agedhorse

Correct, I was addressing this in general since the GP-11 preamp is used in many of the amps also, and it would be easy for somebody later on looking at this thread to misinterpret the information being presented. Some of those amps for the 230/240V market are fused at 3.15A or higher which is why I mentioned it. For other markets, the 125V rating (inductive) is what's important, and these amps can be fused at 6A or higher depending on the model. For example, the GP-11 AH500 is fused at 5A for the 240V market and 10A for the 120V market. The switch that was posted is rated at 2 amps inductive because that's how it's being used. The resistive or thermal current rating does NOT apply in this application since the load is inductive. I used to work as an engineer for one of the previous owners of Trace Elliot so I am very familiar with the technical details of the line (during that era anyway, the current owner's versions are entirely different).

Note that the switch is only rated for 2A (inductive, which is what the power supply presents to the switch). The device should be fused at 2A or less.

I have no idea what the pricing will be, but the exchange rate certainly isn't going to help any...

Correct, it’s all connected to the opening of the new Gibson Garage showroom in London. I believe some products (specifically bass) are already on the water.

Home brew equipment doesn't matter unless somebody gets hurt... then it matters a lot.

If you have damaged SpeakOn jacks, the first thing to check is that you are not using knock-off Chinese SpeakOn plugs. Some of these can damage the mating jacks, and if this is the cause, the repaired devices are at risk.

Kris and Trent are still with us, Garey moved on but I still talk with him from time to time and is still informally part of our team.

Excellent, welcome aboard! It's a long and complicated process and Gibson wants to have everything in place. I was at the factory the other day and was impressed with the amount of product destined for Europe. I don't know the scheduling, but now I better understand the reasons for the continuing delays. The guitar side will also be represented in this launch, and there's a proverbial crap-load of amps/cabinets being built for that market too. We are talking about months of production resources currently being dedicated to Europe (and AU/NZ).

I don't know.

Just wanted to update on Mesa availability in Europe... Mesa bass gear will be featured as part of the new Gibson Garage showroom in London which will be up and running early next year. That's when the re-launch of Mesa in Europe will occur, and it will give players to try out some of the new gear locally if they don't have a dealer near by and happen to be traveling through London: https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Blog/News/are-you-ready-for-the-gibson-garage-in-london

This was not unexpected, manufacturing in the US or Europe is difficult without governmental support. Different countries in the EU support different industries which is why we see a concentration of speaker manufacturers in Italy, Class D amp manufacturers in the Netherlands, etc. This is how individual countries achieve critical mass which indirectly benefits them through increased employment and tax base. China has been doing this for years...

110V, 115V, 117V are all legacy voltages dating back decades. 110V DC was the original Edison standard, 110V AC was the Tesla standard. Between WW1 and the 1960's, the voltage crept up until 120/240V became the defacto standard for the US and Canada. Some designers never changed their 115V or 117V templates, so you do see these referenced from time to time.

US and Canada are 120V +/-10%.

I was referring to bass amps in my reply. Bass amps intended for more professional applications are in general rated using RMS metrics. Moving over to the pro audio side of things, powered speakers marketed towards the general masses are often rated using peak but any numerical rating is disingenuous because to the heavy (and complex) limiting algorithms used to protect the drivers. When you get to the more pro side of things you see more RMS metrics used, though more often I am seeing peak power along with RMS. It's a slippery slope, the marketing guys have to market against others who are already doing it or they feel at a disadvantage.

Better manufacturers do not rate using peak power or PMPO, they use RMS at whatever duty cycle is appropriate for the product.

Never directly measure the output of a class D power amp with a sound card input. Most are BTL (bridged) and there is no ground reference. If you try to ground the speaker minus terminal through the sound card you have a good chance of destroying the amp and/or the sound card. Generally such measurements are made using differential probes and the subtract function on the scope, or a 1:1 measurement isolation transformer capable of the voltages and frequencies required.

25 watts, 30 watts even 50 watts or 100 watts, it depends on the rated load impedance. It also depends on the interpretation and if the product is classified for ordinary or instructed users. There is a lot of gray area, which varies by region. Just because it's allowed in one region doesn't mean all regions. The IEC 62368 standard is just about the most miserable reading ever. I feel awful whenever I open the manual, and if it wasn't for all the politics within (and between) the IEC member bodies, it could have been simplified to 1/4 of its content. Compliance is generally required in order to import goods into a foreign country. Each country or region is different and those differences are contained within the "National Differences" section of the reports, things that are specific to each region. For example, China recognizes the IEC 62368 standard but has (many) additional requirements regarding labeling. Japan has labeling requirements but also the submission of Hipot test logs bu serial number. The Nordic countries have additional labeling language requirements in addition to the EU. It goes on and on, in nauseating detail.

