PC board availability and shipping times?

[Blnd2Spll]

Hey everyone -- I'm gearing up to build the SSE, my first non-kit DIY amp.

Just to check, is George is still stocking and shipping boards? The website hasn't been updated in a while and there haven't been a ton of new builds posted in the forum, so I wanted to check before sourcing all of the other parts. Has anyone bought one recently, and if so, how long was the delivery time after payment? Did you get a confirmation email, or did it just show up at your door?

Thanks!
Dan

 

[colnago55]

Hi Dan,

I just finished my SSE build today. I'm listening to it now and it sounds great. I ordered my board via paypal and it arrived within a couple of days.

It's been a fabulous project. George is a genius.

take care, Jacques

 

[9050lx]

I just ordered one a couple days ago, my second one.I originally bought enough parts (mouser)to build 2 boards,should have bought 2 boards at the time (november). Great sounding amp.Minimal circuitry,lot of ways to tailor to your needs.I got my board in 4 days last time.I just today gutted the power tranny from an Olson AM240 6bq5 integrated tube amp I had laying around for the last 20 years.I got 464 volts dc from it with tubes in which should be perfect with solid state rectifiers,as this trans has no 5 volt winding.Good luck.The mail package arrived without any correspondence from George.

 

[Calydon]

Bought 6 more boards the other day and had immediate shipping!

 

[Tubelab_com]

Just to check, is George is still stocking and shipping boards?

I'm still here and shipping boards. I have plenty of all 3 legacy boards, and a small stack of a 4th board, a universal driver board for push pull amps based on the design that was developed in the 6L6GC in AB2 thread a few years ago.

There are pictures of the new board in post 630 and 651, and the schematic in post 638.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/133034-6l6gc-ab2-amp.html?highlight=6l6gc+ab2

Due to a vendor screw up the SSE and SPP boards are gold plated at no additional cost until they run low and I reorder.....I doubt they will do that again.

The website hasn't been updated in a while

I need to work on the web site, shoot pictures and write instructions for the new boards, finish the 5th board (a Simple Guitar Amp) and possibly shoot Youtube video build up's for all the boards......but first I need to get enough of my new lab built to make it useful. Everything is still powered and illuminated with extension cords, and I can't find squat, boxes are stacked in the corner. Bare concrete block walls make listening tests impossible due to poor acoustics.......on the good side, instead of a tiny 10 X 10 foot room, I have a 1600 sq foot empty basement with plenty of power.

In the past two years, I have lost my job of 41 years, moved 1200 miles, mostly by ourselves, into a temporary residence, had a new house built which took 8 months and required daily presence at the build site, then moved into it, all while searching for new employment. I brought the equipment from the lab in Florida, and about 1/3 of the "stuff" but the work benches, furniture, wiring, and all the conveniences that I had built in over 36 years were left behind, sold, given away, or scrapped. So were about 50,000 tubes and about 2000 pounds of transformers, some of my speakers, and guitar amps. Essentially Tubelab is starting over. This should progress at a steady pace, but with limited funds, unless I actually find a job, in which case the finances will improve, but the time frame will slow down.

how long was the delivery time after payment?

If you are in the US, the boards typically go out the day after I get the order (sometimes the same day) via USPS Priority Mail. Delivery time is usually 2 or 3 days.....for some reason Los Angeles can take a week to deliver their mail once they have it. Since the boards arrive at their destination quicker than many companies actually ship, I don't usually send confirmation unless the board was delayed.

International shipments have become a problem. The USPS has raised their rates 3 times in two years. Until the last 30% rate increase without notice (January) I have been using Priority Mail International which gets the board in the hands of the customers customs office in 3 to 5 days, after that it's up to the individual country. Some are quick, some aren't. It now costs me $31 to ship a $35 board via Priority Mail International, so I have switched to USPS First Class Mail. It's too soon to judge the effect on delivery times. I usually send the customs ticket number for international shipments.

There should be more new stuff from Tubelab in the future.

 

[Blnd2Spll]

George, thanks for the quick reply! I hope I didn't irk you by asking the forum about shipping and delivery. Glad to hear you're still stocking the boards desire all of the challenging life events. Two of my friends have build you amps (the SE and SSE) and they sound spectacular. I've finally built up the nerve to give it a go, and am really looking forward to the build as much as the final product.

 

[tomchr]

I'm still here and shipping boards.

That's good to hear.

In the past two years, I have lost my job of 41 years, moved 1200 miles, mostly by ourselves, into a temporary residence, had a new house built which took 8 months and required daily presence at the build site, then moved into it, all while searching for new employment.

Holy crap! You have me beat by quite a bit. Not that it's a contest or anything... 🙂 I quit my job after a bit over ten years, moved 1000 km (by myself), and started studying for my second career. I can only imagine what it would be like to move after 36 years in the same place.

International shipments have become a problem. The USPS has raised their rates 3 times in two years. Until the last 30% rate increase without notice (January) I have been using Priority Mail International which gets the board in the hands of the customers customs office in 3 to 5 days, after that it's up to the individual country. Some are quick, some aren't. It now costs me $31 to ship a $35 board via Priority Mail International, so I have switched to USPS First Class Mail. It's too soon to judge the effect on delivery times.

If standing in line at the post office isn't your cup of tea and you don't mind the $16/month subscription fee, stamps.com is totally worth the subscription. You can print all the necessary paperwork, including customs forms, at home and just drop the envelope in the mailbox. I used that while I was living in the Seattle area. Shipping times for USPS First Class International is about two weeks to Canada, 1-2 weeks to Western Europe, and 2-3 weeks everywhere else. The delivery time is not guaranteed and I have had one shipment (to Germany) that took about six weeks to arrive.
The only issue with First Class Mail is tracking. The customs number isn't technically a tracking number. It may/may not update and each mail piece isn't scanned individually. So the tracking is hit & miss. If you want tracking, you gotta go Priority or Express Mail (and pay accordingly).

Tom