Where there's smoke

While I feel slightly contrite for not updating this more often I am comforted in the knowledge that few, if any, read this blog. I guess my main hope is that if someone out there is trying to build a similar project that they will google-stumble their way here and find some helpful information.

A lot has happened since my last update. I will post later, perhaps this weekend, with more details and pictures of my progress up to this point.

A brief summary of events of the month: I soldered everything together, thought I was finished, turned on the amp, covered my ears to block out the extremely high db squealing from the amp, cursed, fixed a few things I screwed up, turned the amp back on, covered my nose to block the stench of the cloud of smoke emanating from the amp, cursed again, de-soldered most of the amp, fixed a whole lot of little things and a few big things I had screwed up, yanked out the burnt output transformer, and ordered a new output transformer. It arrives today.

As I mentioned before I'll go a bit more into depth in a later post in an effort to turn that paragraph of nonsense into possibly useful information.

Jacks

I found a clear image of what the wiring for the input jacks should look like:

http://www.members.shaw.ca/house-of-jim/Images/Input%20jack%20wiring.pdf

I definitely would not have come up with this wiring scheme based on the layout and schematic I am using to build. It's strange to me to have everything wired to ground this way, but I guess if that's the way it's done who am I to argue. It sort of makes sense because the center switch is engaged when nothing is plugged in sending all hum to ground. On the other hand it seems like it would also send 'ground' from the unused jack through the hot tap of the jack that is being used. Maybe that resistor cancels that flow. I'm currently shrugging my shoulders.