Life in the time of the Virus

[ferret]

Originally Posted by rabbitz

Eventually the economy will override health concerns.

Indeed so, especially in countries where the economy is already messed up (SA.) Here in SA we have been in lock-down since 27 April and they want to extend this for an additional two weeks till the end of April (originally 3-weeks.) Can't get hold off basic diy home stuff to repair a blocked drain and broken pipe. Use the plumber is no doubt the answer, but they want to charge so much one almost requires a second bond on the house to pay them. Nothing to be done for the moment though, so will just continue till the lock-down ends.
Keep safe all,
Kevin

[ferret]

Hi Hugh,
I see that you use the Conrad heatsinks. Wonderful, excellent quality products. They are of course just a stone's throw away from you so makes sense to use them. Got a whole bunch of sinks from them back in 2014. Need to get some new ones to finish rebuilding my Bedini 25.25 amp. The original ones are way too small. Temperature on the box went as high as 80C in summer.
Kevin

[audiostar]

Conrad heatsinks.

Conrad heatsinks group buy

[AKSA]

Hi Kevin,

Conrad Heatsinks are now the only cast heatsinks manufactured in Australia. The principal, Julian Wales, is a close friend and lives at the factory, working six day weeks. He has the best work ethic I have ever seen, even though he suffers poor health. He loves Jaguars, and bought a 1973 V12 2+2 with 18k miles on the clock a couple of years ago. The car is mint, but the engine has a rear crank seal problem so he has removed the engine (!) and is rebuilding the rear main seal. He is also a very good violinist - aren't lots of electrical engineers music lovers?

He is delighted I'm designing Class A amplifiers these days!

His products are exceptional, beautifully cast and machined. They look much better than extruded heatsinks, and the casting process means that fins are always vertical, ideal for best cooling.

Thanks AS for the web link,

Hugh

[JMFahey]

Originally Posted by ferret

Indeed so, especially in countries where the economy is already messed up (SA.) Here in SA we have been in lock-down since 27 April and they want to extend this for an additional two weeks till the end of April (originally 3-weeks.) Can't get hold off basic diy home stuff to repair a blocked drain and broken pipe. Use the plumber is no doubt the answer, but they want to charge so much one almost requires a second bond on the house to pay them. Nothing to be done for the moment though, so will just continue till the lock-down ends.
Keep safe all,
Kevin

Here in Argentina hardware stores have been included in the "essential shops" list and large space ones (Think Home Depot and similar) are allowed to open partially.
I guess the idea is to keep itchy hands people like us spend time and energy doing home repairs.
Large retailers are 50/70% locked out of reach but they have a list of what you can buy: Paint - electrical hardware - hand and power tools and their accessories (drills, saw disks, etc.) - gas/plumbing stuff - construction stuff (bricks - sand - Portland cement) etc.
Even some wood if construction related.

I make Guitar amps and cabinets, almost running out of chipboard and MDF which is NOT allowed while phenolic multi ply is, same as OSB so absolute worst if this goes on too long I will need to use them.

Not that bad considering the circumstances.

[Bigun]

I am tired of bolting amps to vertical heatsinks and am interested in the concept of the flanged heatsink from Conrad. I guess they would ship overseas so it’s a good option. I need to build a decent version of a JLH with modern power devices. Anybody with an appreciation for old Jags is a good chap in my books, pitty the latest Jags lack the style of the old ones. Heck, I may just get carried away and rebuild some of my Class AB amps to get away from those paperweight Chinese heatsinks.

[Bigun]

I seem to remember an AKSA amplifier build photo and you used flanged heatsinks. I think it can look elegant with the pcb horizontal and easy top down access to power device mounting screws.

[suresh]

I am enjoying my MAYA during lock down . Hugh's journey from glass harmony to omega are fascinating. His hobby , spirit , interest , dedication and his contribution to this Diyaudio is immense. More over he is a good friend of his customers . he is a special person in my audio life . i am not good at technical level still i learned a lot from his contribution.

[audiostar]

Hugh,

Every business has a plan. When the time comes the successor takes over. We want to see AKSA continue.

[ferret]

Originally Posted by Bigun

I think it can look elegant with the pcb horizontal and easy top down access to power device mounting screws.

This is a rebuild of a Bedini 25.25 that I intend to complete in the next week or two. I bought the flanged sinks from Conrad Engineering and the custom smaller ones (8FT with one half of fins removed) trimmed to fit, some time back. Mr Wales was extremely helpful. The only problem I had was drilling the holes into the flange. The drill press chuck is too large to get close to the sink, so the TO-3s were laid out length wise. The new sink is ~ 80% larger than original. Have a new 400 VA trafo & new PSU boards with 40 000 uF for each channel. The problem is getting the case finished off, but can & will be done later. Time to get these boards working. The lock down is helping. PCBs will be below flange with TO-3s top side.

Kevin