It's not a question of having inferior intellectual capabilities to perform such a calculation with, but the unit's ease of use. With Inches and feet you are using a power of ten (thou) a power of two for your fractions, and a power of 12 for feet. I've used hexadecimal before in computer programming, at least it uses a consistent power.
Also; why should anyone under 40 be considered mathematically illiterate, do you suddenly become a mathematical genius on your 40th birthday?
Also; why should anyone under 40 be considered mathematically illiterate, do you suddenly become a mathematical genius on your 40th birthday?
I was working for some years on English cars in France; the French I came across could not understand the nut and bolt sizes.
Then we got onto Whitworth (the best thread ever actually); they were amazed when I told them that a 1/4" Whitworth spanner measures 0.525" between the flats, or, to make it easy, 13.5mm!
I regularly came across geezered nuts and bolts on English cars in France.
Paul
I was not referring to mental capability, but mental agility due to (lack of) practice. Actually, the divide might start at 50 not 40. I noticed many years ago that people more than a few years younger than me routinely reach for a calculator to do sums which my generation would do in their head. This is because of the changeover from slide rules to calculators in secondary school, which in the UK was late 60s/early 70s. Schools quickly stopped teaching mental arithmetic, although I believe they may have restarted again. So an issue of education, not basic ability.
Lately one overhere remembered what to put in his (school obligatory) programmable calculator for the outcome of a homework sum, chance of drawing the same card a minimum number of times in a row from several of a stack of six.
The master programmer didn't know why it was so, but he could punch it, only final exam year to go before university.
(gmafb, at least he comprehended it's not going to be tech-u
)
The master programmer didn't know why it was so, but he could punch it, only final exam year to go before university.
(gmafb, at least he comprehended it's not going to be tech-u
)
I don't think that there is a lack of mental arithmetic out there. I've just finished sixth form and A level maths, where one module (C1) focuses solely on working things out without a calculator.
Believe me, I can work out the values for a passive eq network on paper, (FFRR the other day for some early LPs), but calculators are just simply far easier and nowadays ubiquitous. I do routinely work things out roughly in my head when building stuff, e.g. resistor values, power ratings etc...
Believe me, I can work out the values for a passive eq network on paper, (FFRR the other day for some early LPs), but calculators are just simply far easier and nowadays ubiquitous. I do routinely work things out roughly in my head when building stuff, e.g. resistor values, power ratings etc...
I'm pleased that mental arithmetic has made a comeback. Less pleased that it is in its own module, but that seems to be the way of modern exams. Hopefully in the UK we will soon be able to improve our exams back to something like their old standards, but I'm not holding my breath. To say any more would stray too far into politics and get the mods nervous so I won't.
The problem it seems is universal.
I have just received, after a month's wait a consignment of 8 Russian valves which were sold under the following description: 6N1P = 6AQ5 = EL90.
This is not true. I have in front of me 8 valves 6N1P, with nine-pin bases, utterly useless.
If they can't count what hope is there for mental arithmetic?
Paul
I have just received, after a month's wait a consignment of 8 Russian valves which were sold under the following description: 6N1P = 6AQ5 = EL90.
This is not true. I have in front of me 8 valves 6N1P, with nine-pin bases, utterly useless.
If they can't count what hope is there for mental arithmetic?
Paul
Not far off.....it's those informative graphs, graphs everyone is forgetting..so absolutely essential for audio and electronic engineering....(the money markets where many electronic engineers have swapped into are making better use of graphs than those left on the audio forums); The sliderules are nostalgic but their use is an instant adaptive mental indication of how to manipulate and use numbers. Mistakes happened of course but the 1960's moon trips were an example of success.
I'm close to completing a Williamson design diagnosis using graphs as a problem solver to a practical approach of sorting some of it's common bugs.
richy
Thank you all for your feedback!
Apologies to all for my late reply, I was out of the country for a while.. I ll try to answer your questions as best as I can.
Everything in construction will be in metric, and I am considering either pre-drilling the box or providing a template for drilling. Opinions?
Parts will be of standard :good: quality, (you cannoot easily avoid chinese-made resistors though).
Documentation will be in English only for now, only reason being that is the only language I can master. I believe that the target audience is OK with that.
