Fri Sep 12, 2008
My best pal...RIP
"Foster"
March, 1996 - September, 2008:
Best damn dog a man could ask for...he had a tumor on his side that couldn't be easily diagnosed, and rather than gamble, I felt his time had come.
Was at the vet today, and found he lost almost 10 pounds of muscle in his hips and back legs from arthritis, and even if the tumor was easily healed the arthritis wouldn't be. After 12-and-a-half years, I decided I wanted my last memory of him to be of the goofy, happy-go-lucky fool that he was, not some crippled, sad dog in pain.
In the exam room after I decided to have him put down, the silly guy's attention turned to some Animal Planet show of a baby bear up in the corner of the room by the ceiling. He thought the damn bear was in the room with us and was wanting to check it out.
Saddest day for me in a LONG time.
"Treat me kindly, my beloved master, for no heart
in all the world is more grateful for kindness than
the loving heart of me.
Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I
should lick your hand between the blows, your patience
and understanding will more quickly teach me the things
you would have me do.
Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music,
as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your
footstep falls upon my waiting ear.
...
Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for although I should not
reproach you were it dry, I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food, that I may stay well, to romp and play and do
your bidding, to walk by your side, and stand ready, willing and able
to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger.
And, beloved master, should the Great Master see fit to deprive me
of my health or sight, do not turn me away from you. Rather hold me
gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of
eternal rest... and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I
drew, my fate was ever safest in your hands."
:(
Wed Apr 02, 2008
Hot Rod Deluxe Re-Tweed - another PTP Rebuild
In my last entry, I talked about the Hot Rod Deluxe PTP Tweed Rebuild I developed. That particular amp is my personal one, and that is the second version of that design. The first was a prototype and was not as pretty on the inside, but hey, it was just a prototype. Also, it was over a year ago that I finished the initial project.
What I haven't mentioned is that since I had the first one done and working, and settled in on the design, is that I've done two others like this. There's a Blues Deluxe PTP Tweed build out there, courtesy of Dave in Delaware, and I'm about to share my most recent one, Shawn's... from right here in Denton.
Shawn found a likely candidate for this job at a bargain price; from a seller who bought the Hot Rod at a pawn shop strictly to use as a modding/repair platform. It ended up here in Denton with the intention of being resurrected with my design. Shawn actually wanted to make it like new, so we decided to re-tweed it ALL the way.
After it was disassembled prior to surgery, I stripped the cabinet bare in preparation for a proper re-tweed. Here it is...a typical "Before and After":
What a fun project. Click 'More' for some details.
More...
Tue Apr 01, 2008
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe PTP Tweed Rebuild
In a previous blog entry, I chronicled the modifications I've done to my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Well, it's been a long time since then, and not being satisfied with just modifying an existing design, I went to the next level and did the ultimate Hot Rod Deluxe mod.
Take a look...
"Okay, that's cool...but why?"
Let's face it...the Hot Rod and Blues Series amps aren't built like amps were back in the day. But, how could they be while remaining affordable? All debates aside, the Fender Hot Rod and Blues series of amps are popular and, unfortunately, not engineered as well as they could have been. The PCBs burn, the traces corrode, and as a result, they just stop working right or straight-up die. It's not that infrequent; this is from a Blues Deluxe:
Anyway, mine was on the way out, as the PCB just wouldn't handle another repair. Now I had some choices...I fix it up to sell it, and hope to get a decent price out of it to put into a new amp, or buy and build a kit.
I also looked around to see if there were any Hot Rod Deluxe PTP (point-to-point wiring; like the classic amps were built) kits of any kind, and aside from a couple of shops offering rebuild services (at prices that aren't reasonable considering the amp it's going in, IMO), there wasn't anything out there.
Never one to give in, I pursued the idea to try and re-use everything possible this amp still had and make my own 'kit'. After all, the part that failed is the not-so-sturdy circuit board. So what about the transformers, pilot light, switches, tubes, and everything else in there? They have to be worth something...and they are. It took a couple of prototypes, but I ended up with a Hot Rod Deluxe PTP, or point-to-point (technically it's "hand-wired"), Tweed-era clone amp for a fraction of the cost of a kit. The Fender Tweed Pro (5E5A) kits, that this rebuild is based on, goes for over $600, for example. I ended up doing this for about $200 or so in parts alone. And those are high quality and upgraded parts with a custom control faceplate.
How did I do this? Click 'more' to read on.
More...
Wed Jan 03, 2007
Flashing Saddles!
That's right...I flashed my saddle on New Year's Day. And the day after that, and half of the day after that. Well, technically, I flashed my chimey cricket.
But before you get the wrong idea, let me just tell you what I really mean. A cricket prevents water and snow from collecting behind a chimney. Two plywood triangles are cut and built in a mini-roof peak form. The cricket is then covered with a custom-bent saddle flashing.
Don't I sound smart! Well, I learned everything from the internet, specifically over at the Lowe's website.
Well, I didn't just get bored on the holiday break...there was a reason for all this work. Believe me, I had other things to do while I was off from work, but this kind of took priority. Read more to see why.
More...
Wed Apr 12, 2006
Tearin' it up!
Well...I have to say things have been so busy for me. Nothing major...just life.
But...back to the subject at hand. What's bein' tore up? What did that terrible 2-year-old break now? Alas, it wasn't her....it was me.
My prized amp, the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, died one day. Just up and quit...I plugged in, let the tubes warm up and then switched it on and...
...nothing.
Couldn't figure out what it was. The pre-amp was getting power (the groovy red jewel light lit up), I could plug into the 'power amp in' and get good sound. So it wasn't the power-amp...something in the pre-amp just quit. Was it a blown plate load resistor? A blown output transformer? A power resistor that got a cold solder joint? It could have been literally hundreds of things.
So...where to begin? Well, I grabbed the schematics for the Hot Rod Deluxe, gathered my electronics components, got my multimeter and soldering iron and began tearin' it up!
But wait...there's more...
More...
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