I have good soldering skills, have built 10 or so tuner, preamp, amp kits in my life, both SS and tube.
But never had an identical pair of kits waiting to be built. So my question:
Should I build both kits simultaneously, or finish one before I start the second?
I am leaning towards doing both at the same time but I can see one big risk to that; if I later find I did something wrong, I likely will have done it wrong twice, and will need to fix it twice!
What say you?
But never had an identical pair of kits waiting to be built. So my question:
Should I build both kits simultaneously, or finish one before I start the second?
I am leaning towards doing both at the same time but I can see one big risk to that; if I later find I did something wrong, I likely will have done it wrong twice, and will need to fix it twice!
What say you?
That is exactly what will happen. Think about what would happen on a manufacturer's production line.
Build them one at a time.
Build them one at a time.
another question if I may. I have a PEAK Atlas DCA 75pro which will test and measure, and with provided windows software plot performance curves of MOSFETS.
The guides I have read suggest to test/measure all components before installing on the board.
Should I test the MOSFETS? The kits are about 3 years old and have been sitting in their shipped packages for that time.
What should I look for in the testing/measuring?
I will test the resistors with my DMM and caps with an inexpensive capacitor tester arriving today.
thank you!
The guides I have read suggest to test/measure all components before installing on the board.
Should I test the MOSFETS? The kits are about 3 years old and have been sitting in their shipped packages for that time.
What should I look for in the testing/measuring?
I will test the resistors with my DMM and caps with an inexpensive capacitor tester arriving today.
thank you!
Handling MOS devices is risky and can damage them, so be careful. I always measure passive components before installing.
It's common to make a mistake such as 10k for 1k just going by the color bands.
If your tester works on active devices, you can check those too, but they should be ok if in the original packaging.
I probably would not measure those, since from a trusted source,, just be careful to install in the right position and orientation.
The important thing is not to rush, and do each step as in the guide, double checking for the part value and position.
It's common to make a mistake such as 10k for 1k just going by the color bands.
If your tester works on active devices, you can check those too, but they should be ok if in the original packaging.
I probably would not measure those, since from a trusted source,, just be careful to install in the right position and orientation.
The important thing is not to rush, and do each step as in the guide, double checking for the part value and position.
This is paramount for me kenzo3. rayma's advice is classic. My PRP resistors all look the same, ha.
I go so far as to match the parts on one of those AtMega component testers so all the diodes and caps are in the same range. I measure all resitors by hand on a vintage Fluke 77.
I hope you take some pics and share the journey of your project.
Cheers!
Wow, I love pics! The best members on this site share detailed pictures of their work. Ha. Perhaps that is not true but the members I adore the most share the best pics. That is not true but...I'm digging a hole...
Share pictures. Please.
the radio shack plus the magnifiers are giving away my age I guess. I do try to always remember that I am one of the lucky ones to have made it this far. But the eyesight is a real problem now and that is pretty damn annoying...
Some young folks have a bit of vintage stuff but that antistatic roll-out is a bit of an oddity in my view. It is awesome that people like you can share that.
It blows my mind away with pure joy.
It blows my mind away with pure joy.
I use a magnifying glass and my cellphone to see tiny bits of work. I have a monocle and a dual headset. I'm still searching for the ideal low-cost PC based camera system...
Boards stuffed and mounted onto heatsinks.
I could not find my lead bending jig and the 3watt resistors show the consequences😔
Under magnification I saw lots of tiny solder splatters so cleaned the boards with Iso Alcohol and brush. Maybe my WES50 iron is set a bit hot. Also I tend to be liberal with the flux.
If I had small lock washers around I would have used them where not provided in the kit.
Casework is fantastic; these will look fabulous in the rack and should drive my Ref3A DeCapo I speakers beautifully.
The back panel 3way mono/stereo switch feels
a bit wonky, I may look for a replacement, not sure l trust it.
I will finish assembly and power it up for adjustments, testing, and hopefully some listening manyana. 🎶
I did buy an external speaker protection device and will be using that when I ultimately hook up the DeCapos.
What would be tolerable level of DC at the outputs? < 50 millivolts?
I could not find my lead bending jig and the 3watt resistors show the consequences😔
Under magnification I saw lots of tiny solder splatters so cleaned the boards with Iso Alcohol and brush. Maybe my WES50 iron is set a bit hot. Also I tend to be liberal with the flux.
If I had small lock washers around I would have used them where not provided in the kit.
Casework is fantastic; these will look fabulous in the rack and should drive my Ref3A DeCapo I speakers beautifully.
The back panel 3way mono/stereo switch feels
I will finish assembly and power it up for adjustments, testing, and hopefully some listening manyana. 🎶
I did buy an external speaker protection device and will be using that when I ultimately hook up the DeCapos.
What would be tolerable level of DC at the outputs? < 50 millivolts?
No worries. I like to shim mine 1 to 2 mm above the board. It is a tricky game at times. Boards looking good.
I decided to permanently wire the outputs of my two 1.8 version amps as bridged to avoid use of a paddle switch. Anyone know if there is a diagram for how to wire that?