Chassis parts, power entry, switches, terminals, RCA, Speaker, etc.

[gbowling]

One of the hardest parts of DIY amp building, for me at least, is rounding up all the miscellaneous parts to make things work in my chassis.

At places like mouser, there are literally hundreds of thousands of these parts. I live in a remote area and don't have a place to go "look" at parts to figure out which ones I would like best.

So I thought I would start a thread to get input on your favorite miscellaneous chassis parts. There are no limits to what you suggest, but a few items that are always necessary. Would be nice to list the mouser or other location part numbers.

- power entry connectors

- power switches

- power fuses/holders

- terminal strips/blocks to mount on the chassis for various components like an NTC or other external parts.

- Switches of many different types, input selector switches, bias meter switches, etc.

- Meters for things like bias, other settings, power meters, etc.

- RCA connectors, speaker connectors, etc.


What are your favorite misc chassis parts? If I can get a good list going, I'll create a mouser project and share it out for others to use/copy.

gabo


I'll start off by offering this link:

Keystone Electronics Lug Terminals Terminal Strip Solder Terminals | Mouser

It took me a while to find these on mouser, but find that I use some variant of these on almost every project.

 

[Lingwendil]

A good starting point is to look at common, well documented projects and simply choose the same parts listed there. Pete Millet, AMB labs, and plenty of others have well documented bill of materials lists, often with alternative parts listed.

 

[gbowling]

A good starting point is to look at common, well documented projects and simply choose the same parts listed there. Pete Millet, AMB labs, and plenty of others have well documented bill of materials lists, often with alternative parts listed.

That's a fantastic idea, however, that's actually how I got here in the first place

I've been working on a Baby Huey tube amp. The BOM doesn't list any of these parts, only the parts for the schematic and boards.

Likewise I just checked the F5, F5T, Honey Badger, and a couple of other amp projects. None of the BOMs have any of these miscellaneous chassis parts listed. They list all the components in the schematic and for stuffing the boards, but not the little connectors, power entry, selector switches, plugs, chassis mounted terminal strips, etc.

But I'll also find the authors you suggested and see if I can find any BOMs with some of these and link them here if I find them.

gabo

 

[NealJ]

I really like this idea. Often I don't know how to phrase my searches to find a particular part, and as you sort of say, navigating potentially hundreds of different parts is tedious.


Anyway, my favourite cheap RCA connectors:
NYS367-9 REAN / Neutrik | Mouser United Kingdom

 

[gbowling]

Thanks for that NealJ, I see those are the white ones, they also come in red, search for NYS367-2.

Also, I can't find any speaker terminals on Mouser. They gotta be there some where!! I've ordered these off Amazon, haven't received them yet, so don't know how good they are. I'll report back when I get them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071Y23Y6P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm now searching for a selector switch for switching my bias meter on my tube amp. So many switches to choose from, but I'll find something.

I may eventually use all this info to start a thread on "building a custom chassis." I have purchased 1/8" aluminum off ebay and am building one now, taking photos and videos along the way.

These chassis' and mounting components just shouldn't be as hard, so I'm hell bent on collecting a list of parts and building some knowledge.

I think a lot of DIY'ers on here have done many of these, have a big bench with all sorts of parts they've collected, and just take for granted some of this stuff. There are clearly many semi-professionals on here, which is awesome, but those of us who don't have that can struggle with all this miscellaneous chassis stuff.

gabo

 

[Mark Tillotson]

For speaker connector Speakons are great, Neutrik NL4MP3 spade-terminal chassis-mount for instance, none of this fussing with terminal posts


And for power switch a high current DPST rocker like this is good value, 80A inrush rating from the datasheet: https://uk.farnell.com/te-connectivity/prfda1-16f-bb0bw/rocker-switch/dp/7692986

 

[indianajo]

