Hi @SimonJ
Ian recommend the super capacitor from either Eaton or Tecate group for the UcPure in the UcBalancer manual.
If I remember correctly I think I saw in an old post, you used the tecate caps and in your new build you are using the Eatons (Please correct me if I’m wrong).
Have you noticed any difference between the two? Worth the added cost of the Eatons?
BTW: you new system looks great 😊
Thanks in advance.
Ian recommend the super capacitor from either Eaton or Tecate group for the UcPure in the UcBalancer manual.
If I remember correctly I think I saw in an old post, you used the tecate caps and in your new build you are using the Eatons (Please correct me if I’m wrong).
Have you noticed any difference between the two? Worth the added cost of the Eatons?
BTW: you new system looks great 😊
Thanks in advance.
Please remove the FifoPi and install a MonitorPi or pro to the position of a FifoPi was installed.
Please music to see what's showing on the OLED screen.
Regards,
Ian
Hi Ian, Hi folks,
I have a new little problem with a lifePO4mini 6.6v.
One of my 3 lifePO4mini Pure LED D10 light stays on when master switch is off.
(When switch is on, LED D10 and LED D9 are light on and output power.)
Do you know what can be the cause?
Thank you for your help.
Terry
PS: Sorry, I double posted in another thread.
I have a new little problem with a lifePO4mini 6.6v.
One of my 3 lifePO4mini Pure LED D10 light stays on when master switch is off.
(When switch is on, LED D10 and LED D9 are light on and output power.)
Do you know what can be the cause?
Thank you for your help.
Terry
PS: Sorry, I double posted in another thread.
Here is the first prototype om my design for a 3D printable UcPure holder. Already made some small adjustment to this prototype. Still waiting for the super caps to see everything fits together.
The PCB can be fitted in two postions at the top or at one side. Bottom part can also be used alone using a zip tie, where a slot is located at the underside. The holders can be fitted at the two flanges or at the screw holes in the curvatures. The left and right holders are interchangeable. Designed to fit Ø60-61,5 mm caps using either Ian UcBalancer (pitch of 61mm) or the universal print from eBay/aliexpress (pitch of 61,5mm). The holders are clamped together with M4x50 bolts and hexagonal holes at the bottom to press fit nuts into. Spacers of ~2mm hight between the PCB and holder is recommended.
I could make some spacers printet to the holder that can be cut off using a sidecutter. Any thought?
I will upload some pictures when the product is fully finished and tested with some super caps.
I will share the design if someone is interested, but only if you agreed to use it for DIY purpose only
The PCB can be fitted in two postions at the top or at one side. Bottom part can also be used alone using a zip tie, where a slot is located at the underside. The holders can be fitted at the two flanges or at the screw holes in the curvatures. The left and right holders are interchangeable. Designed to fit Ø60-61,5 mm caps using either Ian UcBalancer (pitch of 61mm) or the universal print from eBay/aliexpress (pitch of 61,5mm). The holders are clamped together with M4x50 bolts and hexagonal holes at the bottom to press fit nuts into. Spacers of ~2mm hight between the PCB and holder is recommended.
I could make some spacers printet to the holder that can be cut off using a sidecutter. Any thought?
I will upload some pictures when the product is fully finished and tested with some super caps.
I will share the design if someone is interested, but only if you agreed to use it for DIY purpose only
Hello,
Once you started to do it the right way you could as well get the piece bolted to the chassis so it will also make the bottom plate more rigid.
Of course can add some foam between your design and the bottom plate to reduce vibration into the caps. Don't know if the caps are that sensitive.
Usually these caps can be interchanged brand to brand so dimensions should be identical. But it would be strange if they just not fit. Maybe wrap them with a single layer of foam.
If the material is cheap you could change the two lower parts into one bigger part.
Greetings Eduard
Once you started to do it the right way you could as well get the piece bolted to the chassis so it will also make the bottom plate more rigid.
Of course can add some foam between your design and the bottom plate to reduce vibration into the caps. Don't know if the caps are that sensitive.
