Need More Help - Speaker Harness

yeah, my dad uses these all the time on boards he does for customers... I think he gets the harness off www.digikey.com

I'll ask him later when he gets home.
good luck:food-smiley-004:

They're called "headers"...

This type of connector is called a "header". They usually come in either .1" or .156" spacing between the pins. There are a couple of ways of mating the wires to make a harness but often you can just push in some wire with a small screwdriver blade.

Sayal Electronics has all kinds of them, both discrete and with wire to make a harness. Best to visit and look at what's available. I'll bet 2 beer Canadian that you'll find something that will work fine.

Or check around for a junked computer. Odds are you'll find something you can cannibalize amongst the harnesses connecting to the motherboard.

Thanks Bill... uumm since I am no expert. The speaker has two coneections, this harness has three. So when you go to wire it... whats the procedure? I will check out this place you are talking about. Perhaps they have instructions. Thanks again.

I suppose I could just solder the speaker wires to the back of the board.. the connector is just there as a quick connect.

Who knows?

GuitarsCanada said:

Thanks Bill... uumm since I am no expert. The speaker has two coneections, this harness has three. So when you go to wire it... whats the procedure? I will check out this place you are talking about. Perhaps they have instructions. Thanks again.

I suppose I could just solder the speaker wires to the back of the board.. the connector is just there as a quick connect.

Click to expand...

There's no standard - just whatever your manufacturer wanted to do! If you look at the foil traces on the back of the board you may see that the amp runs two speakers with one common return wire. Whatever, you'll need to trace some things. Never having seen your amp I can't advise, especially when every amp is different.

Soldering to the back is REALLY tricky! Most circuit boards today have very thin (cheap!) copper traces. Even experienced techs can find the heat from even a small soldering iron will burn up a piece of the foil. Then you have to curse and swear to try to patch the board. Few solid state amps were ever designed for easy service. There's a "BIC lighter" philosophy at work.

Now if you were talking about a Bassman, Marshall Plexi or a Traynor YGM-3 I could advise you without even looking up the schematic!

If you're ever in Stoney Creek you could stop by with the amp. I won't charge for a quick peek and some advice if you're gonna do all the bullwork!

Looks easy!

So a 2-opin header will work fine, just push it onto the right 2 pins! The nice thing about solid state amps is that if you get the wrong 2 pins you won't hurt anything. Unlike tube amps having no speaker load is fine. It's a short that will burn transistors out.

I'm still confident an old computer would have lots of headers that would fit. You can usually find them in Value Village for 5-10 bucks. Rip out a couple of headers and turf the rest! Cheaper than the gas to Oakville or Toronto.

This is excellent news Bill. I have a few old machines around here I can dig into. I will get what I need from there. Of course I will let you know if I blow the whole thing up. I have new speakers and the caps I need on order so will maybe be ready to fire it up in a week or so. Thanks for all the help.