Hello
what is Licron? Where to buy it? Could you post a picture of the mecanical stretcher?
Zelter
what is Licron? Where to buy it? Could you post a picture of the mecanical stretcher?
Zelter
if you google licron, it is sold as an antistatic spray with low but existant conductivity. Rather expensive though, 55 bucks for ten oz. Ill look for a more cost effective solution.
The EC-coating I sell is 15 euro/100g (approx. 100 ml)
The resistance is around 10exp9 (which is higher than Licron).
The (flexible) EC-coating is optimally formulated for the use on Mylar (r).
You can check more physical/chemical properties on the Audiocircuit (go to loudspeakers/esls/materials and parts/coatings).
The resistance is around 10exp9 (which is higher than Licron).
The (flexible) EC-coating is optimally formulated for the use on Mylar (r).
You can check more physical/chemical properties on the Audiocircuit (go to loudspeakers/esls/materials and parts/coatings).
Mechanical stretcher
The mechanical (actually pneumatic) stretcher is a small table, a little larger than the ESL driver, that has a bicycle tire tube stretched around its perimeter. You apply double stick tape to the inside edge of rim of the table.
To use the table, you place a piece of diaphragm film the table surface, then wrap it under the table and stick it to the double-stick tape. Then you simply inflate the tube and the diaphragm is stretched tight and wrinkle free.
If you are using graphite to coat the diaphragm, you apply it while the diaphragm is under tension. Then you glue your insulator frame/stator to the diaphragm, then cut it free from the stretcher.
It is much easier and faster to do than it is to describe. The amount of tension on the diaphragm depends on the air pressure in the tube. You can make it as tight as you want, right up to the point of bursting. You will NEVER get a diaphragm as tight with heat shrinking as you can with this pneumatic stretcher.
The photo is the bottom side of the stretcher (the top is just a plywood rectangle, duh!). The plastic is leftover film that I leave there to cover the double-stick tape when I'm not using the stretcher.
You can't see it in the picture but there is a small hole through the table to allow air trapped under the diaphragm to escape.
It took about 10 minutes to cut the wood and assemble this thing.
I_F
The mechanical (actually pneumatic) stretcher is a small table, a little larger than the ESL driver, that has a bicycle tire tube stretched around its perimeter. You apply double stick tape to the inside edge of rim of the table.
To use the table, you place a piece of diaphragm film the table surface, then wrap it under the table and stick it to the double-stick tape. Then you simply inflate the tube and the diaphragm is stretched tight and wrinkle free.
If you are using graphite to coat the diaphragm, you apply it while the diaphragm is under tension. Then you glue your insulator frame/stator to the diaphragm, then cut it free from the stretcher.
It is much easier and faster to do than it is to describe. The amount of tension on the diaphragm depends on the air pressure in the tube. You can make it as tight as you want, right up to the point of bursting. You will NEVER get a diaphragm as tight with heat shrinking as you can with this pneumatic stretcher.
The photo is the bottom side of the stretcher (the top is just a plywood rectangle, duh!). The plastic is leftover film that I leave there to cover the double-stick tape when I'm not using the stretcher.
You can't see it in the picture but there is a small hole through the table to allow air trapped under the diaphragm to escape.
It took about 10 minutes to cut the wood and assemble this thing.
I_F
Attachments
esl's are sooo sweet. just days ago i would never have said such a thing. i was hating all of the mindless assmbly and a few minor setbacks. nonetheless i am now the proud owner of a pair of esl speakers, and am also happy to be one of the proud few to have built them myself.