Usually these caps can be interchanged brand to brand so dimensions should be identical. But it would be strange if they just not fit. Maybe wrap them with a single layer of foam.
If the material is cheap you could change the two lower parts into one bigger part.
Greetings Eduard
Hello,
I guess many ideas will pop up.
I used to make programmes for cnc punching machines and i would make a kind of universal program store it and later i could add special wishes for people i helped with makin metal chassis. But as soon as you offer people the possibility to add their own " features" they will do that.
I guess if you use a standard program it will be easy for people using the same program to alter things.
Greetings Eduard
I guess many ideas will pop up.
I used to make programmes for cnc punching machines and i would make a kind of universal program store it and later i could add special wishes for people i helped with makin metal chassis. But as soon as you offer people the possibility to add their own " features" they will do that.
I guess if you use a standard program it will be easy for people using the same program to alter things.
Greetings Eduard
Hey guys, I'm looking for some creativity idea. I'm building an "evo" version of my PurePi streamer-stack with intention to incorporate an OCXO clock also for the RPi itself. For this purpose, I've ordered an OCXO on a separate board, needing just a 5V power supply, supplied either directly from a DC connector or via GPIO pins.
My primary idea is to power the OCXO board through the GPIO pin from the the top side, so not to be fed from the RPi directly, because according to the manufacturer, it would not even work (OCXO needs a warm-up time, before it's able to send a clock output to the RPi, so I guess the non-functionality comes from the fact that RPi won't even start and pass the 5V without it).
For the 5V input, I would use the optional 5V out from the PurePi. But here's a catch - if I feed the OCXO with it and put the OCXO above the RPi, it would also pass the power down to the RPi, so there would be a collision of 5V from the two sides, therefore I need to isolate them from each other. The question is - how to do it elegantly? Here's a diagram of my planned disposition, but I'm open to alternatives:
So far my only ideas are cutting the 5V GPIO pins of the RPI (or optionally of ShieldPi) or putting an Isolator between them. But would like to avoid the Isolator. Any better/smarter ideas are most welcomed
My primary idea is to power the OCXO board through the GPIO pin from the the top side, so not to be fed from the RPi directly, because according to the manufacturer, it would not even work (OCXO needs a warm-up time, before it's able to send a clock output to the RPi, so I guess the non-functionality comes from the fact that RPi won't even start and pass the 5V without it).
For the 5V input, I would use the optional 5V out from the PurePi. But here's a catch - if I feed the OCXO with it and put the OCXO above the RPi, it would also pass the power down to the RPi, so there would be a collision of 5V from the two sides, therefore I need to isolate them from each other. The question is - how to do it elegantly? Here's a diagram of my planned disposition, but I'm open to alternatives:
So far my only ideas are cutting the 5V GPIO pins of the RPI (or optionally of ShieldPi) or putting an Isolator between them. But would like to avoid the Isolator. Any better/smarter ideas are most welcomed
excellent work! I would be interested in this and if you were to sell them too ;-)Here is the first prototype om my design for a 3D printable UcPure holder. Already made some small adjustment to this prototype. Still waiting for the super caps to see everything fits together.
The PCB can be fitted in two postions at the top or at one side. Bottom part can also be used alone using a zip tie, where a slot is located at the underside. The holders can be fitted at the two flanges or at the screw holes in the curvatures. The left and right holders are interchangeable. Designed to fit Ø60-61,5 mm caps using either Ian UcBalancer (pitch of 61mm) or the universal print from eBay/aliexpress (pitch of 61,5mm). The holders are clamped together with M4x50 bolts and hexagonal holes at the bottom to press fit nuts into. Spacers of ~2mm hight between the PCB and holder is recommended.
I could make some spacers printet to the holder that can be cut off using a sidecutter. Any thought?
I will upload some pictures when the product is fully finished and tested with some super caps.
