Took the plunge (ignoring a few bad reviews) and ordered some. If they don't work well I'll dispose of them and try again. Starting board assembly today, I want the other parts on hand so when I finish the board I can listen.
The chassis is "out for delivery." When that arrives I'll be able to decide whether my LDR controller with IR remote will fit in the stock chassis if I turn the Nutube board sideways and move it to one end. Fingers crossed, I don't want to have to work with a blank box and make all the openings from scratch.
Just a short note to let you know that Mark has upgraded his SMPS filter with better caps.
As already reported, the original one made amazingly a positive difference on my already tweaked B1 Korg. The same filter with the new recommended caps works even better.
It is a 5$ DIY story, my advice is give it a try: the worst your PS, the better it works. It works also for other devices, even better as most aren't as fine tuned re PS as the B1K. It can also be daisychained with little losses.
Have fun
Claude
As already reported, the original one made amazingly a positive difference on my already tweaked B1 Korg. The same filter with the new recommended caps works even better.
It is a 5$ DIY story, my advice is give it a try: the worst your PS, the better it works. It works also for other devices, even better as most aren't as fine tuned re PS as the B1K. It can also be daisychained with little losses.
Have fun
Claude
ordered the PCB/jfets and the Nutube from the diy store. The parts kit is out of stock. I went about sourcing the parts from a BOM somewhere back in this thread. Only part I can't get is the pot with the PCB. Is that something that is expected to be back in stock at some point (I signed up for the email notification) or has there been a substitution?
You can use any log pot 10K~50K as the volume control but I doubt if you'll find the pcb that is included in the kit.
For myself, I was OK with ordering the chassis and board and tube without the small parts portion because I intend to use my own volume control arrangement. The volume control pcb is only a convenience -- you can simply wire the dual ganged pot of your choice in lieu of the kit pot and pcb. Even if the parts kit is back in stock I don't think you can get just the pot and pcb by themselves. But don't know this for a fact.
This is really interesting to me -- I didn't know this existed. Is it available as a kit from anywhere? I really would like to avoid going through the PCB process for one little board . . .
Perhaps ask one of the guys in the appropriate thread, they might have boards left
PO89ZB , an inline DC filter for SMPS wall warts . Preamps, HPA, Korg NuTube, etc
Good luck
Claude
PO89ZB , an inline DC filter for SMPS wall warts . Preamps, HPA, Korg NuTube, etc
Good luck
Claude
Have the fab send you ten boards instead of one. Then you can give away or sell the other nine boards, and make many of your fellow DIYers quite happy. Today's price quotes to purchase inline DC filter boards for SMPS, delivery to Asheville North Carolina USA, are below:
Click on the image to see it un-foreshortened and full sized
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Click on the image to see it un-foreshortened and full sized
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Oh, woe is me! The best laid plans of mice and men . . .
With a little rearranging, I figured that the Korg chassis would hold the Korg board and my LDR volume control and its control board and the OLED display, but
I didn't think about the height!
The OLED board is too tall for the Korg chassis, I'm going to have to forego that piece until I can put it all in another box. I'll still have the IR volume and balance but the rest of the capability needs the display.
Who woulda thunk it . . .
With a little rearranging, I figured that the Korg chassis would hold the Korg board and my LDR volume control and its control board and the OLED display, but
I didn't think about the height!
The OLED board is too tall for the Korg chassis, I'm going to have to forego that piece until I can put it all in another box. I'll still have the IR volume and balance but the rest of the capability needs the display.
Who woulda thunk it . . .
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And I still have quite a few boards of the boards, which are available for free to US members (up to two of them). If you want more or are outside the US, then I'll ask you to pay 60 cents per board and mailing costs.
You can get the PCB for Alps RK27 by itself - RK27 Breakout PCB – diyAudio Store
And the potentiometer is here - ALPS 50KAX2 50K Ohm Audio Taper Stereo Potentiometer 6mm Shaft
And the potentiometer is here - ALPS 50KAX2 50K Ohm Audio Taper Stereo Potentiometer 6mm Shaft
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Need a laugh?... Have one on me!
