Baby stepsya nutz?
reading guides is so passe .....
I am not at the level of sketching schematics in the back of napkins like you!!
ya nutz?
reading guides is so passe .....
I realize you're being funny....
You know what is even more passe? Smoke rising...
(53) Verify indicator light 3 is delighted.
I love guides... written many, many in my career. Still doing it, as a matter of fact. Guides are good, they force you to order your thoughts, catch errors and weed out inconsistencies, ambiguities and assumptions. Never be implicit, always explicit.
Yes, writing them is no fun, indeed, it's a PITA. But it's part of doing engineering.
Ever written a design document? Like 200 of pages of design... describing the why, what, how and all kinds of testing considerations.... God, it gives me such headaches, but better the designer do this, straight out of their head, than some stuckee technical writer who has no real clue about the fundamental, hidden decisions and prejudices of the designer.
Assumptions, inconsistencies, ambiguity... that's for people with a bachelor of arts, not sciences.
I actually got into an argument at the DMV over a question that I missed ( the only one... meaning I had passed the test ). As it was, the question was ambiguous and had two equally valid answers. I noted this to the DMV agent ( like she cared, after all, I had passed )... the issue being two fold: (a) someone could fail the test for that question and (b) in my profession we do not tolerate such sloppiness.
The only caveat, vis a vis documentation, in this forum DIYAudio, is that most of this stuff is really considered a PROTOTYPE... so what's a little bit of smoke between friends? If I had a PL XA200.8 amp catch smoke, well, I'd be pissed off, but hey! this is Prototype Land... so it's part and parcel for the deal.
Let's face it.... you're just lazy when it comes to such.
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WHAT!? I thought you needed to be precise. I can list a lot more than one....
I'm not delighted with that comment. (That story is pure gold, BTW... laughed and laughed in empathy).
They are GUIDES. Different audience... different purpose than a technical manual / instruction manual.
They provide... guidance... it's part of the name.
^
I don't have to be precise in a forum post... just readable, a little funny and not too crazy... you know, like Zen...
Otherwise, I'd sound like Cardinal Ximenez:
Our Only Caveat...
Our Two Caveats...
Our Three Caveats...
Amongst our Caveats...
....
My favorite guide/procedure was written by one of my fellow engineers.... unfortunately the tech writer, and his bosses, felt it was too close to the truth:
(100) Depress Abort Switch
(101) Verify that System Reset Switch is Lighted.
(102) If System Reset Switch is Unlighted then kiss your *** goodbye.
It was quite honest. The test was for the Flight Ordnance Termination System while the missile was in the FAB building. The ensuing explosion, mean to abort the test missile in flight, could be QUITE violent.
I don't have to be precise in a forum post... just readable, a little funny and not too crazy... you know, like Zen...
Otherwise, I'd sound like Cardinal Ximenez:
Our Only Caveat...
Our Two Caveats...
Our Three Caveats...
Amongst our Caveats...
....
My favorite guide/procedure was written by one of my fellow engineers.... unfortunately the tech writer, and his bosses, felt it was too close to the truth:
(100) Depress Abort Switch
(101) Verify that System Reset Switch is Lighted.
(102) If System Reset Switch is Unlighted then kiss your *** goodbye.
It was quite honest. The test was for the Flight Ordnance Termination System while the missile was in the FAB building. The ensuing explosion, mean to abort the test missile in flight, could be QUITE violent.
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Good Evening folks,
I provide you with a little story so you can laugh at my expense!
So I stopped working on my ACA Mini because I missing thermal paste...aka heatsink goop!
Went to my local Lowes yesterday and they didn't have any...FML
Today I was in a bit of a rush but I figured hey maybe AutoZone might have it... as usual, I was rushing to try and beat traffic. I go into the store, ask the store employee and he directs me to the appropriate section, I barely scan the shelves and grab the first one that says good for heat exchange units....
then I get home and spend time with the family. Family heading to bed,
time to play with grownup toys!
Start reading closely at the product... Temperature-resistant metallic paste. The opposite of what I need!!!! I can't make this stuff up!!!!
The goop strikes back!!!!
No finished project tonight!
I provide you with a little story so you can laugh at my expense!
So I stopped working on my ACA Mini because I missing thermal paste...aka heatsink goop!
Went to my local Lowes yesterday and they didn't have any...FML
Today I was in a bit of a rush but I figured hey maybe AutoZone might have it... as usual, I was rushing to try and beat traffic. I go into the store, ask the store employee and he directs me to the appropriate section, I barely scan the shelves and grab the first one that says good for heat exchange units....
then I get home and spend time with the family. Family heading to bed,
time to play with grownup toys!Start reading closely at the product...
Temperature-resistant metallic paste. The opposite of what I need!!!! I can't make this stuff up!!!!The goop strikes back!!!!
No finished project tonight!
Lol, sounds like something I'd do!
[Edit]: FYI, I confirmed I did not use any paste on my Mini, so you can always play some tunes now and add the paste later if your like me and are eager to see how it sounds.
Try computer CPU thermal paste if you have a Best Buy, or similar, nearby.