I will share the design if someone is interested, but only if you agreed to use it for DIY purpose only
View attachment 1271969 View attachment 1271978 View attachment 1271979
Thanks for your suggestion, unfortu that would bring new issues, for example excessively long connecting cable to the OCXO and possibly resulting impedance mismatch. And perhaps even more importantly, it took me around 1 year to perfect the resonance characteristic of this PurePi build, incorporating Zirconium dioxide, smoky quartz crystal, weight-calculated pads and others. Using a new platform would of course mean doing the whole exhausting process again, so I'm planning to release my first ultra-tweaked streamer as Pure-Pi based.
The next-gen streamer will be a completely different architecture, but that will be for release in '25 or perhaps even '26 till I perfect every nuance of it.
Hi folks - I have built Gabbie's (Ian's) DAC as shown at
I use it as a DLNA device to play my PC-based digital files. I use JRiver as my player, and until I built this new DAC I was using a USBridge Signature to play my music. I am very impressed with the audio quality of the new DAC, and it will perhaps even improve with use (I have only started using it today).
I use the latest Ropieee as OS, as that is what I used on the USBridge (I had to use an older version of Ropieee on the USBridge), and the latest version of JRiver on my (Win 11) PC. Unfortunately I cannot find settings in JRiver and Ropieee that will allow me to play all my digital files, which I was able to do with the USBridge Signature. I have tried all sorts of settings in JRiver's DLNA config, and I can play most resolutions of my (mostly) FLAC library, but there are some that either will not play at all, or will play a few seconds then stop. The higher resolutions seem to be more problematic. My stack consists of Purepi 2, Raspberry Pi 4b, FifoPiQ7 2, Monitor Pi Pro, ES9038Q2M Dual Mono II DAC, and OPA861 I/V stage. XLR outputs feed a DEQX DSP/preamp.
I have read the PDF's, troubleshooting guides, and quite a bit of this formidable forum, but I could do with some help to sort this out. Any suggestions regarding settings I may have missed/screwed up would be gratefully received. Perhaps there is a better OS I should be using, or some OS configuration I may have missed?
Cheers, Stephen
I use the latest Ropieee as OS, as that is what I used on the USBridge (I had to use an older version of Ropieee on the USBridge), and the latest version of JRiver on my (Win 11) PC. Unfortunately I cannot find settings in JRiver and Ropieee that will allow me to play all my digital files, which I was able to do with the USBridge Signature. I have tried all sorts of settings in JRiver's DLNA config, and I can play most resolutions of my (mostly) FLAC library, but there are some that either will not play at all, or will play a few seconds then stop. The higher resolutions seem to be more problematic. My stack consists of Purepi 2, Raspberry Pi 4b, FifoPiQ7 2, Monitor Pi Pro, ES9038Q2M Dual Mono II DAC, and OPA861 I/V stage. XLR outputs feed a DEQX DSP/preamp.
I have read the PDF's, troubleshooting guides, and quite a bit of this formidable forum, but I could do with some help to sort this out. Any suggestions regarding settings I may have missed/screwed up would be gratefully received. Perhaps there is a better OS I should be using, or some OS configuration I may have missed?
Cheers, Stephen
Thanks Simon
I will give an update once I have test fitted the super caps and the whole assembly.
Eatons ordered at Mouser, so hopefully I will have them by then end of the week
@Stephen R
I'm just streaming red book but maybe you could list the file resolutions that are problematic just to eliminate the obvious.
good work getting your streamer\DAC up and running.
I'm just streaming red book but maybe you could list the file resolutions that are problematic just to eliminate the obvious.
good work getting your streamer\DAC up and running.
You could use longer bolts and the discard the press fitted nuts at the bottom part.
I would't do this way because this will require some post assembly of the whole UcPure pack inside an enclosure. By using the flanges you can safely assemble the entire UcPure pack at a work table and then bolt it to your chassis. The whole pack is less than 1,5kg everthing put together. Using 4 x M4 bolt at the flanges would be more than enough for a rigid fix of the UcPure pack.
Looking for more rigidity? You could just use 3 pairs of holders
Good idea regarding the foam, but as you I don't know of the sensitivity to these caps. I thought of Sorbothane foam or similar.
