Hiwatt style wiring

[hiegdk]

Hi all, I've started in on a DR103 clone build and was wondering if anyone cared to share their experiences with the typical Hiwatt / Harry Joyce style wiring. Obviously it looks great but I'm wondering if anyone has any practical experience or advice regarding working with that style of wiring. I'm specifically speaking of the approach where all the 'off board' wires are soldered through the bottom of the turrets and the 'on board' jumper wires are also laid out along the bottom side of the boards. In your experience does that arrangement cause any headaches down the road?

[kagliostro]

To avoid maintenance problems

Use a marker to draw on the top side of the board the path of the jumper wires (that are on the on the bottom side)

---

About the off board wires trough the bottom of the turrets, arrive a bit more to the upper side of the turret (5 or 6 mm) then fold them and solder (use proper sized solid core wires)

Franco

[shooter]

where all the 'off board' wires are soldered through the bottom of the turrets

not hiwatt OCD but my compromise tech friendly version.  you do have to drill the pass-through holes or get creative and have Doug drill a turret hole but not install a turret on custom boards

[sluckey]

you do have to drill the pass-through holes or get creative and have Doug drill a turret hole but not install a turret on custom boards

Good luck with that! Doug won't spend the time to figure out which hole gets a turret and which hole does not. It's all or nothing.   

[EL34]

Hi all, I've started in on a DR103 clone build and was wondering if anyone cared to share their experiences with the typical Hiwatt / Harry Joyce style wiring. Obviously it looks great but I'm wondering if anyone has any practical experience or advice regarding working with that style of wiring. I'm specifically speaking of the approach where all the 'off board' wires are soldered through the bottom of the turrets and the 'on board' jumper wires are also laid out along the bottom side of the boards. In your experience does that arrangement cause any headaches down the road?

I don't wire my turret board from the bottom so I can see all connections
I did meet Mr Hiwatt at the Dallas guitar show in the 90's
He gave me compliments on my amp wiring
I had a booth there with some of my amps

This is how I like to wire turret lugs as shown in a PDF
https://el34world.com/Hoffman/files/Hoffman_Pro_Jr.pdf

[shooter]

Good luck with that!

after I posted, I recalled Doug saying something similar when I put in the notes "the black dots don't get turrets"
after that I just drilled my own holes

[kagliostro]

On the attached file an example of what I was meaning on my previous post

(By courtesy of our friend Sluckey)

Franco

[EL34]

you do have to drill the pass-through holes or get creative and have Doug drill a turret hole but not install a turret on custom boards

Good luck with that! Doug won't spend the time to figure out which hole gets a turret and which hole does not. It's all or nothing.   

Yep, I don't have time to consult a drawing and figure out what holes get what
If you want wire holes, you can order a drilled board only and then install the terminals yourself

You will probably want to drill out turret lug holes a bit larger being those holes are 3/32 inches
Eyelet holes would be ok for wires being .125 inches

[hiegdk]

Thanks all. Seems like the consensus is to keep things as visible and accessible as possible, which seems very sensible. 

[EL34]

Thanks all. Seems like the consensus is to keep things as visible and accessible as possible, which seems very sensible.

I just wrap wires to the lugs on top so I can see all connections
Not really a fan of wires coming up from under the boardJust my preference

[Williamblake]

If you go Hiwatt-Style and do the right angles and tangle your wires together it surely pays off tho have different colors for B+, grounds, cathodes, anodes and grids.

[hiegdk]

Thanks for the advice! Decided to do the jumpers above the board (see photo) and I'll bring the wiring in on top too. I think the ease of maintenance and tracing probably ought to outweigh the aesthetics.

[hiegdk]

Stared in on the DR103. I'm not Harry Joyce but it's coming together.

[hiegdk]

If anyone's interested here's where it's at now. I'd welcome any constructive criticism or suggestions!