Somewhere around 1:15 AM and I was congratulating myself on quitting for the night… “A mans got to know his limitations”… Clint
Everything was really right … I still get a kick out of gleefully watching the solder wick its way down the lead wire and into the board … “Goldilocks joint’s” just right nice and shinny.
Only major thing left was to solder in the large caps in the morn and test. Board, #4, was for a skeptic nonbeliever, close friend and upscale $$$ audio store owner so anyways chose decent well proven parts. Interestingly the Nichicon UKZ Premium caps do fit…if barely. Need to adjust the lead space a bit etc. but doable.
Awoke, always nice at my age, got properly caffeinated grabbed the bag off the desk and installed them, all eight of them. Went to put the board away and noticed another bag of caps? … the right ones! 1000UF/25’s…not 470UF/50’s. Wife unit noticed I was pretty quiet for the remainder of the day?
Somewhere around 1:15 AM and I was congratulating myself on quitting for the night… “A mans got to know his limitations”… Clint
Everything was really right … I still get a kick out of gleefully watching the solder wick its way down the lead wire and into the board … “Goldilocks joint’s” just right nice and shinny.
Only major thing left was to solder in the large caps in the morn and test. Board, #4, was for a skeptic nonbeliever, close friend and upscale $$$ audio store owner so anyways chose decent well proven parts. Interestingly the Nichicon UKZ Premium caps do fit…if barely. Need to adjust the lead space a bit etc. but doable.
Awoke, always nice at my age, got properly caffeinated grabbed the bag off the desk and installed them, all eight of them. Went to put the board away and noticed another bag of caps? … the right ones! 1000UF/25’s…not 470UF/50’s. Wife unit noticed I was pretty quiet for the remainder of the day?
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Got the standoffs, and I really like them, especially for the microphonic Korg Nutube board. They are .275 inches tall, the rubber is very flexible, and the hardware is M3-0.5, and the appropriate screws to hold them to the bottom of the Korg chassis is 4mm long thread. I think when combined with the foam squares that come with the tube itself, microphonics should be pretty much no problem, depending on how you arrange the wiring -- wire gauge, stranded/solid, etc. They come with nylon nuts for the PCB end, and you have to supply the screws for the bottom. They came twelve to a package, and you could screw two together to get a taller and even more flexible spacer.
They are not electrically conductive. If the pcb ground depends on the spacer to ground to the chassis, then arrangements need to be made. Does anyone know the answer to this?
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The holes on the board are connected to the ground traces common to the inputs and outputs, so there are multiple ways to ground the board. I used the rubber standoffs and ran a ground wire as part of a star-ground scheme, others do different.
The thread has grown long but there's a lot of experience in it regarding microphonics. In the end a lot (most?) depends on your particular tube.
The thread has grown long but there's a lot of experience in it regarding microphonics. In the end a lot (most?) depends on your particular tube.
Remote Volume Control
Hello everyone. I was looking to add a remote volume control to my Korg B1. I was looking at this on here. VCU, Hi-End MUSES(R) Micro Volume Control Board (No controller needed) | academyaudio
One question though, would a separate power supply be needed or can I grab power from preamp. Any help would be appreciated.
John C
Hello everyone. I was looking to add a remote volume control to my Korg B1. I was looking at this on here. VCU, Hi-End MUSES(R) Micro Volume Control Board (No controller needed) | academyaudio
One question though, would a separate power supply be needed or can I grab power from preamp. Any help would be appreciated.
John C
another satisfied customer
Hi all,
I just completed my build of the full kit from the store, although not without a few hiccups. For the past several years I've been mostly playing with DIY amps and a mix of vintage and DIY speakers (sometimes vintage and DIY in the same box, or open baffle). I've built an Aleph J and an F5 and several Tubelab designs as well. I love the purity of the sound, but some songs won't get loud enough or can sound dull and flat. I decided that adding a little bit of gain and buffering might help address these shortcomings. And the ability to add second harmonics just seemed like the perfect combination of elements.
