pour bleeding me Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Ok i know nothing of LEDS and im just trying to get a few questions out of the way. So my idea is that id like to add some leds to my amp. So where does the power for the leds come from? From the amps power source? or something like a battery? and also does this affect the amp at all? i have more questions but we'll start with those for now...thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Have a look here:LED wiring Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Keith that is a nice link! The one you should be looking at is the 12V set up, since most AMP circuits are runned at 12-15Vdc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pour bleeding me Posted September 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Thanks for the link..but i still dont understand where you get the power from? Like if i wanted to add a light to my amp head, would i use a different source like a battery? or can i tap into the amps power? if i tap the amps power how do i go about doing that? i just see a bunch of wires in there...so thanks for the help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 you could get a schematic for your amp possibly. at some point in that amp, 120AC is getting converted to around 12V DC after the amps transformer. You could *probably* get away with simply tapping off of that 12V source, due to the low current draw of your LEDs. you best be damn sure you've got your wiring correct though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 ...can i tap into the amps power? if i tap the amps power how do i go about doing that? i just see a bunch of wires in there... If all you see in there is a "bunch of wires", then you probably don't need to be poking around in your amp in the first place. Sorry to sound blunt, but you can cause yourself serious personal injury if you don't know what you're doing, not to mention destroying your amp. It's not like case modding, where everything is modular and designed to be reconfigured. You'll have to have some basic electronics know-how to identify where to tap into the amp's power supply without damaging anything. I strongly recommend you learn a little more about how electronics works before risking your amp and your health - or have the amp modded by a qualified technician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 ...can i tap into the amps power? if i tap the amps power how do i go about doing that? i just see a bunch of wires in there... If all you see in there is a "bunch of wires", then you probably don't need to be poking around in your amp in the first place. Sorry to sound blunt, but you can cause yourself serious personal injury if you don't know what you're doing, not to mention destroying your amp. It's not like case modding, where everything is modular and designed to be reconfigured. You'll have to have some basic electronics know-how to identify where to tap into the amp's power supply without damaging anything. I strongly recommend you learn a little more about how electronics works before risking your amp and your health - or have the amp modded by a qualified technician. haha, youre probably right... you have to know what youre looking for or else your going to end up getting zapped. .. for that matter even when your amp is unplugged for that matter, you still can get nailed if you go poking around caps and what not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pour bleeding me Posted September 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 haha yea good point...i forgot solid state amps hold power for like rediculous amounts of time...well could i just wire to a battery and have its own on/off switch? is that practical? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 What do you want to use the LEDs for? It makes very little sense wiring in a bunch if they are not giving you some information about the amps status eg on, standbye, overload etc. If you want light to read the knob settings or something buy a cheap lamp and plug it into the mains socket. Quicker, easier and SAFER! If you don't know what you are doing electronically stay away from the inside of your amp. You could at best destroy it or at worst kill yourself, burn the house down or all three. THERE ARE MAINS VOLTAGES IN THERE! Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 haha yea good point...i forgot solid state amps hold power for like rediculous amounts of time...well could i just wire to a battery and have its own on/off switch? is that practical? Actualy, (lovekraft correct me if I'm wrong) solidstate don't hold that much current, usualy is in caps and crystals for sake of memory keeping, but the ones that you have to be aware of are those old school vaccum tubes, the ones that are build like brick houses from ceramic and cooling fins. A RF Amp I worked on had one that fully charged holded up to 10,000V and when unpluged for a while before working on them we discharge it using a screwdriver with a rubber shield, you could see the spark even with full sunlight. And like lovekraft said, if you don't know electronics, don't tap into the Amp, which if you read my previous post was what I kinda recomended. Get and external source, like a transformer. I have seen very small blacklights that will look good on and amp with a small visor built to it, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 Maiden, you're correct, solid state amps generally use much lower voltages than tube amps, making them less dangerous (notice I did not say safe). I was more concerned about badly conceived mods making the amp unsafe to use, but power supply caps are another thing to be wary of. Of course, as usual, Keith hit the nail on the head - why bother? If you must have LEDs, how about making a box to fit on top of your amp that lights your faceplate? You could use 8 D-batteries to light a boatload of LEDs without risking life and limb or destroying the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pour bleeding me Posted September 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 so batteries i guess...i can wire leds to a battery thats not a problem...i was just wondering about the amps power but thats a no for now...and i want the leds just to customize and make it look better...its like why to chinese people light up the floor under their car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 ...its like why to chinese people light up the floor under their car? In my experience, most of them don't! If you're just doing it for show, why not go crazy and build a fake amp stack with lasers, a fog machine and strobe lights, and put your real amp out of sight behind it? Your homies are still gonna know it's a hoopty, no matter how much gold you hang on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pour bleeding me Posted October 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 well a jcm 800 stack is kind of far from a hoopty...i just like to customize stuff...not cover up cheap equipment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan O' Zakk Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 Maiden, you're correct, solid state amps generally use much lower voltages than tube amps, making them less dangerous (notice I did not say safe). I was more concerned about badly conceived mods making the amp unsafe to use, but power supply caps are another thing to be wary of. Of course, as usual, Keith hit the nail on the head - why bother? If you must have LEDs, how about making a box to fit on top of your amp that lights your faceplate? You could use 8 D-batteries to light a boatload of LEDs without risking life and limb or destroying the amp. Or how about tap the 120V AC line coming into the amp, and run a small transformer with a 14VDC secondary? Safest way to go, IMO, and gives you loooots of options for your lighting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 Let me get this straight - you've got a JCM800, and it's not cool enough, so you want to customise it??!? Forget about ruining the resale value, you've got an amp that probably 90% of us won't ever be lucky enough to own, and you want to drill a few extra holes in it for some cool lights? In deference to the forum rules, I won't say what I'm thinking. Best of luck in the future... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 Forget about ruining the resale value, you've got an amp that probably 90% of us won't ever be lucky enough to own, and you want to drill a few extra holes in it for some cool lights? In deference to the forum rules, I won't say what I'm thinking. OMG, I thought this guy had a Crate, or somenthing cheap, I can't believe you thinking about drilling holes on a JCM!!! I'm 100% with lovekraft here, I will love to have that amp. Tell you what I will buy you a new crate with the fancy light on the knobs and ya send me that Marshall. Sacrilege! Once again like on my last post, get a light fixture with a small black light or make one with LEDs and place it like a visor over the edge of the amp. This will be all the light you will need, OR be Prepare to face the AMP GODS for drilling holes on that face! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pour bleeding me Posted October 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 well i wasnt gonna drill holes in it..just strategically place the LEDS...and also why worry about resale value? its the last amp im gonna need..well except for more JCM 800's..and you know how many people have 800's? everybody...i want something to set mine apart from everyone else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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