Deceased Dulci............

[Dave99]

Hi,
Here are pictures of the early 1960s Dulci GA5 amp. This obviously is not ( or was not ) at the pinnacle of Hi-fi technology, I have put the pictures here for interest purposes only. I have been unable to find much out about this amp - it was given to me by my father many years ago after giving my uncle many years of service, as stated in an earlier post it has a date of 1961 on the can capacitor. I kept it more as a novelty rather than a useable piece of kit. When it did work, it was very quiet with no input, giving a rich warm sound on radio and p.u. as can be seen from the pics the mains cable was replaced at some time ( have just noticed there is no grommet on the case ). Also as a side issue I have also discovered that my multimeter has decided to go on strike, so when a new one has been obtained I will recheck the primary tx.

I am not a skilled practitioner of valve technology - although am well aware of the dangers of H.T. systems, especially high D.C. voltages - and hope to expand my knowledge and experience. May the gods of thermionics smile upon me.

Regards to all. Dave.

[Dave99]

There's more...........

[Jimbo]

If you don't fancy fixing it yourself you could always ask Firebottle.

[Arkless Electronics]

Indeed it wasn't the pinnacle of hi fi technology... mono and single ended class A.... a mighty 3-4W

Ok well all those black Hunts capacitors are dud and want replacing (you may find cracks in them if you look closely), The output valve is a nondescript after market one and may be suspect. The pretty Plesseys are probably working ok..ish and the selenium rectifier is highly suspect. When replacing with modern silicon unit you will need to add some dropper resistors in front of the SS one. A pair of 100 Ohm 5W wirewounds should suffice.

[Macca]

In lovely condition. Look almost brand new.

[Dave99]

Hi,

If I can put the Dulci aside a moment, Multimeter - my Cal-tek digital job has let me down, there are obviously a huge range on the market, so can I ask for a little advice;

Is it worth spending out on a Fluke or similar, or get a £20-30 unit and expect to replace it in a few years ?

Are the capacitance measurement facilities on 'budget' meters accurate enough ? Or is a dedicated capacitance meter worth the outlay ?

A re used AVO meters worth looking at ?

It would only be for hobby use, and I'm not as rich as creosote.

Any advice would be very welcome.

Regards. Dave.

[Arkless Electronics]

A £20-30 unit will usually suffice for hobby use.

[Barry]

The only thing which has been renewed is the mains cable. Love the rudementary knot as a cable clamp!

If it were mine I'd replace all the capacitors. Remember hearing one in the late '60s (though it was probably a stereo version). It didn't sound too bad.

[struth]

Was always taught never to tie a knot in a mains cable as it can produce a hot spot. :eyebrows: I have heard of folk doing it to protect from lightning .... I doubt it would work, although in theory it might make a small difference... more likely to go on fire I'd have thought.

[Barry]

Was always taught never to tie a knot in a mains cable as it can produce a hot spot. :eyebrows: I have heard of folk doing it to protect from lightning .... I doubt it would work, although in theory it might make a small difference... more likely to go on fire I'd have thought.

I was being sarcastic, though I have seen it done on table lamps etc. Can't see it make much difference: the increase in cable inductance would be miniscule. It just looks a bit naff.

When I used to do the stage lighting at school, the two cable ends always had a twist put in before the connectors were mated, so the connection couldn't be easily broken. I do the same with my lawnmower. In each case a 'knot' is formed.

[JohnJo]

Hi,

If I can put the Dulci aside a moment, Multimeter - my Cal-tek digital job has let me down, there are obviously a huge range on the market, so can I ask for a little advice;

Is it worth spending out on a Fluke or similar, or get a £20-30 unit and expect to replace it in a few years ?

Are the capacitance measurement facilities on 'budget' meters accurate enough ? Or is a dedicated capacitance meter worth the outlay ?

A re used AVO meters worth looking at ?

It would only be for hobby use, and I'm not as rich as creosote.

Any advice would be very welcome.

Regards. Dave.

Make sure it is internally fused or has fused leads. Try to get Class II or better for voltage spike withstand.

If those VC97 jobbies on ebay are all the description says they are they are very good value at £20. Not sure how accurate they will be but probably good enough. I'm always a bit wary of stuff like this but could be fine.

The Fluke 15B looks good too and you would expect to be more accurate and durable, but £65.

Whatever you choose don't depend on it for proving dead unless you can test it's working on a known supply before and after dead testing.

[struth]

Testing testing