yeah i also like kester for the same reason, can get it fine, i wish cardas made a finer one, but the kester is pretty good. actually picked that tip up after using Johnmcleans at his place at an audio meet. its pretty rare i need it that fine though, flux helps it to just flow where you need it to.
welcome to smd_soldering_tips.com hehe nah its good, i wish i had been put onto all this stuff early when i was just starting smd. i think its good that it will see a wider audience on here because they have to.
so many people are scared of smd just because it looks intimidating (though some of course have legitimate trouble with eyesight) but as ive repeated around here quite a bit, its actually easier and quicker than PTH once you get used to it. the order you do lay things down is key, always look in the immediate area you are soldering in to see whats next and what might get in the way of joints where you need the tip on a low angle, i mostly just go lowest to high with a few exceptions and always tin the ground pad first if its connected to a large ground plane, usually using a larger tip for the ground, i go around and do one side of all the small caps and resistors then do the other side (usually ground).all in a wave. i usually do any multipin parts first so the area is clear unless testing requires you to bring sections up and test before moving on
more and more things will only be available in smd, so best start getting used to it.
welcome to smd_soldering_tips.com hehe nah its good, i wish i had been put onto all this stuff early when i was just starting smd. i think its good that it will see a wider audience on here because they have to.
so many people are scared of smd just because it looks intimidating (though some of course have legitimate trouble with eyesight) but as ive repeated around here quite a bit, its actually easier and quicker than PTH once you get used to it. the order you do lay things down is key, always look in the immediate area you are soldering in to see whats next and what might get in the way of joints where you need the tip on a low angle, i mostly just go lowest to high with a few exceptions and always tin the ground pad first if its connected to a large ground plane, usually using a larger tip for the ground, i go around and do one side of all the small caps and resistors then do the other side (usually ground).all in a wave. i usually do any multipin parts first so the area is clear unless testing requires you to bring sections up and test before moving on
more and more things will only be available in smd, so best start getting used to it.
Last edited:
SMT soldering and Youtube
For those a little uncertain of their SMT soldering skills, there are several good tutorials on Youtube...... look under keywords like SMT soldering, hot air gun soldering, etc, etc.......
A "moving picture" >> a thousand words......
Good, too, to grab a few scrap PCBs with SMT pads (and some scrap SMT compopnents) and practice before you "boob up" a valuable F5X (or other) board....
For those a little uncertain of their SMT soldering skills, there are several good tutorials on Youtube...... look under keywords like SMT soldering, hot air gun soldering, etc, etc.......
A "moving picture" >> a thousand words......
Good, too, to grab a few scrap PCBs with SMT pads (and some scrap SMT compopnents) and practice before you "boob up" a valuable F5X (or other) board....
ahh right, well yeah i wouldnt even think of using anything else, all the brands i use are low meltpoint quad or tri eutectic (still prefer quad and will use it till they put me in chains). the wbt is the lowest i have and the mundorf silver gold the highest hehe yes i know how funny that sounds. i also bought a 1/4 lb of wonder solder tri-eutectic last month for stuff i send into the EU, seems alright, havent given it much of a chance yet.
the ultimate of course is building one of these DIY toaster oven reflow controller kits, hoping to get around to it this year at some point.
Last edited:
I'm curious to know this too - although I'm sure EUVL has already described it somewhere. It look like it has more components than the rest of the build together!
Is the by any chance the possibility to turn on and off the amp via a trigger connection?
Cheers,
Nic
The PCB contains all the control and protection function required in pure logic and discrete circuits (no uP, hence no HF).
It has a slow start ramp, a 3-state push button control (off, standfby, operate) with bi-colour LED, speaker DC detection, and relay drivers to switch on mains Tx, speaker relays, input shunt relays, regulator on/off relays, error latches and blinking LED, ..... It also has its own regulated power supply and rectifiers.
The ICs are 74 logic chips and 2 comparators from LT. The DC dectection is purely discrete (using Zetex MOSFETs, even though I used to use 2SJ109BLs myself).
Patrick
It has a slow start ramp, a 3-state push button control (off, standfby, operate) with bi-colour LED, speaker DC detection, and relay drivers to switch on mains Tx, speaker relays, input shunt relays, regulator on/off relays, error latches and blinking LED, ..... It also has its own regulated power supply and rectifiers.
The ICs are 74 logic chips and 2 comparators from LT. The DC dectection is purely discrete (using Zetex MOSFETs, even though I used to use 2SJ109BLs myself).
Patrick
Hi EUVL,
Thanks for your and the other team members hard work on this project.
A question recently came up in another thread that I hope you can answer. I have a DAC I/V stage that has no DC between the (+/-), but has common mode DC. Is it possible to use it with the F5X without capacitors? Initially I thought so because I did not see a ground connection in your original schematic, but Vitalica, who has one of your prototype boards, says this I/V stage (Twisted Pear legatto III) needed caps to function.
Thanks for your and the other team members hard work on this project.
A question recently came up in another thread that I hope you can answer. I have a DAC I/V stage that has no DC between the (+/-), but has common mode DC. Is it possible to use it with the F5X without capacitors? Initially I thought so because I did not see a ground connection in your original schematic, but Vitalica, who has one of your prototype boards, says this I/V stage (Twisted Pear legatto III) needed caps to function.
you will need to get rid of the dc first somehow, theoretically it (the common mode DC content in each phase) will be deleted when its combined at the speaker, but along the way the DC in each phase will have its voltage and current amplified by whatever gain factor the amp has; this cant be good
> Will your SEN I/V be a good match for the F5X?
That depends on the DAC. The SEN was designed for the likes of AD1865, PCM63, PCM1704, ...
One thing with the SEN IV is that you can choose the output level.
So if you use say >24V floating supply, and a 5.6k R_iv with 1mA current out (or 2.8k with 2mA), you can get 4Vrms output on one side, which still gives you 10dB excess gain to throw away for volume control. Normal CD player output is half that. But distortion does increase (with output amplitude).
Of course that also means that you need to use 2x SEN in balanced mode for the F5X. Which is why the PCB has 2 SE IVs on one board.
Patrick
.
That depends on the DAC. The SEN was designed for the likes of AD1865, PCM63, PCM1704, ...
One thing with the SEN IV is that you can choose the output level.
So if you use say >24V floating supply, and a 5.6k R_iv with 1mA current out (or 2.8k with 2mA), you can get 4Vrms output on one side, which still gives you 10dB excess gain to throw away for volume control. Normal CD player output is half that. But distortion does increase (with output amplitude).
Of course that also means that you need to use 2x SEN in balanced mode for the F5X. Which is why the PCB has 2 SE IVs on one board.
Patrick
.
Last edited:
I feel obliged to give you another update.
Mark has a date to inspect the parts at the factory, so we are close to finishing and calling for the final payment.
I have not heard from the test team, but I know they are all very busy with work, as is Mark.
So please be patient and give them time.
Should the team still not be ready by mid October, I shall check the PCBs myself, then release the BoM of the standard version, and check and release the Gerber of the PCBs to Variac, so that you can at least proceed with the standard version, if you do not want to wait.
Patrick
Mark has a date to inspect the parts at the factory, so we are close to finishing and calling for the final payment.
I have not heard from the test team, but I know they are all very busy with work, as is Mark.
So please be patient and give them time.
Should the team still not be ready by mid October, I shall check the PCBs myself, then release the BoM of the standard version, and check and release the Gerber of the PCBs to Variac, so that you can at least proceed with the standard version, if you do not want to wait.
Patrick
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.