I killed my amps! HELP!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on September 13, 2012 at 3:42pm

That sucks, no doubt. I am not electronically savvy enough to suggest anything to check. Do you have a standard 9v battery you can use to test and make sure they are totally fried?

I wouldn't think 12 volts would fry it, but maybe 2000mah was too much? I dunno.

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Permalink Reply by BeetleJuice! on September 13, 2012 at 4:10pm

 perhaps it was solderered wrong??

 

check out this website on makeing homemade amps, its might help down the road, http://radio-guitar-amps.blogspot.com/

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on September 13, 2012 at 4:16pm

It was all per soldered.

I checked them both...dead.

I thought it would only draw the amps it needs...maybe I'm wrong?

I don't get it unless the 9 volt battery input is strictly for 9 volts and the adaptor power input is the one I should have used?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on September 13, 2012 at 5:07pm

Here is a picture from one of our other members, is this the amp and the diagram for the one you have?

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/img-1141?context=latest

and you hooked the power source/batter up to the one in the top middle of the diagram?

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on September 13, 2012 at 5:19pm

Yes it is and that's where I hooked up the 12 volt battery.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on September 13, 2012 at 6:57pm

Well, pewp. Then I don't know what to suggest. I guess you have to wait to hear back from them.

Sorry, that was kind of expensive, eh?

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Permalink Reply by wes carl on September 14, 2012 at 5:11am

they wont take anything other than 9-v  There is no going back  Go to ebay & contact Ty @ the gas gear store  Not sure he is going to replace 2 boards if you did the same thing to em  Next time use a standard battery or a 9-v converter rated at 500mah

wes

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on September 14, 2012 at 5:46am

To be honest I was going off what Guitar Fuels site actually says...

http://guitarfuel.com/MAH3_Amplifier_Harness.php

"5-15VDC INPUT
 (adapter not included)"

...and that I was told in an email personally that 12v would give a more powerful output, generally speaking.

I thought I screwed up the first time by hooking up the battery the wrong way around and I could live with that...my bad. The SECOND time I was very careful and I don't recall the power being on (although I could be mistaken). After a few seconds...puffft... And that was it.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on September 14, 2012 at 5:50am

I've been trying to get in touch with Ty but have got no response so far...granted its only been about 20hrs but when you are sick with disappointment and rage at your own stupidity that 20 hours seems like a week.

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Permalink Reply by wes carl on September 14, 2012 at 5:51am

500mah?

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Permalink Reply by Mark on September 14, 2012 at 6:24am

If it says 9 to 15v then a 12v source ought to be fine. All the stuff about battery capacities (ie. the figs quoted in mAh) is largely irrelevant to the problem in question. The circuit will draw a current dependent on the voltage applied across it - and it seems the voltage you applied was well within the specification.

On the face of it they have a case to answer and you shouldn't beat yourself up over it (although perhaps you should check the instructions for any small print that says not to connect 12v batteries where you did - it's distantly possible there's a built-in voltage regulator that works on the mains adaptor input but not on the battery input).

Also, if you can lay your hands on a voltmeter it's worth checking what the actual voltage is on the battery terminals. (That's because ratings such as 1.5v, 9v and 12v are only nominal. The true voltage tends to be slightly different - although I'd be surprised if it was sufficiently different to take you over 15v)

To figure out more I'd need to know the details of the components used in the circuit. Also, whereabouts exactly did the smoke come from? (ie. can you tell me whether it came from a particular component on the circuit board?)

Obviously it looks like they used at least one component that had a maximum design voltage below 12v. I'm guessing maybe a capacitor, but it could be something else.

Check to see if you can see any voltage figures printed on any of the components (especially the electrolytic capacitors, which are the cylindrical things between the pot and the intergrated circuit chip)

Also, can you see any writing or numbers printed on the chip? If we can identify the chip then it should be possible to find and download a datasheet that will say what voltage range it was designed for.

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Permalink Reply by Mark on September 14, 2012 at 7:10am

One further thought - are you sure you got the polarity right when you connected the battery?  If you connected it the worng way around then it's quite possible you cooked the electrolytic capacitors as they don't like reverse voltages.

If it's the capacitors that have been knackered then in theory you could probably remove them and solder new ones in their place, however that would require good soldering skills.

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