Novice Wiring please help !

[alanfc]

hi everyone,

I have installed pickups and can solder alright..

 

so,

I'm going to remove the chassis of my Marshall solid state 2x12 combo and turn it into sort of a rack setup. As my gig backup. As a combo its 70 lb. or something. Kills me. I'll be plugging into an 8ohm 1x12 external cabinet.

 

The speakers are connected to the guts of the amp not by a 1/4' jack, but only with wires.

 

Is this a DIY project I can try? I just want to make a 1/4" jack out of the two wires. So I can use a male-male speaker cord like normal..

 

Is there any of you who have done this ? Or can you you refer me to any sites with DIY projects like this..?

 

thanks

[picker]

DO you want an inline jack or chassis mount?

[alanfc]

Originally posted by Crypt picker:

DO you want an inline jack or chassis mount?

this is Greek, backwards to me !

 

this is what I =do= want..Since I don't want to get inside the chassis if I don't have to , I would be satisfied with the jack hanging off the wire, maybe I'd duct tape it to the bottom of the chassis. Thats where the red-white wires originate

 

thanks alot

[Billster]

I suggest that you go with a chassis mount for the jack if at all possible. If you have the wires just hanging there, duct tape or not, there will be stress pulling on the wires where there is not supposed to be, and the leads could pull off of the board where they originate.

 

ALSO (VERY IMPORTANT)

 

Make sure that you allow for proper ventilation of the amp head, however you mount it in a rack or a box.

[alanfc]

OK thanks alot

 

so chassis mount just means that the jack is somehow anchored in the chassis? That may be outta my league but I will consider

[Gabriel E.]

I would mount the jack directly to the chassis. Simply solder the two wires directly to the jack lugs. Make sure the hot speaker wire goes to the tip lug.

 

I did this on my Fender Champ 12 years ago. It was super easy.

 

Be sure to follow proper safety precautions. I don't know if there are any high voltage capacitors in there like there are in tube amps but if there are, they need to be bled to ground before you do any work.

[alanfc]

Originally posted by Gabriel E. vil:

I would mount the jack directly to the chassis. Simply solder the two wires directly to the jack lugs. Make sure the hot speaker wire goes to the tip lug.

 

I did this on my Fender Champ 12 years ago. It was super easy.

 

Be sure to follow proper safety precautions. I don't know if there are any high voltage capacitors in there like there are in tube amps but if there are, they need to be bled to ground before you do any work.

very good, thank you

 

can anyone shed some light on this voltage capacitor/risk of DEATH aspect of the job? With regard to solid state amps?

thanks

[Blue Strat]

Most solid state amplifiers operate below 100Vdc, so you're probably OK on the voltage thing, but to be safe, you should short the capacitors to the chassis through a 1W, 1k ohm resistor. Use wires with alligator clips and leave it connected for the entire time you're working on the circuit.

 

You'll need to drill a hole for the 1/4" jack to chassis mount it, and then you'll need to identify the positive and negative terminals of the speaker, then wire the output jack accordingly.

 

Hope this helps!