Low current switching us usually best done by silver plate or gold plate switches. Look for < 1 A rating. I like cherry switch miniature gold plate, but those seem to have dropped off the vendor lists at retailers.
Speaker terminals, nutrik is the standard of the PA industry now because you can't hook them up wrong. Can't find them in newark catalog they don't even have a connector category for speaker connectors. Fallback is dual banana jack/binder posts, I usually buy whatever mueller product newark or digikey has in stock. If you want retro screw terminals, those are listed under terminal strips.
Biggest bargain in all this stuff, including cases, fans, heat sinks, circuit breakers, is amps for parts for repair on ebay. Category is pretty sparse right now in northern hemisphere with everybody indoors doing electronics projects, but you can find some real bargains in May June July August when people are out in the boat or watching the kids at the ball park.
A lot of this stuff is easier found a parts-express.com although they won't tell you mostly where they got it or how thick the plating is.

 

[Mark Tillotson]

Neutrik SpeakOns avoid all that messing around trying to thread 4 wires into 4 binding posts behind a unit, just needs one plug, push in, rotate, click and its secure for 30A, simple and solid.


Power entry should be simple, IEC fused receptacle with built-in fuseholder kills several birds with one stone, some have switches too (I think some have EMI filters too). https://uk.farnell.com/cliff-electr.../pwr-entry-inlet-skt-w-fuse-holder/dp/2663539

 

[gbowling]

Thanks Mark, another nice nugget from this thread!

I've never heard or seen the SpeakOns! So thanks for that, I'll give them a try. We used to use the banana plugs, ganged together for an easy "push in" style speaker connector.

gabo

 

[Francois G]

Power entry should be simple, IEC fused receptacle with built-in fuseholder kills several birds with one stone, some have switches too (I think some have EMI filters too). https://uk.farnell.com/cliff-electr.../pwr-entry-inlet-skt-w-fuse-holder/dp/2663539

I second Mark on Speakons for speaker connections, but Speakon makes a well-conceived power connector too. I like these stocked by Mouser if you are Mousily-inclined.: NL4MP-UC | Neutrik

I make my own power cables using these connectors and cable/wire of my choice. I love-’em, but if you consider reselling your built you may be better off using the “rollable power cable” IEC receptacle.

 

[billyk]

Input selector switch is what I am hunting now. I thought it wouldn’t be that hard to find a good one . . .

 

[gbowling]

Yes there seem to be a number of methods for solving the selector problem. I'll keep looking for a good tutorial on the pros and cons of various ways to do it.

I've seen this as a recommended solution, but there are other ways.

6 Channel Unbalanced Stereo or Balanced Mono Audio Input Selector Relay Module | eBay

For a passive selector, seems like you need a non shorting, 2 deck, 2 pole per deck, and however many positions you need. But I have not actually used any of these, so maybe there are better options. Here's a list of potential candidates from mouser.

Grayhill 2 Deck 2 Pole Non-Shorting Rotary Switches | Mouser

gabo

 

[synonymous]

Custom panel individual banana connectors, Schaffner fn9226 ac pcb reception. My power switch controls a smps and relays control the start and high power. The only wires are the transformer and the HDMI jumpers from the pi to the chassis plate. Everything is pcb mounted. I love my Schaffner.

Edit
Also TR5 cartridge fuses, pcb mounted.

 

[gbowling]

The speaker terminals I reference in post #5

Are total crap!! They have a flimsy little plastic piece that is suppose to insulate them from the chassis that just doesn't work.

I purchased some of the speakon connectors that were referenced, very good connectors.

But would still like to find some standard connectors that can work with banana jacks.

gabo

 

[kodabmx]

I use these and I'm quite happy with them...

6x Gold 5-Way Dual Binding Post Audio Speaker Amplifier Terminal 4mm Banana Jack | eBay

 

[K.A.B]

If you want to access good things and cheap then it is dumpster diving that applies I found a company that threw a lot of electronic scrap where there was everything you could think of. I still have a lot left but you have to think about what you do with most so that you do not accumulate what you do not need. I asked if it was ok if I had to take a bit to my audio build got the thumbs up.