[Edit]: FYI, I confirmed I did not use any paste on my Mini, so you can always play some tunes now and add the paste later if your like me and are eager to see how it sounds.
Try computer CPU thermal paste if you have a Best Buy, or similar, nearby.
Yeah absolutely not a big deal! Just wanted to share a few laughs! I find it funny that I could have avoided this problem by ordering from Amazon, but didn't because I just like making things more difficult for myself!
Not a native speaker...but I think resistant does not mean the paste would not transfer heat. The paste just can resist the heat and not evaporate or so.
Amp case version 2 of ACA Mini. Well... plexiglass version...
Although my son thinks his version 1 looks (#2,623) better.
Although my son thinks his version 1 looks (#2,623) better.
Mini Skyscraper!
Stacked heat sinks work very well! Has anyone else tried this?
Now for the long story...
I have had my DIY ACA Mini biased at 370 mV since last December, four months. @Nelson Pass told me that the Mini likes to be biased between 350 and 390 mV, and that it's OK if the heat sinks get very hot, as long as you can put your finger on them for a couple of seconds or more.
I set the bias when the ambient room temperature was around 69 degrees Fahrenheit. In my house, the temperature seldom goes above 72 degrees. The amp has worked perfectly, and it hasn't failed the finger test.
A little over a week ago, we had some pretty high temperatures. The living room got up to 75 degrees. I ran the amp, and all was well, but I thought to myself that I ought to have turned on the little fan I bought to cool the amp when the indoor temperature is high.
The next day, I used the fan, and it really cooled the heat sinks a lot. But unfortunately I could hear the fan a little bit when no music was playing.
That got me thinking...
What if I bought a second set of heat sinks and stacked them on top of the first set? I knew the pins would hold them directly above the first set, but would they make enough contact to draw off a significant amount of heat from the first set? I decided to try, so I bought a second set from Digikey. They arrived yesterday.
I put the second set of heat sinks on top of the first set, turned on the amp, and let it warm up for two hours. The house was 72 degrees. It's the same right now.
Good news! Both yesterday and today the top level heat sinks get warm and, best of all, the bottom level heat sinks are cool enough for me to put my fingers on them and hold them there as long as I want. In other words, the bottom heat sinks are a lot cooler.
I still have the fan, and maybe I'll have to use it if the house gets up to 80 degrees, as it did for a few days last summer. But I am happy to have found a cheap and easy solution to the heat dissipation problem.
I will repeat what I've already said: The DIY ACA Mini amplifier is by far the best sounding amplifier I have ever owned. The clarity is astonishing. My hat is off to @Nelson Pass for designing such a great little kit that someone like me can build and enjoy.
To anyone who gets this far: Thanks for reading!
Best wishes to all in the DIY community!
Stacked heat sinks work very well! Has anyone else tried this?
Now for the long story...
I have had my DIY ACA Mini biased at 370 mV since last December, four months. @Nelson Pass told me that the Mini likes to be biased between 350 and 390 mV, and that it's OK if the heat sinks get very hot, as long as you can put your finger on them for a couple of seconds or more.
I set the bias when the ambient room temperature was around 69 degrees Fahrenheit. In my house, the temperature seldom goes above 72 degrees. The amp has worked perfectly, and it hasn't failed the finger test.
A little over a week ago, we had some pretty high temperatures. The living room got up to 75 degrees. I ran the amp, and all was well, but I thought to myself that I ought to have turned on the little fan I bought to cool the amp when the indoor temperature is high.
The next day, I used the fan, and it really cooled the heat sinks a lot. But unfortunately I could hear the fan a little bit when no music was playing.
That got me thinking...
What if I bought a second set of heat sinks and stacked them on top of the first set? I knew the pins would hold them directly above the first set, but would they make enough contact to draw off a significant amount of heat from the first set? I decided to try, so I bought a second set from Digikey. They arrived yesterday.
I put the second set of heat sinks on top of the first set, turned on the amp, and let it warm up for two hours. The house was 72 degrees. It's the same right now.
Good news! Both yesterday and today the top level heat sinks get warm and, best of all, the bottom level heat sinks are cool enough for me to put my fingers on them and hold them there as long as I want. In other words, the bottom heat sinks are a lot cooler.
I still have the fan, and maybe I'll have to use it if the house gets up to 80 degrees, as it did for a few days last summer. But I am happy to have found a cheap and easy solution to the heat dissipation problem.
I will repeat what I've already said: The DIY ACA Mini amplifier is by far the best sounding amplifier I have ever owned. The clarity is astonishing. My hat is off to @Nelson Pass for designing such a great little kit that someone like me can build and enjoy.
To anyone who gets this far: Thanks for reading!
Best wishes to all in the DIY community!
Did you put any thermal compound between the heatsinks to maximize thermal conductivity. Pushing air over the heatsinks makes a huge difference. I keep thinking about hiding a quiet computer case fan nearby that operates slow enough to remain silent.
Thanks for sharing your idea!
Thanks for sharing your idea!
@Chris Jones KS: No thermal compound or anything. Just a second set and gravity. The fact that it works so well surprises me.