Need a little advice on doing op a 1961 Dynacord DA-20 guitar amp

[chrisghost]

I got this 1961 Dynacord DA-20 Guitar amp through a trade deal a while back. The woman who had it, had bought in some auction, but never used it because she couldn't plug in... all DIN inserts

Now, sorting out the DIN inputs are a piece of cake. But when I turn the amp on it starts smoking. Surely it's just the dust burning up. Any tips on cleaning the inside? I thought water and washing up liquid wouldn't be the way to guy.

Some tips on the tubes would be nice too. Right now what's in it are (right to left): Valvo Ez 81, Valvo Ecc 83, Valvo Ecc 83, Telefunken Ecc 83, Telefunken Ecf 80, Telefunken El 84, Telefunken, El 84. That seems like a slightly odd collection to me. They're all a bit dirty, but not burned out.

Any tips on where to start? Anybody?

I'm sure you'll all say: "plug it in and sort it out", but the smoke thing has me lifting an eyebrow or two.

 

[chrisghost]

Well the shock advice was too late, not that I got shocked, but I had allready fingered the whole thing. I've been shocked before, you get used to it.

But thanks for the brush advice, that worked a bit, though it's really cacked on here and there. Could use some more tips there.

Thanks for the tube info too. I'll look into that some more. Is it a good idea to replace the tubes? For which ones?

I think the picture in the link is exactly my amp. The way the insides of the top is bracketed into a housing that doesn't entirely seem to fit makes me think it's a home made yob

 

[dementedchord]

pull the tubes and lay them out in some kinda order so you can reinsert them correctly... use glass cleaner to wipe off tubes... use a brush and shop vac to clean the chassis... plug it in and power up... any smoke?? if so it's probably gotr a bad power tranny... if not plug the rectifier tube in and repeat... smoke?? check with a multi-meter to see if the voltages are up... if they arent then you mostlikely need anothe rectifier tube and/or filter caps... work on gettint everything up to this point working before you go on...

 

[ggunn]

I got this 1961 Dynacord DA-20 Guitar amp through a trade deal a while back. The woman who had it, had bought in some auction, but never used it because she couldn't plug in... all DIN inserts

Now, sorting out the DIN inputs are a piece of cake. But when I turn the amp on it starts smoking. Surely it's just the dust burning up. Any tips on cleaning the inside? I thought water and washing up liquid wouldn't be the way to guy.

Some tips on the tubes would be nice too. Right now what's in it are (right to left): Valvo Ez 81, Valvo Ecc 83, Valvo Ecc 83, Telefunken Ecc 83, Telefunken Ecf 80, Telefunken El 84, Telefunken, El 84. That seems like a slightly odd collection to me. They're all a bit dirty, but not burned out.

Any tips on where to start? Anybody?

I'm sure you'll all say: "plug it in and sort it out", but the smoke thing has me lifting an eyebrow or two.

Take it to a tech. The smoke is very unlikely to be just dust burning off, and whatever is causing it may be difficult or impossible to replace if you burn it up. It may already be too late. BTW, those old Telefunken tubes may be worth something.

If you must troubleshoot by liberating smoke from the system, first clean everything thoroughly and remove all the tubes (be sure you document where each one goes) and power it up with the tubes out. At the SLIGHTEST whiff of smoke, power it down immediately.

Also, be advised that in many tube amps, lethal voltages are carried on the filter caps (and retained even after power down and disconnection), and there's no getting used to a lethal shock. If you are not familiar enough with tube circuits to drain the caps before doing anything at all inside the amp, then STOP what you are doing and take it to a tech.