Fender 68 custom vibro champ reverb - voltage

godders

Thinking about one of these for a home practice amp. Fender have confirmed it’s possible to rewire for 240v but has anyone done this or does anyone have a schematic for this amp?

Alex2678

Alex2678

I’m pretty sure it’s just a case of moving a wire with a push on connector but someone that knows for sure will be along shortly 

benecol

Thread is here: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/181761/68-custom-princeton-reverb-240v-mod/p1 - hugely worth doing; I did it on my 65ri, but a friend did it to their 68 with equal success.

godders

Thanks both, I’m comfortable doing it but just conscious the relevant connector wires are different colours on different amps hence looking for a schematic or just someone familiar with the amp.

PAL

Hi. This is an interesting post. All fenders sent to Europe are 230v . This is OK in Europe because they use 220V but here 
  in the UK we are 240v and this accounts for many fender amps like running hot and shorter tube life !
  I have done the 240v Mod on my Fender 68 Custom Princeton Reverb & my Fender Blues Junior.
  I can't find any details on how to do this on my Pro Junior !
  I know there is nothing available on how to do this on a Pro Junior so there may not be anything on the amp you are looking
  to buy ! Hope this helps.

godders

PAL said:

Hi. This is an interesting post. All fenders sent to Europe are 230v . This is OK in Europe because they use 220V but here 
  in the UK we are 240v and this accounts for many fender amps like running hot and shorter tube life !
  I have done the 240v Mod on my Fender 68 Custom Princeton Reverb & my Fender Blues Junior.
  I can't find any details on how to do this on my Pro Junior !
  I know there is nothing available on how to do this on a Pro Junior so there may not be anything on the amp you are looking
  to buy ! Hope this helps.

I do know that the Pro Junior is something of an exception in that there is no 240v tap on that amp. Fender have confirmed to me that it is possible to wire the 68 CVCR for 240v, they just won't tell me specifically how to do it or provide a schematic (as well as advising that it'll void the warranty).

ICBM

You can work it out with a multimeter, but it will require working on live mains voltages, so not for the inexperienced. Unfortunately I don’t have either a schematic or access to one of the amps, or it would be easy…

The colour coding is consistent across *most* Fender models but not all, so don’t assume anything without checking one way or the other.

It won’t void the warranty as long as you make sure you put it back if you ever need to send it for repair .

PAL

Fender are not very helpful theses days you used to get user manual & schematic diagram !

Sharky77

My brother is a solar panel electrician and works on big solar farms across the country and says that UK power has been brought in line with the EU and we now mostly run at 230v. So everyone changing their amps to run on 240v no longer makes any sense

Sharky77

I don't actually have a clue what I'm talking about, just passing on a message I was told when I mentioned to my bro about an old Pro Reverb 

RiftAmps

Sharky77 said:

My brother is a solar panel electrician and works on big solar farms across the country and says that UK power has been brought in line with the EU and we now mostly run at 230v. So everyone changing their amps to run on 240v no longer makes any sense

My wall voltage today was 248v so I’m gonna do what’s safest for the amplifier, cool?

Sharky77

http://www.ampworks.co.uk/myth-busters/mains-voltages-in-the-uk-and-the-eu-and-what-it-means-for-guitar-amps/

This seems like an interesting article on the subject

Sharky77

RiftAmps said:

Sharky77 said:

My brother is a solar panel electrician and works on big solar farms across the country and says that UK power has been brought in line with the EU and we now mostly run at 230v. So everyone changing their amps to run on 240v no longer makes any sense

My wall voltage today was 248v so I’m gonna do what’s safest for the amplifier, cool?

See my above comments

ICBM

Sharky77 said:

My brother is a solar panel electrician and works on big solar farms across the country and says that UK power has been brought in line with the EU and we now mostly run at 230v. So everyone changing their amps to run on 240v no longer makes any sense

This is not true. It's *called* 230V, but the voltage is almost always above 230V and often above 240V, just as it always was. It's better for equipment to receive less voltage than it's designed for not more, so if the voltage is over 230V, it's best to set the amp to 240V if the option is there.

(Just measured mine - 239V.)