 

[CliffR52]

I use these and I'm quite happy with them...

6x Gold 5-Way Dual Binding Post Audio Speaker Amplifier Terminal 4mm Banana Jack | eBay

Hey Koda.

I've recently revived my HiFi interest after a long absence.

I've been attempting to accumulate my knowledge and experience in the subject.

Totally frustrated at the moment regarding the quality of parts being retailed.

I recently picked up gold plated banana plugs from similar Chinese retailers and I'm also interested in finding the way forward regarding Loudspeaker binding posts.

I'm not convinced with the products we're being offered.

They all seem to come down to price and saleability.
Vendors want to maximise sales and profits.
Buyers want the best at the lowest price.

Although the Binding Posts are marketed as being gold plated.
What does that mean?
Is it real gold or is it a gold colored metal.
I was once gifted a gold bracelet some years ago.
It was listed in a catalogue as $600 reduced to $199.
I decided to have it valued.
The jeweller tested a scraping and advised me the bracelet had zero gold content. It was just gold colored.

In the EBay Binding Posts Ad they cleverly avoid claims to the posts composition.

For me, the one thing that drives me to DIY Audio is the search for affordable exceptional sound reproduction.

My understanding is that placing ferrous in the signal path introduces magnetism and may cause a smearing effect on sound reproduction.

I don't know about alloys but I have a sneaking suspicion that anything significantly less conductive than pure copper might also contribute to degradation of signal.

The Speakon connectors appear very convenient, but for me, sound quality is a much higher consideration.
The Speakons I understand are popular with P.A. which doesn't involve critical listening.

I was hoping someone might know of "go to" Speaker Wire terminations and Binding Posts which don't cost the world but reduce or eliminate sound degradation.

C

 

[kodabmx]

I don't put that much thought into it personally. If a 5 way binding post holds the banana plug nicely, and it conducts electricity, it's good enough.

I can tell you the ones I linked are "gold plated" (who cares?) and magnetic, but so are all the leads on the resistors and capacitors in the amp. So what?

 

[Mark Tillotson]

My understanding is that placing ferrous in the signal path introduces magnetism and may cause a smearing effect on sound reproduction.

Ferromagnetic meterials are non-linear, high currents through iron or steel introduces a small but measurable amount of distortion. "Smearing effect" - no, it introduces distortion products just like any non-linear device, typically odd-order products only. The same issue affects some protection relays. Low current signals are not affected as the currents are tiny and induced voltages way too small.

I don't know about alloys but I have a sneaking suspicion that anything significantly less conductive than pure copper might also contribute to degradation of signal.

Not true at all, all metals are _extremely_ linear resistances, if not ferromagnetic at high current levels.

The Speakon connectors appear very convenient, but for me, sound quality is a much higher consideration.
The Speakons I understand are popular with P.A. which doesn't involve critical listening.

Proper speakons are brass and extremely linear, like any other non-ferrous conductor. Connectors made of the right materials do not distort.

Some cheap SpeakOn copies use steel, note, avoid those and get Neutrik originals.

 

[gbowling]

I too would not like to put too much thought into them. But when you buy binding post that are impossible to isolate from your chassis, you have to look at them closely to make sure they will actually work.

The problem is the disparity. The "good ones" you find can cost as much as $40-$60 USD for ONE. For my tube amp, which has 4 and 8 ohm outputs, this means $240-$360 USD for all the binding posts. That's ridiculous and is more than the tubes cost!

A good sturdy post, with an effective method of isolating it from the chassis, at a reasonable price, say $4-$6 per post. Is that so much to ask for? Actually seems harder to find than it should be.

For my current project, I think I have some large shrink tubing that I can put around the post that goes through the chassis to isolate it. So I can make them work, but I wouldn't' buy them again.

gabo