Noise from UV on Old Trace Elliot

[Count Bassie]

Hey all,
I have this old GP-11 MK IV head here, and it's been sitting dormant in the guy's house I bought it from for about 10 years or so. I plugged it in and turned on the UV switch, and voila- noise!

I took off the UV housing and unplugged it from it's harness, took some Windex to it and generally cleaned it up... the little "Trace Elliot / AH250" display window needed a cleaning and to be glued back into it's spot on the housing, the bulb was filthy, etc. After all that I re-installed the unit and turned it back on. Noise... then it stopped. I sat there a while, in the dark, listening... quiet for a few minutes, then it started in again, slowly: Low-to-mid-level boiling, rustling sounds, with an occasional light-duty 'pop'.

I turned the amp off, and am now thinking... the amp itself seems to function fine, albeit I think there's a bit of dirt in the input jack, easy enough to address with a slip of paper beetween the contacts. But the UV- I wonder if a little cleaning of the contacts at the plug-ends and a new bulb would fix that? The bulb doesn't quite light up at the very ends, so the ends of the amplifier's face aren't very illuminated. Me am no electrician.

It's probably simpler than all my typing requires. But am I on the right track?

Thanks for looking in.

[Ghost_Bass]

Don't have experience with the UV bulb models but it seems that you need to change the bulb. Do you connected the amp to a plug with ground wiring? Sometimes the noise problems have a cause as simple as that!
Also i would advise you to get your amp serviced on a trusty place. 10 years is a long time of dust and moist building up

[Count Bassie]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' post='828594' date='May 5 2010, 11:16 AM']Don't have experience with the UV bulb models but it seems that you need to change the bulb. Do you connected the amp to a plug with ground wiring? Sometimes the noise problems have a cause as simple as that!
Also i would advise you to get your amp serviced on a trusty place. 10 years is a long time of dust and moist building up [/quote]

Yer right, and I know a guy. Does look to need a check-up.

Thanks, Ghost!

[Dood]

Hmmm - being a tube, I suspect it has some sort of starter right? Like a normal 'tube' light. I'm not sure if it has a specific type - but I reckon a new bulb and starter - and also to give the contacts a good clean too!

[Count Bassie]

[quote name='dood' post='828770' date='May 5 2010, 01:28 PM']Hmmm - being a tube, I suspect it has some sort of starter right? Like a normal 'tube' light. I'm not sure if it has a specific type - but I reckon a new bulb and starter - and also to give the contacts a good clean too![/quote]

Like a ballast, I guess. I've writtenBritish Audio here in the states, so I guess I'll be dealing with it shortly. Thanks dood.

[basshead56]

[quote name='Count Bassie' post='828817' date='May 5 2010, 06:57 PM']Like a ballast, I guess. I've writtenBritish Audio here in the states, so I guess I'll be dealing with it shortly. Thanks dood.[/quote]


Have dealt with British Audio Service before- they are great!!!
Fastest shipping and service from the U.S. I´ve ever experienced.
That was when I was fixing up an old Trace combo I had.
worked out cheaper too!

[Count Bassie]

[quote name='basshead56' post='828838' date='May 5 2010, 02:24 PM']Have dealt with British Audio Service before- they are great!!!
Fastest shipping and service from the U.S. I´ve ever experienced.
That was when I was fixing up an old Trace combo I had.
worked out cheaper too! [/quote]

Thanks for the rec, basshead. I'll return here when I get something done for it, hopefully with accolades for BAS.