It’s the EU that are driving these changes. It is what it is, it’s actually very minor compared with some of the other items in the regulations that we have to design around.

Good choice, hope yours doesn't use those output devices (may not be the output devices, but the originals are pretty much unobtanium unless Laney's service network still has service inventory available)

I was addressing the Laney in the picture. If that’s not the OP’s amp, that’s another matter.

Correct on all accounts. Fortunately, the track flaking off or delaminating from the substrate is very rare these days with any of the name brand parts, though I'm sure it can occur with knock-off pots from China and India (for example). The DeOxit D-5 used in TINY amounts is generally safe and effective (IF the problem is due to a pot, which in this case is almost 100% likely it's not). PCB cleaners contact cleaners and such are generally damaging to pots and also surrounding plastics like the housings of header connectors, switches, etc. WD-40 is just nasty and like silicone products don't belong anywhere near electronics.

I see the results of DIY repairs regularly, generally the first thing that comes to mind is "what were they thinking?", followed by "why?" followed by "what the hell?". You talk about saving money, but in reality most of the time when an amp (I only service Genz Benz, Genzler and Mesa) comes into the shop without somebody monkeying with it, the amp falls into the $100-$125 (USD) flat rate repair cost. When repair attempts are made that result in additional work and clean-up of the mess (most of them), it automatically doubles the cost of the repair because now EVERYTHING is suspect and a lot of additional disassembly, inspection and follow-up needs to be done in order to fully warranty the repair. I immediately recognized that you are a DIY enthusiast. Gaining appreciation for the inner workings of an amp starts with education and learning before attempting to repair something that they are unfamiliar with. The DIY "industry" is full of folks who claim to know more than the (real) experts, talk up a good game, yet anyone who really understands electronics can see through the crap pretty quickly. It's just how it is. Now the Laney amp in question uses a unique Sanken STD series output device that's been out of production for quite some time. It's unique not just because it's a Darlington device, but because there's a bias offset and thermal compensation diode built right onto the die and is an integral part of making a Darlington output device work well in a linear output circuit. This is something that an experienced and qualified service tech should know, but VERY uncommon in general. Seeing the date written on the filter caps suggests that somebody has already been into the amp and did a "cap job" (so rarely do caps less than 40 years old actually fail that this is immediately suspect as the root cause of damage) that may be causing or contributing to the symptoms. The bigger question an experienced tech would ask is "what else has been messed with, and what other damage may have been caused?" This is why there is no way to diagnose this amp over the internet, no matter how good the intentions might be. Also, the majority of these parts being sold over the internet (eBay, Ali Express, etc.) are fakes, counterfeit knock-offs. OnSemi made a similar part (not a Darlington, nor is it pin for pin compatible) which is also essentially out of production.

Since it’s a direct coupled output topology, those caps can’t possibly be coupling caps. Therefore, the rest of the information provided is suspect.

This is a quick way to ruin a set of otherwise good pots. Cleaning pots requires only the tiniest spray inside AND the only product I have tested that didn’t create longer term problems is Caig DeOxit D5. There may be something similar in Europe, but the majority caused damage to the test pits over time.

This is another "it depends" answer and how the test lab applies the regulations (there can be a lot of gray area and interpretation, especially in MI audio). Under 25 watts probably isn't going to trigger anything but as power increases you begin to run into limits of connectors under the abnormal conditions clauses. This covers things like maximum continuous power until temperatures stabilize, 1/8-rated power into 1/2 the lowest rated load impedance, 1/8-power into a shorted load, etc. (the amp can fail under these tests but can't create a hazard while doing so). Another thing to consider is the connector and/or the opening in the chassis can become a potential ignition source (level 2 or 3) and this becomes more likely as the power levels increase. This is why the new chassis jacks for the SpeakOns are now rated at UL 94V-0 flame spread, the hole in the chassis is large enough that the jack acts as a flame spread safeguard. I deal with this stuff every day in my regulatory engineering work (I'm a product development engineer, an EE by education, but do regulatory engineering about half time). It's unbelievably complex, I'm constantly working out the engineering justifications and solutions as well as interpretations in order to comply with the safety and EMC regulations as well as working with the test lab engineers on what are reasonable interpretations for the regulations as they apply to different products. It's anything but black and white.