Willsenton R300 Circuit Design Issue


So I was able to repair my Willsenton R300 after it died and made no sounds.

The dealer was good to work with me thru emails from China to troubleshoot the problem instead of shipping it to a repair center.

It turned out to be a diode in the preamp circuit that shorted out. The diode the builder used is a 1N5380B which is for use in 5V-200V circuits. The B+ voltage in the preamp is supposed to be 370V dropped to 120V by a power resistor adjacent to the diode. However I was getting 417V dropped to 140V. So within spec but would not take much of a current surge or voltage spike on startup etc to fry the little diode.

I replaced it with a 1N5408 rated to 1000V. (Less than $1 repair cost!)

So the reason I posted this is that I have read some reviews of users having crackling noise with the R300. It could be that diode.

Hopefully the builder updates the design with a sturdier component.

 

calieng

Now I see what’s going on. First, the 6SL7 will be damaged with 400v because its max plate voltage is 300 volts.

This is a simple common cathode amplifier. The 200K plate resistor and 400V B+ at 120 volts yields a plate current of about 1mA per side on the 6SL7 so a 125K dropping resistor is needed for 370 to 120 volts (2mA times 125k = 250V). I can’t tell the color codes of the resistor because the red circle covers the bands. That resistor is shunted to ground by the smaller electrolytic, creating an RC filter which reduces power supply noise. A better way of dropping voltage than a zener.

Using a 120 volt zener will work, but it’s not ideal. Zeners hunt for their voltage and that creates noise on the plate, which greatly increases distortion. The solution is to bypass the zener with a 1,000uF 400V capacitor. You have the ground bus right there covered by the bottom of the red circle if you want to go that route.

The best solution is to use two dropping resistors of 62K each, each with a 47uF shunt capacitor to ground, that is two RC filters and better noise reduction. But the space for that is very tight.

Get rid of the 1000V zener, it’s nothing but trouble. And please, ALWAYS use one hand when probing around tube amplifiers (put your other hand in your pocket) and never let any part of your body touch the amplifier chassis because those voltages are lethal and linger long after the power cord is unplugged.

Thanks for the advice. The resistor in the B+ is 150k.

I agree to remove the diode. Not sure how the 400V would be created though as the resistor already dropped the voltage to around 120V....I guess I need to look at the schematic again to try to figure out how it all works.

From what I understand when the diode shorted it grounded the B+ which is why I was getting a reading of zero volts on the 150k B+ resistor. That is why the preamp section died and no sound was produced.

I have built several guitar tube amps so am pretty comfortable working on this amp. Just not too up to speed on hifi design and had not come across a zener diode to regulate voltage in past guitar amp builds.

Thanks again!  I'll report back if the builder has anything else to add once I hear from them again.

Any more feedback on the efficacy of this repair? I may be ordering one of these amps, and want to make sure the repair you implemented is ok to do.

Thanks.....

That Zener diode should not have failed on its own. I would be suspicious of the filter capacitors that it feeds.

Does anyone have a schematic of this amp? I'm about to dive into one of these to review and do a video series on and can't find one!

TIA

Skunkie