Odd stuff in the power supply. Last time I saw something like that had a marine environment.
Should you decide that the ps board is problematic, attached is an image and the Gerber files that www.pcbway.com
can likely fab for you. The dimensions are 5.5" X 5.2"
Should you decide that the ps board is problematic, attached is an image and the Gerber files that www.pcbway.com
can likely fab for you. The dimensions are 5.5" X 5.2"
Progress continues!
All in all that went better than I hoped. With the benefit of hindsight (a commodity which, in recorded history, has never done anyone any good) I'd have attacked things in a different order; for some reason I fixiated on desoldering from the board rather than disturbing the signal connections. In retrospect it would have been much easier to do it the other way around. I also need to be mindful of the fact that not only the tip of the iron is hot; I've singed the insulation on a few wires, although nothing too serious. On the other hand, while I was a bit apprehensive about getting the caps out, in actual fact it was no trouble at all. Plainly my cheap, cruddy iron has more poke than it's letting on. I realised afterwards that I hadn't even used the biggest tip!
As mentioned previously, one of the thermistors seems to have got broken somewhere along the line:
I have a replacement on hand, so that'll be going in come reassembly. Still waiting on my new caps arriving - although Digikey deserve applause for the speed on their service; the order is looking like it'll get here for the States in just two days - but in the meantime I have lots of cleaning to do.
@Nelson Pass Thanks very much for the files. I can't see anything untoward with my board, but perhaps they'll be helpful to someone else. The amp hasn't been near the sea to the best of my knowledge, so still none the wiser as to what's gone on.
@baeijsman Agreed!
All in all that went better than I hoped. With the benefit of hindsight (a commodity which, in recorded history, has never done anyone any good) I'd have attacked things in a different order; for some reason I fixiated on desoldering from the board rather than disturbing the signal connections. In retrospect it would have been much easier to do it the other way around. I also need to be mindful of the fact that not only the tip of the iron is hot; I've singed the insulation on a few wires, although nothing too serious. On the other hand, while I was a bit apprehensive about getting the caps out, in actual fact it was no trouble at all. Plainly my cheap, cruddy iron has more poke than it's letting on. I realised afterwards that I hadn't even used the biggest tip!
As mentioned previously, one of the thermistors seems to have got broken somewhere along the line:
I have a replacement on hand, so that'll be going in come reassembly. Still waiting on my new caps arriving - although Digikey deserve applause for the speed on their service; the order is looking like it'll get here for the States in just two days - but in the meantime I have lots of cleaning to do.
@Nelson Pass Thanks very much for the files. I can't see anything untoward with my board, but perhaps they'll be helpful to someone else. The amp hasn't been near the sea to the best of my knowledge, so still none the wiser as to what's gone on.
@baeijsman Agreed!
I done fixed it!
Plugged it in, said a prayer to Papa and flicked the switch; no smoke! So far, so good. Plugged everything else in; no hum, but both channels clearly live. Better yet. Put a CD on, and there was music. Nice music. Still to burn in, obviously, but early results are very promising.
No lie, it's been a steep learning curve. Mistakes were made, bad language was used, and some of the soldering is winning no prizes for aesthetics. However, it works! Which, given that 90% of everything I've ever tried to fix in my life has ended up more broken than when I started, is a source of both surprise and relief.
I'm greatly appreciative for everyone's help and advice, but especially @Zen Mod*. There's certainly no way I'd even have thought about attempting it without this place. Anyway, time for more records!
*Although he will, unfortunately, have to seek other candidates for the OPLDF.
Plugged it in, said a prayer to Papa and flicked the switch; no smoke! So far, so good. Plugged everything else in; no hum, but both channels clearly live. Better yet. Put a CD on, and there was music. Nice music. Still to burn in, obviously, but early results are very promising.
No lie, it's been a steep learning curve. Mistakes were made, bad language was used, and some of the soldering is winning no prizes for aesthetics. However, it works! Which, given that 90% of everything I've ever tried to fix in my life has ended up more broken than when I started, is a source of both surprise and relief.
I'm greatly appreciative for everyone's help and advice, but especially @Zen Mod*. There's certainly no way I'd even have thought about attempting it without this place. Anyway, time for more records!
*Although he will, unfortunately, have to seek other candidates for the OPLDF.
Last edited:
Its really awesome that you fixed your amp!! Ive had years of heart happy sound with my BOZ(Crown IC150a chassis). One of these days I would love to finish my BOSOZ which will be in two Sonic Frontiirs preamp chassis's. Ive had a Pass Labs XONO and X5 on my main stereo and I really love them
When I lived in Cupertino, I went out to Blue Collar Supply in Sacramento and bought a bunch of Aleph 3 heatsinks and posts. Ive had these in storage for a long time but seeing the PCB artwork that Nelso was kind enough to help out with..The PCB would be perfect to finally build these amps
Can anyone help me out with details on getting the boards made?? Ive never dione this
Board material
TG
Board thickness
Solder mask and silkscreen color
Surface finish
Copper thickness(inner and outer)
Via process: tent vias/ plug vias by solder mask ink/expose vias
Thanks!!
Tom
When I lived in Cupertino, I went out to Blue Collar Supply in Sacramento and bought a bunch of Aleph 3 heatsinks and posts. Ive had these in storage for a long time but seeing the PCB artwork that Nelso was kind enough to help out with..The PCB would be perfect to finally build these amps
Can anyone help me out with details on getting the boards made?? Ive never dione this
Board material
TG
Board thickness
Solder mask and silkscreen color
Surface finish
Copper thickness(inner and outer)
Via process: tent vias/ plug vias by solder mask ink/expose vias
Thanks!!
Tom
I've had 25v caps in my builds for years and no issues,22.6v rails. Nelson uses them in his FW builds. I wonder if he gets returns like this.
Maybe? "Capacitor Plague" from Wikipedia
The capacitor plague was a problem related to a higher-than-expected failure rate of non-solid aluminium electrolytic capacitors between 1999 and 2007, especially those from some Taiwanese manufacturers,[1][2] due to faulty electrolyte composition that caused corrosion accompanied by gas generation; this often resulted in rupturing of the case of the capacitor from the build-up of pressure.
The capacitor plague was a problem related to a higher-than-expected failure rate of non-solid aluminium electrolytic capacitors between 1999 and 2007, especially those from some Taiwanese manufacturers,[1][2] due to faulty electrolyte composition that caused corrosion accompanied by gas generation; this often resulted in rupturing of the case of the capacitor from the build-up of pressure.