My first design had 3 cavaties at the bottom part to hold some damping material, but I was not happy with the supporting material used once 3D printed. Instead the holders a slightly wider for a bigger base.
Regards Mikkel
Attachments
Hi folks,
What can be the expected effects of proper shielding for a Ian Canada project?
HI I am a newbie here in this forum but certainly not a newbie in the hobby. I recently build a Ian Canada streamer DAC inspired by Gabster. By the way thanks to Gabster for all his work. My unit is presently still on a test board and has not yet been encased and properly shielded from RMI/RFi. My present reference streamer DAC is a PI2AES with a Denafrips Ares II. Burn time on Ian Canada boards and the SC Pure clocks is about 200 hours.
-Station Pi Pro
-Linear Pi with UC Conditioner 5v, UC Pure 3.3 V
-Receiver Pi Pro
-FiFoPi Q7 with SC Pure 45 and 49
-ES9038Q2M Dualmono DAC
-OPA861
-MonitorPi Pro
Sound quality:
So far the Pi2aes/Ares II have a clear edge on dynamics. Soundstage and clarity is also a bit better on the Pi2aes/Ares II. That was certainly not what I expected where I thought Ian's gear should outclass my reference gear. So far not the case. The question is could Ian's gear presently suffer from a bad case of EMI/RIF interference degrading its performance? Maybe Gabster could chip in here as he already experienced builds with and without metal enclosure. I would like some feedback prior to proceed ahead so I know how much effort I need to put into shielding and the enclosure. Thanks all.
What can be the expected effects of proper shielding for a Ian Canada project?
HI I am a newbie here in this forum but certainly not a newbie in the hobby. I recently build a Ian Canada streamer DAC inspired by Gabster. By the way thanks to Gabster for all his work. My unit is presently still on a test board and has not yet been encased and properly shielded from RMI/RFi. My present reference streamer DAC is a PI2AES with a Denafrips Ares II. Burn time on Ian Canada boards and the SC Pure clocks is about 200 hours.
-Station Pi Pro
-Linear Pi with UC Conditioner 5v, UC Pure 3.3 V
-Receiver Pi Pro
-FiFoPi Q7 with SC Pure 45 and 49
-ES9038Q2M Dualmono DAC
-OPA861
-MonitorPi Pro
Sound quality:
So far the Pi2aes/Ares II have a clear edge on dynamics. Soundstage and clarity is also a bit better on the Pi2aes/Ares II. That was certainly not what I expected where I thought Ian's gear should outclass my reference gear. So far not the case. The question is could Ian's gear presently suffer from a bad case of EMI/RIF interference degrading its performance? Maybe Gabster could chip in here as he already experienced builds with and without metal enclosure. I would like some feedback prior to proceed ahead so I know how much effort I need to put into shielding and the enclosure. Thanks all.
Hello,
I know the French have done some test regarding vibrations and capacitors. But supercaps is a new technology that could be less or more sensible to vibrations.
Just adding some kind of foam would not hurt.
It will always be a mix. If you will use 3 supports mounted on a piece of foam it will add some dampening and rigidity as well. You dont want to put any physical pressure on the ucpure boards and introduce a crack on a solder joint or track.
Usually people tighten the bolds way to much on electronics. They use the same screwdriver like the one they use to attach a big mirror in their hallway. Ikea will usually provide you with tiny tools because with " real tools" you would end up with splitting panels.
Greetings Eduard
I know the French have done some test regarding vibrations and capacitors. But supercaps is a new technology that could be less or more sensible to vibrations.
Just adding some kind of foam would not hurt.
It will always be a mix. If you will use 3 supports mounted on a piece of foam it will add some dampening and rigidity as well. You dont want to put any physical pressure on the ucpure boards and introduce a crack on a solder joint or track.
Usually people tighten the bolds way to much on electronics. They use the same screwdriver like the one they use to attach a big mirror in their hallway. Ikea will usually provide you with tiny tools because with " real tools" you would end up with splitting panels.
Greetings Eduard