TrainWreck Rockette: 2 Headshell

A good find: this old ’70s VOX transistor amp, from my old music teacher no less, seems like the perfect candidate for a Trainwreck build (a VOX AC30 Top Boost with EF86). Non-functioning and quite dusty, the first steps are making room and starting the restoration.

First, removing the internals, but then housing a hot tube amp in such close quarters is not something the box was designed for. So second, I paint it in high temperature automotive paint and then cover it in aluminium foil to reflect any heat.

Then to bend the chassis, I use thick aluminium into a U, and cut down the original back to make up a top cover, but ventilation is more than necessary, so a nice stretch metal  mesh for the back and a slim 120 mm fan in front where originally there was a speaker. The power for this fan is run through a capacitor  and diode from the amps heater supply, plenty to run this as well, but wanting to fine tune it I first go through a little PCB allowing me to vary voltage anywhere from  input voltage to 0V.

Still some way to go, but that’s the casing basically done, next last bits need to go on the actual circuit in the chassis and I have transformers to order, then it is done.

TrainWreck Rockette: 1 Redesigned

The Chassis is being populated and close to completed, will make another update once the Transformer goes in and it can be played. Still some random selection of leftover parts in there but also nice Teflon capacitors etc.