I have no complaints whatsoever about using saran wrap. for my hearing the range it is excellent, and the material is cheap and relatively easy to work with. ended up i using a much thicker coating of soap. so thick i burnished the surfaces of the membranes and they are now very cloudy. but i really didnt care. this is not a perfect design. i am super excited about the stator design, using aluminum screen. i think i have a huuuge open area when compared to standard stator materials.
now to house the electronics.
i am leaving for school on the eleventh and am happy to say i have a pair of B&W replacements i love!
many thanks
I have no complaints whatsoever about using saran wrap. for my hearing the range it is excellent, and the material is cheap and relatively easy to work with. ended up i using a much thicker coating of soap. so thick i burnished the surfaces of the membranes and they are now very cloudy. but i really didnt care. this is not a perfect design. i am super excited about the stator design, using aluminum screen. i think i have a huuuge open area when compared to standard stator materials.
now to house the electronics.
i am leaving for school on the eleventh and am happy to say i have a pair of B&W replacements i love!
many thanks
So far i have two esl panels and two ten inch woofers in 1.8 cubic foot enclosures. the enclosures are veeery resonant due to their exceedingly poor construction. i would like to build h baffles for the woofers to better match the sensitivity of the esl. also, h baffles are very easy to construct. how do i decide the depth of the baffle if i want the low limit to be 50-60hz, and the upper of 250hz. I have a sub to carry lower. the esl is of much lower sensitivity than the woofer, so i figure when i hook up the woofer, the larger amount of power will make up for the inefficiency of the h baffle, and i can compensate with a filter and eq if needed. The woofers are inexpensive enough that i dont care about hurting them, and i figure that being careful not to over drive the woofers will also be a good way to guard the esl panels.
to summarize; i need an H baffle for a ten inch woofer to play from 250-50 hz.
many thanks.
to summarize; i need an H baffle for a ten inch woofer to play from 250-50 hz.
many thanks.
i went ahead and built a pair of h baffle subs to go along with the panels. the inner baffle is twelve inches square and the sides are two feet long. The fifteen dollar ten inch goldwood woofer can definitely do the job in this enclosure. (I was worried) they are quick and deep, and i recommend then to anyone who has never tried an h baffle thirty bucks for drivers, and ten for particle underlayment. cannot be beat. They are also more efficient than my panels which isnt bad or good, just something which must be dealt with.
I am also finally learning to use this ten band equalizer to make em really nice.
thanks for all the help.
by the way, the gears which operate the lense of my camera are stripped thus, no pictures. they are coming!
I am also finally learning to use this ten band equalizer to make em really nice.
thanks for all the help.
by the way, the gears which operate the lense of my camera are stripped thus, no pictures. they are coming!
Do you suppose i am the youngest person to build an esl setup?
19yo with pockets full of disposable cash!
19yo with pockets full of disposable cash!
Impressive!
But shouldn't a 19 year old with disposable cash be out chasing 19 year old girls? Building ESLs is for us middle-aged married guys 🙂
But seriously, I really welcome younger folks like you to our dwindling hobby. It seems that video games, iPods and home-theater-in-a-box have taken interest away from listening to music on a good stereo.
When I was 19, besides a hot car, kids wanted a killer stereo. I remember lusting after SME tonearms, Empire turntables, and MacIntosh amps (they were solid state by then - I'm not THAT old).
If you find a 19 year old girl friend who is impressed by your ESL hobby - keep her.
But shouldn't a 19 year old with disposable cash be out chasing 19 year old girls? Building ESLs is for us middle-aged married guys 🙂
But seriously, I really welcome younger folks like you to our dwindling hobby. It seems that video games, iPods and home-theater-in-a-box have taken interest away from listening to music on a good stereo.
When I was 19, besides a hot car, kids wanted a killer stereo. I remember lusting after SME tonearms, Empire turntables, and MacIntosh amps (they were solid state by then - I'm not THAT old).
If you find a 19 year old girl friend who is impressed by your ESL hobby - keep her.
I went from not knowing what an esl was to owning a pair built from scratch in three months. Arduous work to be sure, but if meeting women were easier than that, i wouldnt be here talking to you guys!
Alas, women escape me, and i fear they always shall.
Alas, women escape me, and i fear they always shall.
