How much harder is an aleph j build vs an amp camp?

[6L6]

jdg123 - Check your PM, I will send you Hannes' (h-a) email.

 

[malibujeff]

6L6 and BobEllis thanks so much for your very helpful replies! rif, sorry for jumping in on your thread

Where do you think you need the most help? Building it? Initial power-up and adjustment? Figuring out what parts to buy?

The other question is do you have the tools for the job? You must have a good soldering iron, and one good DMM. (...and 2 more cheap ones, if you are buiding a F5, but that's easy.)

Power up and adjustments and what parts to buy would be my biggest questions. I have a good DMM, in fact it looks like I have the same one you use in your F5 build thread. That thread is very helpful. I could come up with two more, Harbor Freight is close by.

I understand. There are a lot of ways you could do it... But the other way of looking at it is that many of the small details are not critical, and can be done with whatever bits and pieces comes your way.

Again very helpful to know this.

As for parts, I also think someone made a Mouser shopping cart for the F5 not that long ago, but again, there are people who are willing to help.

Get a store pre-drilled chassis. That's the single hardest part for most DIYers. The chassis is fantastic. The PSU is next, wait for the new store PSU PCB, and
get a good transformer. Buy the amp PCB of choice and contact member ' h_a ' for a transistor kit, he's the only guy who sells kits with all the transistors in one go.

Yes I can see how this would be an issue for me since I have experience with wood, but not with making precision cuts and drilling in metal. The diy store seems like the way to go.

I need to re-read all of the passdiy.com info, it has been a while.

12B4A thanks for the pricing info . Wow, a F5 in a nice case for less then $800.

 

[6L6]

If the power up is all you are worried about, that's easy! There are lots of explanations here on the site, or when the time comes, just give me a call and I'll talk you through it.

I wholeheartedly endorse buying the Store chassis and all the PCB that fit. The mechanical is usually the hardest part for most people, and it does solve 95% of that issue.

 

[rif]

Can the heatsinks be purchased separately at the store? If no, and I purchase them elsewhere, is it 12 holes to drill/tap per heatsink (4 for MOSFETs, 8 PCB mounting)

 

[6L6]

The heatsinks are not available individually.

Here is the mounting plan -

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/imag...umentation/P-F4-1V20/P-F4-1V20-dimensions.pdf

 

[nyxflier]

The 4/5U JoA chassis looks to be the way to go. It's a box with fins, but it's a nice box and lots of the really annoying stuff has been done from what I can see.

I had the feeling for a while that if I used the pre-built chassis there just wouldn't be any of 'me' in it. Same with the PCBs. I did a lot of soul-searching... I'm much more a person of emotion than objective assessment. I decided that there was -plenty- of me involved. I'm choosing the components, building my own test equipment, and in my case the power supply is going to end up being what I came up with (with the help of others here-and thank you..). This is hardly a snap-together plastic bricks kit... look around anywhere but here and ask how many people have done what you're about to do? I'm guessing the answer fits neatly on one hand.

Hope that helps...

 

[6L6]

The chassis is always the biggest obstacle to a completed project. It's the biggest piece, the most expensive, the most labor-intensive. I have 2 different projects sitting on my bench because I got ahead of myself and don't have a case for them.

The pre-drilled chassis and the Universal Mounting Spec make that part easy. Very easy. They have the additional advantage of being easily made to be modular, and trying lots of circuits in them.

As you said, no matter how you slice it, these projects are not a snap-together bricks kit. Not at all.

As you have correctly surmised, your amp will be your amp.

 

[BobEllis]

Lack of cases is a reason I've been away from this hobby for so long. My projects awaiting cases don't fit the ums but being able to buy something that will go together so easily and look good made me pull the trigger on a couple.

Remember that you can always send the front panel to Front Panel Express and have them machine it to your specification. I've been doodling incessantly waiting for my cases.

 

[rif]

The heatsinks are not available individually.

Here is the mounting plan -

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/imag...umentation/P-F4-1V20/P-F4-1V20-dimensions.pdf

Thought I'd share my solution. I ordered heatsinks from heatsinkusa and they offer machining services that include tapping holes. It's not inexpensive, but I felt it worth it given the frustration tapping can cause to the inexperienced.