Any Amp Techs out there? Sovtek Problem

[FromTheBalcony]

So i recently bought myself a Sovtek mig50 head because i think theyre awesome. I barely had it for a week when all of a sudden this terrible smell emanated from the back of it. Turns out theres a big burn in the circuit board and im unsure of how this happened. Me and my friends think it didnt come with its original power chord, but i think the cable i used to run it from head to cab was a small instrument cable and not a speaker cable. Im unsure either way. But my first question is, what do you think could have caused this? and my second question is what are my chances at getting this repaired and how much would it cost?
-DJ

[rawkandrowl]

Oh man. Sorry to hear about this. Yikes. You should have never run the amp if you weren't sure you were plugging a speaker cable into the back. Doesn't the cable say 'speaker cable' or 'instrument cable' right on it? Either way, I recommend you take it in to have it diagnosed by a qualified technician. They should be able to tell you what is wrong and how much it would cost to fix.

[FromTheBalcony]

well i had been using this "speaker cable" for some time on my previous head and that worked great for a couple years (still works) i just wanted to move up to a better sounding amp head and then this happened. and no it didnt say it right on there, i just kind of assumed which is completely my fault if thats what the problem was which i dont think it is. I think the power cable in the back wasnt the original, but i have no idea to be honest.

[patrickhowell]

As long as the power cable works, it should be fine. If you are using an instrument cable instead of a speaker cable, that can damage your output transformer. If you do not know how to safely drain the filter caps, then DO NOT open the amp yourself. These capacitors store DEADLY voltages even after the amp is turned off and unplugged. You should take the amp to a tech and at least have it diagnosed.

[FromTheBalcony]

alright thanks for the tip. i haven't had any time with work and school and band to really get to a tech and thats why i posted to see if i could get any quick info

[patrickhowell]

Yeah, I understand... It's just not worth it trying to figure it out for yourself if you don't know how to drain and test the filter caps. If you take a photo of the inside of the amp, I can help diagnose it... but you'll still need a tech to fix it.

[rawkandrowl]

Hey did you ever figure out what was wrong with your amp?

[FromTheBalcony]

Hey did you ever figure out what was wrong with your amp?

i brought it to an amp tech a couple weeks ago and he said hed call me when he had an estimate for me. I called him a week later to see if he knew anything yet and he said that i fried alot of resistors and alot of voltage went to places it shouldnt have gone. I asked him if he knew how this happened and he said no. Hes currently tracking down the price of all the pieces that need to be replaced. I'll probably be out a few hundred bucks. Ill post more when he calls me

[rawkandrowl]

Yeah it sounds like a freak occurrence. I don't think you are at fault.

[FromTheBalcony]

to be safe im gonna replace my speaker cable and all the fuses. im not sure what else to do to prevent it. im very afraid of emptying my bank account to fix this just to have it break while im in the middle of a show. so im crossing my fingers he can fix it completely