I am toying with the idea of having my circuit boards manufactured in Canada. The prices of the domestic manufacturing have come down quite a bit. While domestic manufacturing does cost a bit more than the East Asian manufacturing, there might be some value in having the manufacturing done locally. The question is mostly whether this adds value for those who buy and build the boards.
I have put together a little survey with 19 questions. 15 of them are simple multiple choice questions. Four are open-ended. Would you please help me out by taking this survey: Neurochrome Attitudes Survey.
The survey is hosted by Google, so you'll need a Google/gmail account to sign in. Your responses will be anonymous.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Tom
I have put together a little survey with 19 questions. 15 of them are simple multiple choice questions. Four are open-ended. Would you please help me out by taking this survey: Neurochrome Attitudes Survey.
The survey is hosted by Google, so you'll need a Google/gmail account to sign in. Your responses will be anonymous.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Tom
I think if you need surge protection then either whole house ($200-ish plus installation) or what works quite well is the ISOBAR series from Tripp-Lite ($40~120, depending on number of outlets and features).
Does the IR window material come in a rod? That would be convenient, albeit a bit late now.
Tom
Almost certainly it comes in rod form, but you would probably have to buy a length of it. The DIY answer would be someone buying a rod and then cutting out slices and polishing. Would take some machinist knowledge and equipment. I could query my plastics supplier, but by way of example, they sell Delrin rod in minimum 12" lengths unless you are seeking the large diameter stuff (they have up to 14" DIA Delrin, minimum 1" increments). I suspect they only allow the shorter lengths of large diameter material due to the inherent cost of Delrin, and may view IR-clear plastic differently.
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I would think that the usual suspects -- Mouser and Digi-Key -- would have some sort of short light pipes that pass IR. We audio DIYers are not the first people to have this need. The trick is to figure out how to find it on their web site. Not like the good old days of thumbing through the catalog until you found something that looked like the right form factor.
Yeah. There's a reason I hung onto my last Digikey catalog.
Yours taken, though
Appreciate it. Thank you.
Tom
No. I don’t need a surge protection on the Pwr686. I use an external one. Keep it simple.
Simple! Ha! The power switch requires six CD4000-series logic chips to work!
Supporting an optoisolated trigger input, toggle switch, and momentary switch was fun. There's also a FAULT input so the supply can be powered down if a protection circuit detects a fault.
The vast majority of the switch complexity was caused by the soft start, though. I'm using the soft start both to limit the inrush current to the transformer and to minimize the wear on the relay contacts of the main power relay (which shorts out the soft start). Getting the timing right was a fun task.
I did consider surrendering and just programming up a micro controller. The uC would have been cheaper, but I'd hate to have to program every board before shipping or require the builder to program it. I'd much rather have a plug-n-play solution.
The layout is progressing. I think it's realistic to hit my "end-of-May" release date target.
Tom
Supporting an optoisolated trigger input, toggle switch, and momentary switch was fun. There's also a FAULT input so the supply can be powered down if a protection circuit detects a fault.
The vast majority of the switch complexity was caused by the soft start, though. I'm using the soft start both to limit the inrush current to the transformer and to minimize the wear on the relay contacts of the main power relay (which shorts out the soft start). Getting the timing right was a fun task.
I did consider surrendering and just programming up a micro controller. The uC would have been cheaper, but I'd hate to have to program every board before shipping or require the builder to program it. I'd much rather have a plug-n-play solution.
The layout is progressing. I think it's realistic to hit my "end-of-May" release date target.
Tom
Hello i need some help i have almost finished soldering my modulus 86 amp.
I have a question regarding the input.
I have no electronics background so maybe tom or someone could help me.
I want to connect my dac direct to the amp.
Is a cirrus dac with transformer output converting the balanced outputs of the dac to single ended.
Now with modulus 86 i want to go balanced.
Can i connect the phases from the dac to modulus without transformer?
And the ground? Get the analog ground from the dac to the modulus for the balanced signal?
I have a question regarding the input.
I have no electronics background so maybe tom or someone could help me.
I want to connect my dac direct to the amp.
Is a cirrus dac with transformer output converting the balanced outputs of the dac to single ended.
Now with modulus 86 i want to go balanced.
Can i connect the phases from the dac to modulus without transformer?
And the ground? Get the analog ground from the dac to the modulus for the balanced signal?
Yep. Connect the balanced output of the DAC to the balanced input of the MOD86. Just connect XLR pin 1 to pin 1 of the MOD86 input connector. Pin 2 to pin 2, etc. It's as simple as that.
You'll want to connect Pin 1 of the MOD86 input to the chassis right at the XLR connector. That's covered in the documentation that comes with the board.