Sharky77 said:

http://www.ampworks.co.uk/myth-busters/mains-voltages-in-the-uk-and-the-eu-and-what-it-means-for-guitar-amps/

This seems like an interesting article on the subject

But this is.

Although it misses out a crucial piece of information - the reason Fender set their amps for 230V is not because they're wrong or badly designed, it's because it's a regulatory requirement for electrical goods sold in the EU. In fact, fitting the 'legacy' 240V tap is *good* design because it means they can be corrected after sale.

The reason why it's particularly a problem for valve amps is because valve equipment (including CRT TV/monitors) is unusual in stepping *up* the voltage internally rather than down in almost every other type of electronics. Although the proportional change is the same - ie 5% more supply voltage produces 5% more internal voltage - because power dissipation is dependent on the *square* of voltage, it rises much faster than the voltage itself.

Wyzard

ICBM said:

Sharky77 said:

My brother is a solar panel electrician and works on big solar farms across the country and says that UK power has been brought in line with the EU and we now mostly run at 230v. So everyone changing their amps to run on 240v no longer makes any sense

This is not true. It's *called* 230V, but the voltage is almost always above 230V and often above 240V, just as it always was. It's better for equipment to receive less voltage than it's designed for not more, so if the voltage is over 230V, it's best to set the amp to 240V if the option is there.

(Just measured mine - 239V.)

Sharky77 said:

http://www.ampworks.co.uk/myth-busters/mains-voltages-in-the-uk-and-the-eu-and-what-it-means-for-guitar-amps/

This seems like an interesting article on the subject

But this is.

Although it misses out a crucial piece of information - the reason Fender set their amps for 230V is not because they're wrong or badly designed, it's because it's a regulatory requirement for electrical goods sold in the EU. In fact, fitting the 'legacy' 240V tap is *good* design because it means they can be corrected after sale.

The reason why it's particularly a problem for valve amps is because valve equipment (including CRT TV/monitors) is unusual in stepping *up* the voltage internally rather than down in almost every other type of electronics. Although the proportional change is the same - ie 5% more supply voltage produces 5% more internal voltage - because power dissipation is dependent on the *square* of voltage, it rises much faster than the voltage itself.

Everything ICBM said.

The EU 230V label is a kludge, a form of words used to embrace everything found here and on the continent without having to change a thing..... the legal spec states 230v +10% -6%, allowing the European 220v system to remain at 220v and UK to remain at 240v. Viewed from on high, all voltages appear to have been "harmonised".

I've spent the best part of the last thirty-five years moving around Europe, the USA and elsewhere, using every voltage available in three continents - including some very brown stuff, coming off the flakiest supplies imaginable at live events, and occasionally with the sort of "earth/ground" that could be more properly described as potting compost.

As a result, I've been hanging a lot of my gear (labelled 110V,120V, 220V, 230V and 240V) off large transformers for most of that time. I test wherever I go, and use the input voltage taps and choice of outputs to produce a slightly lower voltage than the amp being used actually requires.

Right here, right now, my mains measures 239-240V, and my transformer is outputting 219-220V to a Two Rock which is labelled 230V.

godders

Just raising this from the dead to see if anyone has managed to acquire a schematic/service manual for this amp? Despite frequent intensive sessions on google I haven't been able to find anything!

How do professional amp techs go about getting docs from fender these days?

Modulus_Amps

@godders said:

Just raising this from the dead to see if anyone has managed to acquire a schematic/service manual for this amp? Despite frequent intensive sessions on google I haven't been able to find anything!

How do professional amp techs go about getting docs from fender these days?

These are simple amps and an amp tech worth his salt would be able to look at it and work most things out.
Also if you were a Fender Service agent they would send you the required doc's when requested.

What are you trying to figure out on yours?

godders

Modulus_Amps said:

What are you trying to figure out on yours?

How to change from 230v to 240v, (the power out of my sockets at home tends to range from 242v - 248v).

Modulus_Amps

@godders Do you have a multimeter and know how to use it?

godders

Modulus_Amps said:

@godders Do you have a multimeter and know how to use it?

I do yes!