Dumb soldering/wiring questions

[Trem Abuser]

My board doesn't have the 2 posts on the right side of the board to connect the wires from the standby switch to the buss wires (and finally to the diodes). Can I drill some holes through the "southern" side the the board (nearest the pots) right by the diodes and bring the power to the diodes that way, without using the buss wire?

I actually wanted to use the right side of the board which is vacant for my indicator lamp circuit (yes, I'll admit this is lame) because I have very little room left over on the PT side of the amp.

In a related issue, can I attach wires from the top side of the board to the turrets if there is no hole near the turret? I imagine this would look Mickey Mouse but it there another reason not to wire from the top?

And finally, is it best to attach the wires to the board before loading the components? I thought in the installation instructions it said it was easier to wire the board before loading it??

[Flames1950]

If you don't want to drill the holes for posts (so that you have space left over for the indicator lamp) you could just neatly and tightly twist the blue wires from the standby together and attach to the posts directly. Twisted and routed neatly it should still look fine. No problem going directly to the diodes.
Personally I'm indifferent to whether the wires get attached before or after the components, as long as they're attached before the board gets dropped into the amp (what a pain in the arse if you bolt the board in before hooking up those wires!!) If the components go in the hole at the top of the turret and the wire wraps around the side it's kinda a moot point.

[Trem Abuser]

Thanks Flames.

Another thing I thought of after I posted that message - when you have multiple wires connecting to one post, and there simply will not be enough room to bring 3 (for example) wires through the hole and wrap around the post. How do you deal with those situations?

[Flames1950]

Are you looking at the spot where your choke, B+ (filter cap) wire, and a wire to the tube screens all join together on one post? They usually come from underneath the board, up around the edge and attach. They don't even try to pack through a hole, although one of them could go through and the others up around the edge if you like.

[Trem Abuser]

Are you looking at the spot where your choke, B+ (filter cap) wire, and a wire to the tube screens all join together on one post? They usually come from underneath the board, up around the edge and attach. They don't even try to pack through a hole, although one of them could go through and the others up around the edge if you like.

Flames, you pretty much read my mind. I just started another thread to deal with specific wire connections to the board. My example was actually the upper right corner of the board where the wires to the output trans, fuse holder and choke meet, but I was also concerned about the spot you just mentioned, and thinking of asking that very question you answered to make sure.

Since you are anticipating my questions I'll take that as some indication I'm on the right track!

[Billy Batz]

Are you looking at the spot where your choke, B+ (filter cap) wire, and a wire to the tube screens all join together on one post? They usually come from underneath the board, up around the edge and attach. They don't even try to pack through a hole, although one of them could go through and the others up around the edge if you like.

Flames, you pretty much read my mind. I just started another thread to deal with specific wire connections to the board. My example was actually the upper right corner of the board where the wires to the output trans, fuse holder and choke meet, but I was also concerned about the spot you just mentioned, and thinking of asking that very question you answered to make sure.

'm on the right track!

Ill take a drill and route out certain turrets that I know are going to have many wires. You figure you have at least 3 wires that can fit in a standard turret and 2 can go beneath.

[Guest]

Ill take a drill and route out certain turrets that I know are going to have many wires. You figure you have at least 3 wires that can fit in a standard turret and 2 can go beneath.

Lemme make sure I follow.

Nomenclature: "post" = metal piece; "turret" = hole?

Do you mean you rout the hole near the turret big enough so you can bring up the wires through the enlarged hole to then solder to the post from the top of the board? Or are you saying you join and solder the wires to the hole which is the bottom of the post (the bottom of the board)?

[Trem Abuser]

Ill take a drill and route out certain turrets that I know are going to have many wires. You figure you have at least 3 wires that can fit in a standard turret and 2 can go beneath.

Lemme make sure I follow.

Nomenclature: "post" = metal piece; "turret" = hole?

Do you mean you rout the hole near the turret big enough so you can bring up the wires through the enlarged hole to then solder to the post from the top of the board? Or are you saying you join and solder the wires to the hole which is the bottom of the post (the bottom of the board)?

Did this question make sense? Perhaps "Anonymous" should have been more clear...

[Trem Abuser]

Never having done this, I need some help on some real basic wiring skills/tricks.

OK, I'm connecting the wires to the board, leaving plenty of extra wire on the end not connected to the board. When I make the connection on the other side of the wire (be in a pot, a tube, etc.) do I leave lots of slack so that I can lift up the board a couple of inches even though the wire is connected on both ends? Or is there a negative to having too much loose wire underneath the board?

I'm thinking that if the wires are too tight, I'll never be able to hook everything up as I will not be able to move the board to hook up the remaining wires.

[Flames1950]

You could go two ways here.
One is to bolt down the board (you'll have to hook up any filter cap wires that may be hidden underneath first and route them throught the board before tightening it down.) Then solder each wire to its terminal and route it through the board, route it to its connection and hook it up.
Or I usually solder and route the wires onto the board first, then drop it in and bolt up. The downside to this approach is that if you guess wrong you gotta replace a wire. It also can be confusing if you're not careful.
Either way you don't want too much slack. You'll want to leave just enough that the wire lays neatly, but too much wire slack laying around is inviting noise and oscillation problems. Try to keep plate voltage wires away from grid wires; if they must cross try to make them cross as close to a right angle as possible. Also keep your presence wire away from the other tone control wiring.

[Trem Abuser]

Would this work? Soldering the (majority of the) wires to the board first, leaving plenty extra. Then, with the board lying in the amp (perhaps not bolted in), cut the wires to an appropriate length once I see where that particular wire is going and solder it up.

I've got several wires (filter cap wires, presence control, etc.) where the wire is already soldered to the non-board end, so these will be the exception and wired to the board.

[Flames1950]

Would this work? Soldering the (majority of the) wires to the board first, leaving plenty extra. Then, with the board lying in the amp (perhaps not bolted in), cut the wires to an appropriate length once I see where that particular wire is going and solder it up.

I've got several wires (filter cap wires, presence control, etc.) where the wire is already soldered to the non-board end, so these will be the exception and wired to the board.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say I always do. I have all the wires attached and hanging before I drop the board in and bolt it down, then I go through and trim and attach them one by one. It tends to waste a bit of wire though.