5f1 champ static sounds

That appears to be a lot of cold solder joints. What kind of soldering station are you using? Turrets need a lot of localized heat.

The noise you describe (velcro) sounds more like bacon sizzle than static. Again, describing noises are subjective.

Did you build this?

 

Hmm. Ok. Could be a number of things, but eventually it can be sorted out.

Have you inspected the speaker cone itself and the voice coil? Just throwing things out here.

 

Have a listen to this. Post 1.
http://www.tdpri.com/threads/old-jensen-p12r-rattle.887910/

 

Yep, that's not hot enough. And at 400F the dwell time needed to get the solder flowing correctly could damage components. I run my iron at about 725F to 800+F when I'm soldering on turret lugs. That's not necessarily the temperature, but its the digital readout. When I was starting this stuff I couldn't find a good centrally located thread about soldering so I made this one.

http://www.tdpri.com/threads/soldering-instruction.781928/

I hope it helps. As you start looking through it you'll be able to identify the cold solders and contaminated solders by sight. I'd consider buying a soldering station that can get you hotter temperatures. Soldering this stuff is hot and fast, that should be the rule. Get in, get out. Hot and fast.

Not to frustrate you, but you might consider getting some desoldering materials and reworking the board in a more professional way. Remove the cold solder and start over. I wrap my components around the post and don't use the turret holes unless its a part that will eventually get replaced (filter caps) or when its a wire coming up from under the board (so I have a visual cue that there's an underboard wire going on there. Honestly, you could get very good at soldering in an afternoon. And the peace of mind you'd have in the amp would be great, plus you might accidentally fix the problem while you are doing this. I rebuilt an entire amp kit once a couple of years after building it because it was my first attempt and I thought I could do better. I did and the amp is solid as a rock now. It's my main rig.

 

Here's a perfectly acceptable soldering station for not a lot of money. I bought the more deluxe version of this brand five years or so ago. It's still going strong. Very very good soldering stations are very very good. But close enough is also good too sometimes.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DGZFSNE/?tag=tdpri-20

My own personal opinion is that soldering stations are more appropriate for amp work than soldering wands. YMMV.

 

The soldering station @JuneauMike has linked is exactly the station that I use and it is a more than decent soldering station. A collar on the soldering iron wants to come off sometimes but that is the only problem I've had. Heats up nicely and plenty of wattage to get in and out quickly. I had it for more than a year and used it frequently for builds or repairs.

Also, use heat sinks on components and that will minimize potential damage. Sometimes I just use loose alligator clips for heat sinks, but I love my aluminum heat sinks best -- they really roll off a lot of heat.

 

Thanks Linkjr. But I think 400C (750F) is still a tad too cold. Also, what I hate about the wands is that they don't provide continuous heat (I found that out the hard way on my first amp when it would take little cool-down breaks and not warn me in advance. Very frustrating).

You need to push 800F+ to burn those turrets quickly and get the wetting you need for a solid solder joint. If you have the equivalent of a Radio Shack where you live you could get some electronic components cheaply that you could practice on.

The instructional video I linked to is a good distillation of the soldering process and what an acceptable solder looks like. And you will notice two things. 1) They are in and out very quickly. 2) And they have cool lab coats, which means they are more professional than us. Ha!

PS; yes, I failed to mention heat sinks, which are necessary. Thanks @RustySterling.

 

good call on the solder temp, Mike.


I see that you recommend a higher temp than what is commonly recommended.



I think that you are on to something there.


I got a chisel tip soldering iron for cap cans (weller SP120) but I really like the way it moves the solder for just any job. I looked up the specs not sure what I would find but it says 900 degrees.



I think it is fairly certain that Fender's amp assemblers used irons with a good amount of heat because the original solder joints in the vintage amps always look shiny and they probably did not have a lot of time for waiting for the solder to melt when you are cranking out multiple amps per hour.

 

There's video of the girls building those amps!! They are fast and accurate.

My station doesn't provide actual operating temps at the tip. Suffice it to say when I turn the dial to 85 percent or so (810-840f) the solder behaves itself nicely. Remember, those turrets are a type of heat sink. Eyelets respond differently.

 

It’s definitely on the note, otherwise it’s silent.


I would follow Mike’s suggestion to hit all the solder joints with higher temperature.



It would be interesting to hear the open low E, perhaps with some increased pick attack or more volume.

 

@Linkjr, I would also consider removing solder where it is excessive and then resoldering. When you heat a big glob of solder, gravity can send it into troubling places.

I don't hear the static, but my ears are old and tired so ...

 

Listen to the first note and a few notes to follow, all in the first 3 seconds of the clip.

 

OK, now I hear it, following the notes, kinda hazy



That sound sounds like interference. It kind of reminds me of this: