Matchless Innards

[gearhead]

Heh all,

I was trawling the Amp Chasis Pic website, and had a look at the Matchless DC30:

http://www.acplink.com/default.aspx

Choose "Matchless" at Builder dropdown menu on left, and there are two DC30s.

Noticed two things I had never seen before, in my limited experience:

1) All component leads are covered in what looks to be a plastic tubing and
2) There are five light bulbs inside the amp?

I can understand the first, given how much is jamed into the chasis and it's almost all true ptp, but what are the light bulbs for? Attenuation, buffering, or ?

BTW, the same thing seems to be the case for a 93 Clubman (pic is not as high res tho).

[thejaf]

First post by a newbie

I beleive that the bulbs are a backlite for the Matchless logo.

Jeff

[Dai H.]

Teflon tubing

[gearhead]

Thanks guys.

Had never thought of five bulbs for cosmetic backlighting, but heh, they do look great.

Teflon tubing? It looks quite handy for tightly packed spaces, and for 40-50 ft at 7.95 http://www.action-electronics.com/teflontube.htm, it's quite reasonable. Don't need it for any Twreck builds, but it's good to know.

Thanks again for help spreading the knowledge!

[Ron]

The interior #47 bulbs are to backlight the control markings. The bulbs that illuminate the Matchless logo are outside the chassis on the top (bottom, when installed).

Yep, it's Teflon tubing, just what every amp needs!!

[dehughes]

If I may prove my ignorance here....what is the point of putting teflon tubing on the leads of each and every component, a la Matchless? I'm quite impressed by it, but I don't know the technical reason for why it is done.

[rfgordon]

Wrapping every lead, like Matchless, Bad Cat and a few others, is one precaution against anything coming loose inside the chassis and causing a catastrphic short. Remember, one of Mark Sampson's goals was to build amps that sounded as good (or better) that the vintage amps that L.A. players liked, but could withstand the rigors of 200+ gigs a year.

[MarkB]

If I may prove my ignorance here....what is the point of putting teflon tubing on the leads of each and every component, a la Matchless? I'm quite impressed by it, but I don't know the technical reason for why it is done.

component leads are no different than wire - they're just putting on insulation to cover them up. There's a lot of places in an amp that really doesn't need insulated wire, but we use it anyway.

[dehughes]

That makes sense. Thanks.

[Ron]

If I may prove my ignorance here....what is the point of putting teflon tubing on the leads of each and every component, a la Matchless? I'm quite impressed by it, but I don't know the technical reason for why it is done.

The Teflon insulation is to prevent fireworks when I drop my uninsulated needle nose pliers into the exposed chassis while the amp is plugged in and I'm trying to make a repair while playing guitar with the other hand - the one with the ground strap on my wrist.

[gearhead]

But you are able to do that because the builders so kindly lit up the inside of the chasis! Otherwise you'd need a stage stooge or one of those miners lights

[raiken]

It's commonly called "spaghetti" tubing in the electronics industry...very handy stuff.

Randall Aiken

[dehughes]

Just picked up some from Steve at Apex Jr. I'll get to using it soon... Thanks guys! This forum rocks....

[dehughes]

BTW Randall, how is everything going for you? IIRC, I think you went through some tough times.....or so I recall from various posts over on the Gear Page... I appreciate your helpfulness and such...

[raiken]

BTW Randall, how is everything going for you? IIRC, I think you went through some tough times.....or so I recall from various posts over on the Gear Page... I appreciate your helpfulness and such...

Thanks, it's been a rough year, but things are definitely looking better!

Randall Aiken