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I am an engineer that takes complex engineering design concepts and explain them simplified building blocks. I publish video series on tube amp subjects on my YouTube channel: youtube.com/@deepblueharp

There is a lot of mis-information posted throughout the internet. Many on-line forums include a lot of  superlatives, marketing language, and opinions. I restrict my work to data, math, and experience. If I were to print bumper stickers they would read "Helping Stamp Out Ignorance in My Lifetime."

Why I started my YouTube channel and help explain the engineering of tube amps:

You will not find me reprinting (regurgitating) the same stuff that is commonly found elsewhere. However, there are subjects that need addressed with data and engineering science. The very first topic that caught my attention was the removal of "death caps". NOBODY understood, or took the time to understand that these capacitors were Radio Frequency filters. Nobody took the time to figure out that the reason they failed and caused some fatalities was because they were not correctly rated (install a CLASS Y1). These caps filter out AM radios signals caused by construction, or municipalities (police, fire, etc.). What is really appalling was everyone that recommended taking out the death cap did not seem to bothered that the tube amp running hundreds of volts did not need to be grounded. In fact, there are sites that still recommend ground lifts. The cause of death is not the death caps. The cause of death is where the death cap shorts out and there is no earth ground for the amp chassis. The voltage will go to ground: from the chassis, through you, to ground. And you will writhe in pain the entire time you are dying. Many vintage amps do not have grounds. Many amps are played without a proper ground. If all those amps had a proper ground, the radio frequency cap would never have been called a "death cap."

Email:

To contact me use this email address: DeepBlueHarp@gmail.com

I will answer email as I have time. Please be patient, sometimes it may be weeks before I can get to answering my email.  

Do not send attachments. I immediately delete any email with attachments without reading the email. I will ask for attachments if they are necessary depending on the need. 

Asking for Help

I like and I am willing to provide technical on-line assistance. If you have a question, I will try to assist you with the experience and data that I have in my database. Please do not request that I perform work for you. For example, do not send a schematic and ask me to create a turret board layout. I have a video on the general method on how to lay out a turret board. When a need requires more time and effort I may decide to offer you a Work Request.  

By Work Request:

In addition to on-line assistance, a Work Request includes projects that I accept into my shop.

A Work Request is offered based on your need and my availability. I retired from a company, but I did not retire from engineering, music, hobbies, and travel. I am always busy. 

In these cases, 

1) I own the right to publish the topic on YouTube if I think it would be of interest to others in the hobby. If you send sound clips, videos, photos, etc. I will ask if I can use them in a video to help others. I will not publish your name, location, etc. I am only interested in the data. 

2) I need to commit to spending a few hours to several weeks on the project. 

3) It also means that you will most likely be committed to the time, labor, and buying the parts necessary for the project. 

4) I do not charge for labor. If there is a project in my shop, I will provide you an estimate of the parts first and will only proceed after you approve. In addition to parts, there are consumables that I may need to charge for like solder, flux, miscellaneous hardware, etc. But, I will make it clear in the estimate. 

Sponsorship:

I am not sponsored by any company, group, or individual. I do not accept donations.