Orlando Hamcation Home Feb 12,13,14
Yes, I have had a ham radio license for about 30 years, but since I am a radio designer by day, I don't spend too much time with them at home. I have a radio and a simple wire antenna. I turned it on last night for the first time in a few months.
Hamfests have always been a good place to find tubes and other components useful to tube amp builders. Unfortunately hamfests seem to be dying off. I went to the Miami hamfest every year for nearly 40 years, but it died. The Orlando show is the biggest one in the southeast, so I go every year. I make it to the smaller shows like Melbourne when I have time.
Dayton (Ohio) is huge, and I have been there twice. Might go again this year. Scored lots of tubes, transformers, capacitors, two power supplies and even some radio parts last time.
That is how I do it too. The 45 degree mark can't be trusted so I usually make two cuts on a piece of scrap wood, then check them with a square to see if the two 45's join nicely to make a 90. Some cheap table saws will vibrate loose and shift over time, to the first cut may be 45, and the next one 47.
That's not the only difficulty involved. After the pieces are cut and rabbited, you still have to join them properly. Splines, dowels, biscuits, whatever method you choose, each takes a certain degree of skill and is difficult to do with hand tools.
If I was in your situation regarding tools and experience, I wouldn't miter the corners. I'd cut to size, butt them together with clamps, then drill each corner from the outside for three or four through-dowels. Cut the dowels from solid stock; don't use the splined dowels intended for internal joints. You can either tap the dowels slightly below the surface and fill, or leave them proud of the surface and use a flush-cutting saw made for this purpose. This method will only allow you to rabbit two of the pieces. You can screw short strips of angle aluminum to the other two to hold the top plate.
Incidentally, I have power tools, and I still don't like to build mitered frames. This all recently became such a problem for me that I finally bought a benchtop lathe and CNC mill. Now I'm deep in the middle of completely rebuilding my 211 monoblocks on entirely new chassis.
In life you need to have a good circle of friends. I suggest three types if you can find them:>>
My choice:
1) A doctor who loves discussing your health with you
2) A lawyer who's a total bastard and a childhood friend
3) An ex girlfriend who still loves you
But seriously, cheapest, easiest and most effective chassis which an idiot can assemble and a brave man can assemble even better is to use the front and back plate from Penn extrusions and screw a couple of 3 3/4" by 3/4" pine pieces on the sides, cut to the depth you desire (in my case 275mm). Lengths of pine that size are in any hardware store, and they can cut them up to the length you desire. Use fancy wood if you like. There's a suitable channel in the extrusion for screwing the sides on. Use four screws size 7, with those brass coloured bevelled washers - with like a countersunk look - to give a nice visual appeal. All gives you a nice 2U size chassis.
Here's the website:
Penn Elcom : MSB - Frame Extrusions
Look for the 2U extrusions - they come in various widths. I buy two 2 meter lengths and have them each cut into 5. That gives me 5 chassis in total. I use them for everything - preamps, power supplies, signal chassis etc etc.
andy
My choice:
1) A doctor who loves discussing your health with you
2) A lawyer who's a total bastard and a childhood friend
3) An ex girlfriend who still loves you
But seriously, cheapest, easiest and most effective chassis which an idiot can assemble and a brave man can assemble even better is to use the front and back plate from Penn extrusions and screw a couple of 3 3/4" by 3/4" pine pieces on the sides, cut to the depth you desire (in my case 275mm). Lengths of pine that size are in any hardware store, and they can cut them up to the length you desire. Use fancy wood if you like. There's a suitable channel in the extrusion for screwing the sides on. Use four screws size 7, with those brass coloured bevelled washers - with like a countersunk look - to give a nice visual appeal. All gives you a nice 2U size chassis.
Here's the website:
Penn Elcom : MSB - Frame Extrusions
Look for the 2U extrusions - they come in various widths. I buy two 2 meter lengths and have them each cut into 5. That gives me 5 chassis in total. I use them for everything - preamps, power supplies, signal chassis etc etc.
andy
Hmmmm. The extruded al looks interesting. You could use it as a heat sink for current sources as well.
I've got a pickup truck, some tools and not much money.
Charlotte NC HamFest is comming up in March (13, 14). I may go since I haven't been in years. It used to be in Shelbey NC, but looks like it has moved to Concord and the Flea Market is indoors now (Good in case of rain, bad because outside flea markets have so much more stuff).
KD4IMY, I'm not surprised a lot of Hams are into tubes.
I've got a pickup truck, some tools and not much money.
Charlotte NC HamFest is comming up in March (13, 14). I may go since I haven't been in years. It used to be in Shelbey NC, but looks like it has moved to Concord and the Flea Market is indoors now (Good in case of rain, bad because outside flea markets have so much more stuff).
KD4IMY, I'm not surprised a lot of Hams are into tubes.
I've used Hammond or Bud chassis boxes with wood strips on the side and a custom front panel made by front panel express. Looks very good actually and provides full electro-static screening for the high impedance circuitry inside.
I recommend a bottom cover as well - will contain any mischief in the event of a malfunction and could prevent setting surrounding materials on fire.
Download front panel express software from their site here: Front Panel Express - Custom Front Panels with free Front Panel Designer - Home
Hi Guys
I like to recycle old useless electronic equipment's cabinet from surpluse shop. here some pictures for samples. just replace the front panel and will become a nice looking a market made look like amp.and come up with cheap but only by chance to get.also on bonnus some usefull parts from inside too
Tony Ma
I like to recycle old useless electronic equipment's cabinet from surpluse shop. here some pictures for samples. just replace the front panel and will become a nice looking a market made look like amp.and come up with cheap but only by chance to get.also on bonnus some usefull parts from inside too
Tony Ma
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Hi Andy
Thank you, That is not EMT TT, I show you the pictures here you will understand, that is a Technics SL110 TT doing as a belt drive TT's motor, also a very thin elastic thread as the belt got the best sound
Tony Ma
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oh sorry Andy I made a mistake the one You saw is a studer A 810 recorder
Tony Ma
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