My esl setup, though, the nicecst speakers i have ever heard, are too delicate for a dorm setting... oh well, i plan on making a low efficiency bookshelf. a fat ribbn midrange, and a big ole woofer. should be durable and reasonable good sounding. Ill post on that too!
thanks for all the help!
thaddeus
thanks for all the help!
thaddeus
When can we see pictures?
Yes, for college you probably shouldn't have anything nice lying around at all. Even pens, paper, and leftover food aren't safe. Don't think of bringing original CDs, only CD-Rs. I'm guessing engineering school?
Yes, for college you probably shouldn't have anything nice lying around at all. Even pens, paper, and leftover food aren't safe. Don't think of bringing original CDs, only CD-Rs. I'm guessing engineering school?
Pictures!!!
The panel is one by four feet and the spacing is about one mm. the H baffle sub has "chamber" volumes of one cubic foot. the woofer is a goldwood ten inch with a foam surround and an fs of 41hz. no need to attenuate greatly because of the driver and h baffle's low inherent efficiency. the h baffles surprised me greatly. they went very low and of course, with no boom. i cannot imagine how well a pair of high excurion fifteen inchers would do in this setup. *drools* The transformers were cheap tube output jobs and the HV supply was ganked from an old russion night vision scope. i have no idea what the voltage is.
and now what you few have been waiting for!
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/panelfront40.JPG
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/panelfoot40.JPG
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/sub40.JPG
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/electronics40.JPG
And yes, this is an engineering school. we trade off good times for good equipment. Life is full of choices. You ask me if i am excited about my choice come saturday night...
The panel is one by four feet and the spacing is about one mm. the H baffle sub has "chamber" volumes of one cubic foot. the woofer is a goldwood ten inch with a foam surround and an fs of 41hz. no need to attenuate greatly because of the driver and h baffle's low inherent efficiency. the h baffles surprised me greatly. they went very low and of course, with no boom. i cannot imagine how well a pair of high excurion fifteen inchers would do in this setup. *drools* The transformers were cheap tube output jobs and the HV supply was ganked from an old russion night vision scope. i have no idea what the voltage is.
and now what you few have been waiting for!
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/panelfront40.JPG
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/panelfoot40.JPG
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/sub40.JPG
www4.ncsu.edu/~tkwolick/esl/electronics40.JPG
And yes, this is an engineering school. we trade off good times for good equipment. Life is full of choices. You ask me if i am excited about my choice come saturday night...
Spacers for ESL
I forgot
I found out a long time ago that double stick tape is not good enough to use as spacers for ESL.
I've been using PVC material about 3 mm thick and these are
pratically eternal as far as original shape and characteristics
are concerned.
And so happens that I have plenty of spacers already cut from
my last ESL project.
If you guys are interested please drop me a line (e-mail, of
course).
I forgot
I found out a long time ago that double stick tape is not good enough to use as spacers for ESL.
I've been using PVC material about 3 mm thick and these are
pratically eternal as far as original shape and characteristics
are concerned.
And so happens that I have plenty of spacers already cut from
my last ESL project.
If you guys are interested please drop me a line (e-mail, of
course).
tade,
My ESL activities to date have been limited to rebuilding Quad ESLs but I am increasingly tempted to try a homebrew. Various dilemmas regarding how to construct the stators for best results and ease of construction have so far prevented this from happening. Your stators look interesting, you say you used aluminium screen, for what purpose is this sold and does it have a name?
Also what is the square-looking mesh in your picture and is the screen attached to this to keep it straight?
Thanks,
Tim.
My ESL activities to date have been limited to rebuilding Quad ESLs but I am increasingly tempted to try a homebrew. Various dilemmas regarding how to construct the stators for best results and ease of construction have so far prevented this from happening. Your stators look interesting, you say you used aluminium screen, for what purpose is this sold and does it have a name?
Also what is the square-looking mesh in your picture and is the screen attached to this to keep it straight?
Thanks,
Tim.
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