Costliest Brainfart

I bough a new/used tube amp that uses EL84 tubes.  It sounded good.  Within a day I was eager to do some tube rolling.  I ordered some tubes to try.

Then  I remembered I had a sophia baby tube amp with the same tubes....oops, they weren't the same.  They were actually 6P1T...different pin out that provided a dead short.  

I figured it out when no music came out and I smelled the hot smell.  Turned it off but too late.

Openedit up and found the blown resistor.  Only cost $5 and had it back in service the next day but it was a bonehead move.

Jerry

fbgbill - you win the cigar, my friend.

Now, if one of you could come by and steal a broken tt, that'd be covered.  But then insurance would probably replace with another broken table so maybe I'll just suck it up.

This mishap will rank up there with cross-threading and torquing down a spark plug in a Nissan Z car because, well, "It's a sports car."  I'd replaced many plugs and worked on cars quite a bit when I had that brainfart.  

I think I'll hear the table slide off the rack and see it crash onto the floor for quite some time.  But maybe not.  F it.  $hit happens.  Life's too short to dwell on things that cannot be changed.

Cheers all,

Mamoru

That’s a shame, and as you realize completely preventable.

I was photographing some equipment, some to show, some to sell.

3 Extension leaves in the dining room table, heavy stuff hither and thither.

Left End I picked up my fairly heavy McIntosh tube tuner/preamp, and, the heavier Cayin Amp was on the right end of the table.

Like a good lever/seesaw is supposed to do, it started to go down on the right, Cayin Amp sliding toward disaster. Still holding the Preamp, I move right, put the McIntosh Preamp on the table, but too far right at this point, and grabbed for the Cayin Amp.

Bang, Bang, they both crashed off the table. Luckily, the table was tilted, right end nearer the floor, so the drop height was reduced.

That Cayin can take a shot, corner of thick faceplate hit floor, zero damage, a big memorable dent in the wood floor, and one EL-34 tube flew out and shattered, that’s it.

Glass face of McIntosh preamp cracked, that’s it’s only mishap. I drew up a template (I’m an architect, have cad software), had the glass with two holes made locally, and painted the backside with black paint, looks like factory. Whew.

Idiototic, luckily limited damage. I switched the power tubes to KT88’s, prefer them.

@kota1 Your level of empathy is underwhelming.