OK, I have just assembled the kit, thanx to my partner; who is not colour blind, who helped me sort out the resistors, and the circuit board holes for the chip itself are too small.
Tomorrow I will drill them out and solder the chip in, is there anything special I should do before wiring up the power supply and switching on for the first time??
Tomorrow I will drill them out and solder the chip in, is there anything special I should do before wiring up the power supply and switching on for the first time??
Power up the transformer ONLY via a light bulb tester.
Then add the PSU and power it up via the same tester.
Finally add the amplifier and power up the whole assembly via the tester.
Take some measurements to ensure it all works correctly.
Finally, remove the tester and power up your project direct from the mains.
Then add the PSU and power it up via the same tester.
Finally add the amplifier and power up the whole assembly via the tester.
Take some measurements to ensure it all works correctly.
Finally, remove the tester and power up your project direct from the mains.
Moondog55 said:
Hi Moondog55,
I recommend using a DVM to measure your resistors, a lot safer than using the colour bands.
As Andrew has said, check it in stages and make sure the fuses are always in.
Wear glasses, one hand in pocket, and if this is you first time, have someine else present so they can call the ambulance or at least be a witness for the police investigation.
regards
Hi Moondog,
You're right about Jaycar - they are getting more and more 'commercial' in their stock. I find the local one runs out of particular lines regularly - so much so that I called the head office and complained! The local Altronics is much better run and has better stock items.
Anyway, the point of my post for your future reference is to suggest Harbuch Electronics for transformers. Great guys to deal with, and happy to do one offs and phone orders by credit card. The prices are about on a par with the trannys from Jaycar, but the quality is much better. They're in Sydney.
Cheers
Stuey
You're right about Jaycar - they are getting more and more 'commercial' in their stock. I find the local one runs out of particular lines regularly - so much so that I called the head office and complained! The local Altronics is much better run and has better stock items.
Anyway, the point of my post for your future reference is to suggest Harbuch Electronics for transformers. Great guys to deal with, and happy to do one offs and phone orders by credit card. The prices are about on a par with the trannys from Jaycar, but the quality is much better. They're in Sydney.
Cheers
Stuey
I built a LM3886 based kit from Chipamp.com using all the stock components and a +- 21V transformer and it's quite good. I used this voltage as I'd read that they sound better using 18-21V DC, but obviously with lower output.
I find the bass a bit soft, but I haven't tried to tweak anything at all. There is LOADS of info on this forum on these chips, and I look forward to experimenting once I've built the discrete amp which is my current project (a SKA GB150). My chip amp doesn't have a pre amp or buffer on the input, which I think may hold it back a bit - it's directly 'driven' by a volume pot.
However, I think female voices, cymbals, bells etc. are beautifully reproduced.
First thing I intend to do is transplant a 400VA +-25V transformer I bought from Harbuchs for another project, just to see what difference this might make.
I have a feeling there's a lot of improvement from this humble chip to be had, especially going down the path of people like CarlosFM. There's a wealth of info here resulting from years of experimentation and listening by these amazingly clever guys on here. One day I might have a go...
Cheers
Stuey
I find the bass a bit soft, but I haven't tried to tweak anything at all. There is LOADS of info on this forum on these chips, and I look forward to experimenting once I've built the discrete amp which is my current project (a SKA GB150). My chip amp doesn't have a pre amp or buffer on the input, which I think may hold it back a bit - it's directly 'driven' by a volume pot.
However, I think female voices, cymbals, bells etc. are beautifully reproduced.
First thing I intend to do is transplant a 400VA +-25V transformer I bought from Harbuchs for another project, just to see what difference this might make.
I have a feeling there's a lot of improvement from this humble chip to be had, especially going down the path of people like CarlosFM. There's a wealth of info here resulting from years of experimentation and listening by these amazingly clever guys on here. One day I might have a go...
Cheers
Stuey
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