My kit arrived a month ago, but the matched quad of Q2 JFETs was just a trio. Bummer; just about any other missing part could be grabbed off the shelf, but without the ability to match transistors myself, this was a game-stopper. I immediately contacted the store and they responded promptly. There were further delays on their end and it took until two days ago for my replacements to arrive. They sent me the full basic kit: board, 8 FETs, 4 R1s. So now I have a spare board and I guess an obligation to build another from scratch.
After installing the transistors and resistors, I powered up and tested. T1-T6 were all right on spec and stable but T7 and T8 were pegged at 20.6V and the pots had no effect on the readings. I looked everything over, front and back, for bad joints, blobs of solder shorting across pads, all the obvious stuff. Then I removed the vibration damping I had put on the Nutube so I could see what the glow looked like. I could barely tell if it was lit up. Powered down, powered back up, and the Nutube lit blue, but quickly dimmed to "is this thing on?" Bad Nutube? Bad FETs? Short to ground somewhere? I was all set to post my dilemma here and look for help, but I knew the second suggestion you guys would make (after the aforementioned visual inspection) would be to re-flow all the solder joints. So I got up before 7am this morning and fired up the iron. I touched all the joints long enough for things to flow, adding a dab of solder where necessary. Powered on. Nutube glows brighter blue: good sign. Continues to glow and doesn't dim: 'nother good sign. Test T7 and T8: 14.5V with the pots centered. Turn the pots, voltage begins to decrease. So I set both at 9.5V and plugged it into the Aleph J. After flipping the input selector (duh) I had sound!
Many thanks to Nelson, 6L6 and others! Maybe I'll post some listening impressions later.
Hi all,
I just completed my build of the full kit from the store, although not without a few hiccups. For the past several years I've been mostly playing with DIY amps and a mix of vintage and DIY speakers (sometimes vintage and DIY in the same box, or open baffle). I've built an Aleph J and an F5 and several Tubelab designs as well. I love the purity of the sound, but some songs won't get loud enough or can sound dull and flat. I decided that adding a little bit of gain and buffering might help address these shortcomings. And the ability to add second harmonics just seemed like the perfect combination of elements.
My kit arrived a month ago, but the matched quad of Q2 JFETs was just a trio. Bummer; just about any other missing part could be grabbed off the shelf, but without the ability to match transistors myself, this was a game-stopper. I immediately contacted the store and they responded promptly. There were further delays on their end and it took until two days ago for my replacements to arrive. They sent me the full basic kit: board, 8 FETs, 4 R1s. So now I have a spare board and I guess an obligation to build another from scratch.
After installing the transistors and resistors, I powered up and tested. T1-T6 were all right on spec and stable but T7 and T8 were pegged at 20.6V and the pots had no effect on the readings. I looked everything over, front and back, for bad joints, blobs of solder shorting across pads, all the obvious stuff. Then I removed the vibration damping I had put on the Nutube so I could see what the glow looked like. I could barely tell if it was lit up. Powered down, powered back up, and the Nutube lit blue, but quickly dimmed to "is this thing on?" Bad Nutube? Bad FETs? Short to ground somewhere? I was all set to post my dilemma here and look for help, but I knew the second suggestion you guys would make (after the aforementioned visual inspection) would be to re-flow all the solder joints. So I got up before 7am this morning and fired up the iron. I touched all the joints long enough for things to flow, adding a dab of solder where necessary. Powered on. Nutube glows brighter blue: good sign. Continues to glow and doesn't dim: 'nother good sign. Test T7 and T8: 14.5V with the pots centered. Turn the pots, voltage begins to decrease. So I set both at 9.5V and plugged it into the Aleph J. After flipping the input selector (duh) I had sound!
Many thanks to Nelson, 6L6 and others! Maybe I'll post some listening impressions later.