[jules]

Hi all,

Here in northern NSW it's been raining heavily for 3 or 4 days so apart from avoiding flooded roads, it's a good time to do a bit of soldering.

After several years of great performance My GK-1 has developed a slight crackle in one channel. I've swapped the valves to eliminate the possibility of a fault there and they are still a tight fit in their bases so that doesn't look like the source of the prob. Next in line seems to be a re-solder of the board/tube base connection and here's where my call for help comes in. When I originally soldered components to the board they all finished up looking desirably bright, smooth and shiny until I came to the tube bases. When I came to solder these, the result was slightly disappointing in that the joints always set with that slightly textured appearance you get when something moves while you're doing it. Amount of heat wouldn't seem to be a factor here as I've soldered heavier joints with no problems. I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same experience and perhaps found a solution. I use Cardas solder which is generally easy to use though perhaps something else would better suit this situation?

It's been interesting listening to my system minus the GK-1. With CDP --> Burson Buffer --> AKSA 55N+ the sound is still great in most ways but the magic is missing. Maybe you're thinking of something to replace it Hugh but it's still a great creation  and it's going to take some beating.

Jules

[Rom]

Hi Jules,

I don't recall exactly but I remember I have to scrape the tube socket pins to have the solder stick better .The only time I have some problem was when I try to force the tube to sit a little off center/tilted a bit because I have the mounting holes for the PCB  and the tube did not align properly, but after making the hole larger and set the tube resting nicely on the tube holder the problem was fixed. 

Regards
Rom

[AKSA]

Jules,

See if you can remove the tube socket.  Then soak the pins up to the solder level with muriatic acid (HCl) for a couple of hours.

Then resolder.  This should do it.  Alternatively, scrape each pin carefully with a stanley knife until it's shiny, then resolder.

I think it's the oxide on these pins which eventually causes dry joints on the GK1 tube connections.

We really need sockets with gold flashing on the pins.  They don't corrode at all.

Cheers,

Hugh

[andyr]

We really need sockets with gold flashing on the pins.  They don't corrode at all.

Cheers,

Hugh

You could supply tube sockets from Michael Percy, Hugh ... I bought some which are ceramic and have either gold-plated or silver-plated pins, when I built my GK-1.

See here (and scroll down many pages to "Tube Sockets"):
http://www.percyaudio.com/Catalog.pdf

Regards,

Andy

[whubbard]

We really need sockets with gold flashing on the pins.  They don't corrode at all.

Cheers,

Hugh

You could supply tube sockets from Michael Percy, Hugh ... I bought some which are ceramic and have either gold-plated or silver-plated pins, when I built my GK-1.

See here (and scroll down many pages to "Tube Sockets"):
http://www.percyaudio.com/Catalog.pdf

Regards,

Andy

I too used tube sockets from Michael Percy, Teflon I believe.

-West

[RonR]

Jules,

My valve sockets came from PCX when the GBP to CND prices were favourable. Ceramic / gold plated if I remember well.

BTW, you needn't worry about the GK1's replacement (whatever it's eventually called) beating the original. It does!

Cheers,

Ron.

[jules]

Many thanks Rom, Hugh, Andy West and Ron,

I think I was being a bit slack about actually taking up the iron and doing the job yesterday when I called for help. As it was, the task was done by the time I got around to reading your posts. I wicked away the old solder on what looked like suspect joins and re-soldered. Luckily I had success and the music rings out pure and true again.

The acid bath is a very tempting solution next time around Hugh but maybe if I'm doing something major to the boards [as in pulling them out of the box] it would be good to replace the bases with something dripping with gold.

Ron [R]: I'm sure you're right about the GK um, 2? What did GK stand for anyway?

Jules

[DSK]

...
Ron [R]: I'm sure you're right about the GK um, 2? What did GK stand for anyway?...

I've no idea what the GK really denoted, but many of us felt Giant Killer was apt.  aa

[AKSA]

Giant Killer it is, this is the name Darl Singh and I chose way back in 2001 when we did the original design.

We used a ML1 preamp as the standard, an oldie but a goodie, for comparison.

So GK1 seemed appropriate, as the ML1 was a giant product, did very well in the marketplace.

Ah, Ron, cat's out of the bag now!   

Cheers,

Hugh

[RonR]

Hi Hugh,

The bag was already lying on the Patio in tatters, and I was chasing the cat down the garden path and up into the tree!

(AKSA website news, December 2008)

Cheers,

Ron.

[AKSA]

Ron,

My apologies, did not mean to imply anything negative, you are quite right of course.  Once again, the word medium fails to convey the verbal wink.......   

Perhaps the important thing is that you were not scratched by the cat, and it worked first time.   

Cheers,

Hugh

[RonR]

Hi Hugh,

No offence taken at this end.

Hold on a mo, wasn't the "Cat" that was let out of the bag originally a 9-flailed whip, used to discourage members of a ship's crew from mutiny? 

I can't wait to get that GK-something and the Lifeforce back into my system, as I'm currently running in my re-capped old Naim gear prior to putting it up for sale.

Cheers,

Ron.