I needed an amp for the office. It had to be small but obvious, and cost very little.
This is my Tiny And Transparent Chip Amp, or TATCA:
I just used whatever was lying around. Speaker connectors, heatsinks and PSU to be from an old Cambridge Audio amp. Jackscrews and serial connectors from old PC cards/motherboards.
I've managed to squeeze in a stepped attenuator too. The volume knob will be made out of acrylic to match eventually.
The interior dimensions (not including heatsinks) is ~ 9cm x 10cm x 5 cm.
I'm eager to listen to it, but I've got to build the psu first
This is my Tiny And Transparent Chip Amp, or TATCA:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I just used whatever was lying around. Speaker connectors, heatsinks and PSU to be from an old Cambridge Audio amp. Jackscrews and serial connectors from old PC cards/motherboards.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I've managed to squeeze in a stepped attenuator too. The volume knob will be made out of acrylic to match eventually.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
The interior dimensions (not including heatsinks) is ~ 9cm x 10cm x 5 cm.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I'm eager to listen to it, but I've got to build the psu first
Thank you for the kind words gentlemen. I've rewired the attenuator to make it look less messy from the top view. I do like the idea of some holes in the top. I tried some sanding experiments to see if I could make some of the acylic panels less bland but it didn't turn out well. Some holes in the top may be the answer.
Ropie, I work for myself so there's no-one else in my office to make jealous (unfortunately). my precious.
There's one white LED on the front at the moment. I probably should take advantage of the transparent case with hidden led's perhaps, although blue is not really my style
NuuK, thanks for the info on the DIY stepped attenuator. I wired it using the resistor lead outs to make a ground chain.
Ropie, I work for myself so there's no-one else in my office to make jealous (unfortunately). my precious.
There's one white LED on the front at the moment. I probably should take advantage of the transparent case with hidden led's perhaps, although blue is not really my style
NuuK, thanks for the info on the DIY stepped attenuator. I wired it using the resistor lead outs to make a ground chain.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I really like the TATCA and love the oversized heatsinks.
I see you and Peter Daniels use serial ports from the rectifier. Are they hard to wire? What awg are the serial wires? How much power can they handle?
Where did you get the knob?
Do you prefer Brian's old boards over the new ones with the Zobel or were those boards laying around the house?
Thanks,
Josh
I see you and Peter Daniels use serial ports from the rectifier. Are they hard to wire? What awg are the serial wires? How much power can they handle?
Where did you get the knob?
Do you prefer Brian's old boards over the new ones with the Zobel or were those boards laying around the house?
Thanks,
Josh
I was going to go with a 9 pin D type connector but then I wouldn't have enough pins to power LED's as well. The denser 15 pin version is easy enough to work with. I used 16/0.2 (0.5mm2) equipment wire for the connections. The longest runs within the amp are less than 4 inches.
I haven't made the umbilical cable yet, and interested myself what Peter used for this purpose.
The knob is from RS Components (not Radio Shack). On your side of the pond you have much more variety and accessibility to control knobs.
I haven't made the umbilical cable yet, and interested myself what Peter used for this purpose.
The knob is from RS Components (not Radio Shack). On your side of the pond you have much more variety and accessibility to control knobs.
Personally, I prefer the old boards, because Zobel network messes up the ground plane in case you are not using it (and I never do)
As to the umbilical cable, you can basically use anything: CAT5 comes to mind, I'm still using Cardas 20ga, and some ready made, computers cables are available as well (and they are already terminated).
As to the umbilical cable, you can basically use anything: CAT5 comes to mind, I'm still using Cardas 20ga, and some ready made, computers cables are available as well (and they are already terminated).
In this case, Per Anders, i don't think that it matters i am going to use flatbars measuring 100*50*10 mm, one for each chip/side - copper leads the heat away twice as good as aluminium, if you take a look at Peter Daniels gainclone in the BrianGT gallery i suppose that he also used copper ca. 25*25*100 mm fore both chips, the coolingarea are much smaller there, but i'm sure that it works fine. (sorry if i'm wrong Peter D i was just guessing....)
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