"Norman M. Schwartz" wrote in message
...
Which version of this GAS unit do you have? I owned the original
(model with
crazy lettering logo). The fan was very noisy, and I reduced it
by elevating
it up from the shelf. I put 4 of my kid's building blocks
beneath the feet
and most of the noise was gone, as if it were in large part
caused by the
rush of air upon the shelf surface. My Ampzilla IIi, never
remained in
repair long enough for me to be bothered the fan noise (which
was far less).
I think you are extremely fortunate in having a working unit.
(None of the
GAS amps generated the current required to drive speakers of 4
ohm
impedance, so mine ended up driving a pair of Stax headphones.)
My GAS unit
is really idling since is too big to use as a doorstop and not
owning a
boat, I'm not in any need of an anchor.

This one started out really original. I bought it from the
original owner, who built it from one of the original kits offered
before GAS got together enough money. The only thing that was not
original in mine was the fan.

Shortly after I received the amp, one channel died. I contacted
the designer, James Bongiorno, and sent him the 'chimney' and he
replaced and updated the circuitry, as well as added a bass servo
unit of his design. I sought his advice on the fan, but since it
was not the original, he was not sure about the proper resistor to
slow it down. He noted that the amp only needed a very small
amount of cooling from the fan, so how slow it was was not an
issue.

I installed the resistor he thought of as his best guess but the
hystersis effect (is that the right term) means it often does not
spin when I turn it on. I finally got tired of having to pull out
the amp and reach up inside it every time I turned it on, and
posted my question here. I am currently leaning toward a German
made Papst fan, since they seem to have the reputation of spec'ing
their noise figures much more accurately than most.

BTW, I am using the amp to drive Dahlquist DQ-10s, and have a
Thaedra for my pre-amp. I got the Zilla and the Thaedra from
different owners over the net. Both are the 'original' model 1,
but I do not know the Thaedra's pedigree.