Yep, the Fujitsu/Takamisawa reports as obsolete unforunately - bloody good quality. But Panasonic has always had a good reputation. Very interested. FWIW - despite having all the parts, still haven't got around the BigBottle MC board; work and life just got in the way.
BTW where did you source the cabinet for your BigBottle?
P.S. Just looked around Ebay and see the A-5W-Ks are available there. Will look carefully to see if fakes or not. Need to check if I can get some direct from Japan instead of Hong Kong. South African C&E have become rather difficult with me bringing in stuff via Globalshopaholics etc.
BTW where did you source the cabinet for your BigBottle?
P.S. Just looked around Ebay and see the A-5W-Ks are available there. Will look carefully to see if fakes or not. Need to check if I can get some direct from Japan instead of Hong Kong. South African C&E have become rather difficult with me bringing in stuff via Globalshopaholics etc.
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That's understandable.
Yes, got the chassis from AliExpress.
The replacement looks like it could be ok.
No, not yet.
The board is being redone by Craig of Craigtone.
This one should be the finished article and thus the last iteration of the PCB.
I will build one ASAP once they are done and if all is as expected, I will do a GB.
Dropping in to say hi and give a sneak peek! PCB is coming along nicely! Parts can be mounted on top or bottom to allow tubes to stick through a chassis. JFET footprint will accept an SOT-23 SMD or TO-92 through-hole device. Output cap allows for just about any flavor cap your heart desires.
Attachments
You and me both!
I am sure Craig is grafting on this and we'll have a prototype soon!
UPDATE
Seems Craig has been busy!
I think we may have a finished product here, which obviously needs a test build before releasing them into the wild!
I love the work Craig has done and once Alan gives this version the thumbs up, I will build one ASAP and see how it looks. #Exciting!
Here's a bit of detail and some pictures.....
A "mild to wild" amount of different sized output caps can be used on the Phonostage, thanks to Craig's creativity with the layout.
+ & - indicators are now on the Capacitors and what else is rather cool is..............you can now populate the PCB on either side
- Relay only on top
- Tube sockets only on top
- SOT-23 JFET only on top
- TO-92 JFET rotated 180
- TO-220 devices rotated 180 and on other side of heatsink web
The FET will have a dual footprint allowing the use of surface mount BF861C or an equivalent leaded version. Unfortunately, we are yet to find a perfect suitor. I will endeavour to find one as this will help those who are new to soldering. If anyone has a suggestion, we'd love to hear it!
Top side:
Bottom Side:
I am mega excited to get one of these up and running!
Seems Craig has been busy!
I think we may have a finished product here, which obviously needs a test build before releasing them into the wild!
I love the work Craig has done and once Alan gives this version the thumbs up, I will build one ASAP and see how it looks. #Exciting!
Here's a bit of detail and some pictures.....
A "mild to wild" amount of different sized output caps can be used on the Phonostage, thanks to Craig's creativity with the layout.
+ & - indicators are now on the Capacitors and what else is rather cool is..............you can now populate the PCB on either side
- Relay only on top
- Tube sockets only on top
- SOT-23 JFET only on top
- TO-92 JFET rotated 180
- TO-220 devices rotated 180 and on other side of heatsink web
The FET will have a dual footprint allowing the use of surface mount BF861C or an equivalent leaded version. Unfortunately, we are yet to find a perfect suitor. I will endeavour to find one as this will help those who are new to soldering. If anyone has a suggestion, we'd love to hear it!
Top side:
Bottom Side:
I am mega excited to get one of these up and running!
I'm interested in this. Don't know much about the project at hand, but know I need a phono pre for my wife's turntable that she insists on dusting off.
A few ??? What type of tubes? I see ECC83 and PCC88. What's the 3rd tube? What about PSU. I see it's mentioned it's on board... what are the specs of trafo?
Thx,
Mull3t
A few ??? What type of tubes? I see ECC83 and PCC88. What's the 3rd tube? What about PSU. I see it's mentioned it's on board... what are the specs of trafo?
Thx,
Mull3t
Your wife is a wise lady!
It's 2xPCC88 and one ECC83
PSU is contained on the PCB, and the Transformer is:
165V @ 0.1A
9.5-0-9.5V @ 1A
There is a Chinese R Core or similar on ebay which is OK for the money. I get mine built by Toroidy.pl
Nice! Yes the wife can't live without her vinyl collection. It's always a bonus when I say "I can build something that will make your vinyl come back to life!"
Can the PCC88 be the 6v version - 6DJ8 (ECC88)? and can the ECC83 be the Russian variant 6N2P or even the lower gain version of 12AX7 - 5751?
Can the PCC88 be the 6v version - 6DJ8 (ECC88)? and can the ECC83 be the Russian variant 6N2P or even the lower gain version of 12AX7 - 5751?
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ECC88 - No, PCC88 only.
5751 - May not have enough gain
6N2P - No
It may seem like a really odd choice of valves but it was done deliberately. This combination of valves give just the right amount of gain, so low noise and offers really low Millar Capacitance.
One or two of the PCBs have been modified to accept other valves but personally, I think we got the right combo.
Obviously, if anyone chooses to modify the PCB, once in their possession, that's entirely their prerogative.
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