NickKUK & MrKettle - thanks for the sites/suppliers. I'll have a look and bookmark 'em for later use
Feeling pretty good about this project, but I'm still unclear on this bit, if anyone can clarify?
It is a twenty-buck project. X7R ceramics are entirely livable and price-appropriate. Composite parallel snakeskin angel-fart BS is not.
These upgrades(?) may come in time. But you can do a lot of fooling-around as-is. And you know your own baby is more beautiful than any baby you buy.
These upgrades(?) may come in time. But you can do a lot of fooling-around as-is. And you know your own baby is more beautiful than any baby you buy.
I was looking at the build picture on that kit and I couldn't find the ceramic caps to save my life because they built it with film capacitors.
A quick cursery guess is they used something like Cornell Dubilier 150105K100IC. I also saw a CDE 105MWR050K which is a polyester cap that is even smaller in diameter and cheaper too. I don't know if the leads are long enough to mount them vertically without extending one lead.
I would just build it as is. If you really like listening to it then learn how to desolder and replace them caps.
A quick cursery guess is they used something like Cornell Dubilier 150105K100IC. I also saw a CDE 105MWR050K which is a polyester cap that is even smaller in diameter and cheaper too. I don't know if the leads are long enough to mount them vertically without extending one lead.
I would just build it as is. If you really like listening to it then learn how to desolder and replace them caps.
Well... Build completed, the board called for a slightly different set of components than came with the kit - luckily I had a pack of resistors laying about so the board got what the board wanted.
Wonderful I think. I plug it in and tentatively power it up.
There's audio, it doesn't immediately sound like total crap... Then capacitor C9 (somewhere in the power supply circuit I think) has a quick hiss and pops its case off and the unit immediately turns to a distortion pedal. Oh well.
I've ordered a few more (they're not exactly expensive) to see what happens. I'm sure there'll be a similar result - apparently caps aren't supposed to do that under normal conditions and it'll be a result of some other mistake I made. Perhaps I overheated it in trying to get it sitting right, perhaps I overheated every component in the thing, who knows. Ahh well, ya live and learn. I doubt I'll be able to troubleshoot the thing with my level of knowledge.
I've learned lessons that cost FAR more than £15, so I consider it a useful learning experience. Failure is a good teacher. I just with I knew which lessons I learned😀
One thing I do know for sure - It won't be my last attempt at diy valve gear. Time for a browse of the usual Chinese suspects I reckon.
Thanks for your postings folks...
Picard out.
Wonderful I think. I plug it in and tentatively power it up.
There's audio, it doesn't immediately sound like total crap... Then capacitor C9 (somewhere in the power supply circuit I think) has a quick hiss and pops its case off and the unit immediately turns to a distortion pedal. Oh well.
I've ordered a few more (they're not exactly expensive) to see what happens. I'm sure there'll be a similar result - apparently caps aren't supposed to do that under normal conditions and it'll be a result of some other mistake I made. Perhaps I overheated it in trying to get it sitting right, perhaps I overheated every component in the thing, who knows. Ahh well, ya live and learn. I doubt I'll be able to troubleshoot the thing with my level of knowledge.
I've learned lessons that cost FAR more than £15, so I consider it a useful learning experience. Failure is a good teacher. I just with I knew which lessons I learned😀
One thing I do know for sure - It won't be my last attempt at diy valve gear. Time for a browse of the usual Chinese suspects I reckon.
Thanks for your postings folks...
Picard out.
I think you should aim a little higher than the Chinese offerings on eBay. But get your current project working before moving on. Diagnosing a failure and correcting it is a great teacher.
Cheers, S.
Cheers, S.
I'd love to try something a little more upmarket, but just knowing where to look baffles me at the moment.
I've got a multimeter and a few replacement parts on the way and will indeed like to have a go at getting the little Chinese preamp working. I've a funny feeling I cooked some components, the transistors in particular (uneducated guesswork).
I've got a multimeter and a few replacement parts on the way and will indeed like to have a go at getting the little Chinese preamp working. I've a funny feeling I cooked some components, the transistors in particular (uneducated guesswork).
Being an electrical newborn, whilst I can weld confidently, soldering is another story.
I'd be curious regarding the sensitivity of the components involved (in a very general manor) how susceptible to heat damage from soldering they are.
The bulk of the kit is basically:
-Resistors
-Capacitors
-Transistors
Any tips on which components require me to get good at soldering would be much appreciated.
I believe my "make sure it's on there good and solid" technique may have cost me some replacement components.
I'm currently using the BEEP function on the thing to test out and some things don't simply don't BEEP.
Cap replaced last night... Following the path will follow, so to speak.
I'd be curious regarding the sensitivity of the components involved (in a very general manor) how susceptible to heat damage from soldering they are.
The bulk of the kit is basically:
-Resistors
-Capacitors
-Transistors
Any tips on which components require me to get good at soldering would be much appreciated.
I believe my "make sure it's on there good and solid" technique may have cost me some replacement components.
I'm currently using the BEEP function on the thing to test out and some things don't simply don't BEEP.
Cap replaced last night... Following the path will follow, so to speak.
Careful with continuity - some meters use 9V for example, others use a volt .. so if you're testing a sensitive component it could be destroyed.
Keeping things cool, you can use a pair of pliers to conduct some of the heat away.