hitting that first 'E' chord. Trust me. Mine survived this time but it doesn't always work that way in my experience helping others.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:00 am 
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Wow guys. I think any apprehension I had is now gone. With such great thoughtful responses to a simple question, I'm sure I won't be high and dry if I run into trouble on the build. Now to get my funds together, meaning....sell stuff.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:29 am 
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BCB wrote:

- Think and make your mods first ie: VRM, FX loops, low power switching etc. (Hint - do the VRM but keep then Master Volume as well. Seems to agree with this amp).




Could you explain what the VRM mod is/does? And low power switching...that could be nice!


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 3:12 pm 
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CaseyI wrote:
Could you explain what the VRM mod is/does? And low power switching...that could be nice!



VRM info:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1176


I bought one with my TC15 kit but I haven't installed it. I might save it for another build. I don't find the TC15 to be too loud for my uses. My music room is a good bit away from any neighbors' walls. :mrgreen:


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 4:44 pm 
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Alright, one more questions. Since it ships out of Ontario, is there usually a duty charge when the amp arrives in the states? Also, how long does it usually take?


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 4:13 pm 
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Theres no hard and fast rule for cross boarder import. I know that you have a $800 exemption when traveling but Im not sure what it is on mail order. there is a reduced to duty free thing with Canada.

There's some Americans on this site that might be able to answer this on weather they go charge duty or not (my guess it might be hit and miss as it is here)

This might help http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international ... -duty-info


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:45 pm 
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sazafraz wrote:
Theres no hard and fast rule for cross boarder import. I know that you have a $800 exemption when traveling but Im not sure what it is on mail order. there is a reduced to duty free thing with Canada.

There's some Americans on this site that might be able to answer this on weather they go charge duty or not (my guess it might be hit and miss as it is here)

This might help http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international ... -duty-info


I was charged no duty fees. For some reason, the USPS did sit on it in Chicago for about three days though. Not sure what was up with that. It got to me here in California in about 10 days after ordering, including the weekend. Worth every minute of the wait :thumbsup:


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:58 pm 
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To second dtp's experience, I got my Tramp 5 business days after it was dropped off at the Canadian post. No extra fees involved!

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 11:02 pm 
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CaseyI wrote:
Alright, one more questions. Since it ships out of Ontario, is there usually a duty charge when the amp arrives in the states? Also, how long does it usually take?


There I a no duty charge on kits or amps shipped to US from Canada. You might get charged state tax by USPS and a nominal USPS brokerage fee, but I'm not sure about that.

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