I am thinking that the pre should offer a gain a little gain too, in the order of 2x to 3x.
Thanks again. Please post your opinions.
Apologies to all for my late reply, I was out of the country for a while.. I ll try to answer your questions as best as I can.
Everything in construction will be in metric, and I am considering either pre-drilling the box or providing a template for drilling. Opinions?
Parts will be of standard :good: quality, (you cannoot easily avoid chinese-made resistors though).
Documentation will be in English only for now, only reason being that is the only language I can master. I believe that the target audience is OK with that.
I am thinking that the pre should offer a gain a little gain too, in the order of 2x to 3x.
Thanks again. Please post your opinions.
I think that a pre-drilled box would attract more buyers, and give you higher sales. Many DIYers here are solder slingers, but not metal workers.
Seconded. Many who would build a kit (rather than DIY) would probably not have the range of drills and hole cutters / punches that might be needed.I think that a pre-drilled box would attract more buyers, and give you higher sales. Many DIYers here are solder slingers, but not metal workers.
Yes, it will be much more logical to offer a pre-drilled and painted chassis.
I was entertaining the idea of offering a volume control, but then we move from "buffer" to "line preamp" and it' ll need input selectors. I decided to leave that for a later product.
After all, gain will be adjustable changing one resistor.
I was entertaining the idea of offering a volume control, but then we move from "buffer" to "line preamp" and it' ll need input selectors. I decided to leave that for a later product.
After all, gain will be adjustable changing one resistor.
The 6N1P is a completely different beast IIRC.
Even the 6P1P is electrically slightly different from a 6AQ5 or EL90.
And yes, that one has the larger 9pin base.
On the Bay some quite different tubes are regularly called equivalent with each other to attract more buyers...
The ignorance might not be "accidental".
Cheers,
Martin
PS: Sorry for the off-topic reply
The circuit has been finalised, some of the specs are as follows
-1 double triode per channel
- Very low distortion
- Low output impedance, can drive down to 8KOhms load
- Regulated heater supply, will work from 220 to 240 V without any changes.
- Ability to swap different new/nos valves to taste
- Ability to swap output capacitors to taste
-Adjustable gain, as I mentioned earlier. Will be supplied with resistors for 1.4 dbV gain.
- High quality double-sided PCB with solder mask and silkscreen.
Plus other niceties I mentioned above, Stainless steel box, doubly shielded toroid power transformer, WIMA capacitors for signal, 105C electrolytics for the power supplies, tantalum capacitor for heater regulator. And an amber LED to compliment the heater glow.
I think that it should be available as PCB + parts + transformer and the (pre-drilled) box should be optional.
Awaiting for your feedback!
-1 double triode per channel
- Very low distortion
- Low output impedance, can drive down to 8KOhms load
- Regulated heater supply, will work from 220 to 240 V without any changes.
- Ability to swap different new/nos valves to taste
- Ability to swap output capacitors to taste
-Adjustable gain, as I mentioned earlier. Will be supplied with resistors for 1.4 dbV gain.
- High quality double-sided PCB with solder mask and silkscreen.
Plus other niceties I mentioned above, Stainless steel box, doubly shielded toroid power transformer, WIMA capacitors for signal, 105C electrolytics for the power supplies, tantalum capacitor for heater regulator. And an amber LED to compliment the heater glow.
I think that it should be available as PCB + parts + transformer and the (pre-drilled) box should be optional.
Awaiting for your feedback!
Sounds interesting.
Another request to make this an outstanding "European" amp: Please think of the design of the chassis. Please don't give us another steel-plate-in-a-wooden-frame or steel-chassis-with-wooden-sides design. Make it look good - think of Italian or Scandinavian design, or take a Bauhaus approach, or look ad Dieter Rams' designs. What I'd love to see is a kit amp that esthetically fits into such an environment: usm haller "living room" - Google-Suche
Another request to make this an outstanding "European" amp: Please think of the design of the chassis. Please don't give us another steel-plate-in-a-wooden-frame or steel-chassis-with-wooden-sides design. Make it look good - think of Italian or Scandinavian design, or take a Bauhaus approach, or look ad Dieter Rams' designs. What I'd love to see is a kit amp that esthetically fits into such an environment: usm haller "living room" - Google-Suche
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