Tom
You'll want to connect Pin 1 of the MOD86 input to the chassis right at the XLR connector. That's covered in the documentation that comes with the board.
Tom
Thanks Tom
But my doubt is the ground connection.
Right now i only have the + and - from the dac connected to the transformer input, so no ground wire.
If i remove the transformer i connect the dac to pin 2 and 3 but where do i get the ground?
Do i connect the analog ground from the dac pcb to the pin1 of the xlr?
Sorry about the question but this is confusing to me...
Regarding the Power-686: I looked at integrating the soft start (or really intelligent start) onto the power board. That turns out to be a rather sub-optimal ... OK: "bad" ... idea. Instead I will offer two boards:
Power-686: 4x 22000 uF + 4x discrete diodes with heat sinks + CRC snubber and a few other sundry items.
Soft Start: Intelligent startup circuit. The circuit will use a relay to handle the main current and an electronic switch to implement the soft start. The timing of the soft start will be such that it minimizes the wear of the switch contacts and also minimizes the arcing that normally occurs when the relay contacts open. The Soft Start board will take inputs from a toggle switch and a momentary switch for local power on/off control and an optoisolated 12V trigger for remote power on/off. Standby/ON will be indicated using a two-colour LED (or two LEDs in anti-parallel). The Soft Start will also feature a 5V output and a FAULT input for interfacing to a protection circuit that I'll design later.
The Power-686 will be a rather long and slender board. It'll be just a tad wider than 80 mm as I do need to fit two 40 mm diameter side-by-side. It'll probably be about 6" long. So figure 3.25x6 inches (give/take). That should fit nicely inside the chassis. If a 3U or taller chassis is used, the board can be mounted on an angle bracket and take up even less of the chassis width.
I hope to be able to get the Soft Start into a footprint that'll fit on the back panel of a 2U chassis. No promises, but that's the goal. The idea is that it can be tucked anywhere in the chassis, though preferably near the mains inlet and primary connections to the transformer.
I should be able to have the Power-686 done by the end of this month. The Soft Start will have to slip into June.
Tom
Power-686: 4x 22000 uF + 4x discrete diodes with heat sinks + CRC snubber and a few other sundry items.
Soft Start: Intelligent startup circuit. The circuit will use a relay to handle the main current and an electronic switch to implement the soft start. The timing of the soft start will be such that it minimizes the wear of the switch contacts and also minimizes the arcing that normally occurs when the relay contacts open. The Soft Start board will take inputs from a toggle switch and a momentary switch for local power on/off control and an optoisolated 12V trigger for remote power on/off. Standby/ON will be indicated using a two-colour LED (or two LEDs in anti-parallel). The Soft Start will also feature a 5V output and a FAULT input for interfacing to a protection circuit that I'll design later.
The Power-686 will be a rather long and slender board. It'll be just a tad wider than 80 mm as I do need to fit two 40 mm diameter side-by-side. It'll probably be about 6" long. So figure 3.25x6 inches (give/take). That should fit nicely inside the chassis. If a 3U or taller chassis is used, the board can be mounted on an angle bracket and take up even less of the chassis width.
I hope to be able to get the Soft Start into a footprint that'll fit on the back panel of a 2U chassis. No promises, but that's the goal. The idea is that it can be tucked anywhere in the chassis, though preferably near the mains inlet and primary connections to the transformer.
I should be able to have the Power-686 done by the end of this month. The Soft Start will have to slip into June.
Tom
Much better. Power-686: 3.30 x 5.70 inches. That's the same width as the Power-86 but 2.1" longer. Not bad considering the Power-686 contains twice the capacitance and four individual diodes (DO-247 package) on individual heat sinks.
I'm in the process of getting quotes. I should have the boards in about two weeks.
Tom
I'm in the process of getting quotes. I should have the boards in about two weeks.
Tom
A metal chassis provides electromagnetic shielding. Also, safety agencies (and your home insurance provider) would frown on line-powered electronics inside a wood chassis for fire hazard and personnel safety concerns. If you've checked your amp out on the bench in its present state and run it there for a number of hours, it's not likely to cause an issue if you move to the listening room and make sure it is in a safe location. I'd take reasonable precautions like not leaving it on if you aren't there, keep children and pets away, etc. Meanwhile, work on getting it into a chassis.
Mine sounds more than fine.
If your vented metal box sits on a wooden shelf is it less of a fire risk ?
Though insurance companies are not known for applying much logic or fact to their policies.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
If your vented metal box sits on a wooden shelf is it less of a fire risk ?
Though insurance companies are not known for applying much logic or fact to their policies.