The diyAudio First Watt M2x

Member
Joined 2019
Paid Member
@MEPER - that site seems to be restricted to Germany or Denmark IP addresses.

"Site available only for Denmark and Germany. If, by mistake, you should have been denied access, try updating the page (F5), if it also does not help then send me an email with your IP address and I put it on a "white list""

My Frankfurt VPN IP address didn't work, but my Denmark did. Thanks!
 
Member
Joined 2013
Paid Member
I finished today, letting it bake for a couple of hours. DC offset dialed in at -4mV to 4mV, change is caused by me lifting the lid to make sure no smoke. Mountain View is installed since it has an LED, I haven't added the bling to the front panel yet.
It took an hour before it was fully up to temperature, just like Nelson said.
Tomorrow it plays music, I'm going to use my APT/HOLMAN preamp with a CD player.
That was fun! Almost sorry it's done, however, now I get to "tune" it using Austin, and Tucson.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0711.jpg
    IMG_0711.jpg
    329.7 KB · Views: 541
  • IMG_0705.JPG
    IMG_0705.JPG
    901 KB · Views: 538
  • IMG_0706.JPG
    IMG_0706.JPG
    876.4 KB · Views: 513
  • IMG_0707.JPG
    IMG_0707.JPG
    953.1 KB · Views: 507
... "What does the $12 device do in situation X??"

Spend $12 and try it! It'll be fun!
I would, wouldn't it? Yet, you think everyone enjoys your same scenarios and situations. For me, the item is not shippable to Ecuador. What does that mean? For me it would cost $12 to arrive in to the US, minimum $35 to ship to Ecuador, $42 of import fees.

Now the nice gadget is, all of a sudden, $90 for me.

That is why I ask so much, but you keep saying things like: "a guy from South America that didn't want to make the decision himself".

Of course, it's a different ball game for some of us. But for you, everything is easy: buy and try yourself.

Thanks, I'll surely spend $90 to play and see if it measures 0.4 Ohms. :(

Sigh...
Rafa.
 
Member
Joined 2011
Paid Member
Hi Rafa, in that case I recommend you forget about the $12 box. Instead maybe you might give some thought to only buying pieces of equipment which cost much more than $12. If shipping costs and import fees are very high, it makes sense to avoid paying them except when purchasing quite expensive items. Hopefully then the added costs become a smaller percentage of the total amount spent. BTW post #1980 seems to have answered your question about the Mega328.
 
Member
Joined 2011
Paid Member
Phil, walk down the Fairchild product curve by putting their Nchannel JFETs into your Mega328 boards, in increasing order of IDSS.

First J113, then J112, then J111, then J107, J105. I promise you that it will stop recognizing them as JFETs. Maybe if you're lucky, the only one it gets wrong is the J105, Experiment for yourself and see what the data looks like. They're all JFETs but the tester sees them as lower and lower valued resistors. Frobbulating the control electrode ("gate") just finaglles with the question "how low is low?"
 
Hi Rafa, in that case I recommend you forget about the $12 box. Instead maybe you might give some thought to only buying pieces of equipment which cost much more than $12. If shipping costs and import fees are very high, it makes sense to avoid paying them except when purchasing quite expensive items. Hopefully then the added costs become a smaller percentage of the total amount spent...
I mostly follow this rule... but then any venture gets expensive really soon! That is why for me, within that attitude and philosophy, every purchase needs to be 'worth it', hence the myriad of questions and hesitations.

But it's just impossible to afford only buying "quite expensive items".

But yeah, you mostly nailed it right in the head with how some of us need to approach this passion. :(

Rafa.
 
Hi Rafa,

This listing seems to ship to Ecuador and the price looks not too bad...

Cheers,
Dennis
Dennis, thanks for the link. Indeed, it claims $6 and free shipping. That has to be a first! One has to also love the delivery timeframe: Between Thu. Jun. 13 and Fri. Jul. 26. :)

Still, there is a damned customs policy that ANYTHING bellow 4Kg and $400 pays a flat rate of $42 import fee.

So unless the package looks mostly like an envelope, the risk of getting charged the full $42 is high. But at $6, it may just be worth the risk!

So, expect my answer to the 0.4 test in roughly 3 months! :)

Thanks again for taking the time to research into options, it's much appreciated!
Rafa.
 
Member
Joined 2019
Paid Member
@RafaPolit -

Are you aware of any US consolidators that will ship to private citizens or businesses in Ecuador? Your import / customs policy is burdensome.

When I lived overseas, I had a US "mailbox" where I could ship all parcels. That company would receive all my packages and wait for me to tell them to ship them all together. They occasionally would rebox for me also to save space. In many cases they charge a flat rate by weight. You are fully responsible for declaring the values and being lawful in your declarations for import. I found this a great way to save money.

I used MyUS.com. They may even allow you to sign up as a non-US citizen.
Free Package Consolidation | MyUS Premier Package Services

A Google Search for "Private Shipping Consolidation" also returned these folks
3 Ways of Consolidating Packages for International Shipping - OPAS

You may have looked into options like this, and they may not work well for you. If you have not seen services like this before and one works, wonderful!

I and maybe others would be willing to take advantage of living in the US and our "free" shipping in some cases to help you get parcels to the consolidator. You can reimburse me through PayPal. Once you know you have everything you need, you pay the consolidator fee and hopefully save some import tax / customs fees by shipping it all at once.

I'd be happy to help if you find a solution that works for you.

-Patrick

PS - the Mega328 will not look like a small envelope like a letter or greeting card in shipping. Don't pay $90 USD total (IMO)
Added edit - This was meant to be a PM. Apologies to the group.
 
Last edited:
Member
Joined 2016
Paid Member
Dear Patrick:

No need to apologize. I feel your offer of help to Rafa is very generous and a very nice example of the spirit we often find and would like to encourage and support in this community.
Also, the information about the consolidating services should be very helpful to others as well imho.

Best regards, Claas
 
I finished today, letting it bake for a couple of hours. DC offset dialed in at -4mV to 4mV, change is caused by me lifting the lid to make sure no smoke. Mountain View is installed since it has an LED, I haven't added the bling to the front panel yet.
It took an hour before it was fully up to temperature, just like Nelson said.
Tomorrow it plays music, I'm going to use my APT/HOLMAN preamp with a CD player.
That was fun! Almost sorry it's done, however, now I get to "tune" it using Austin, and Tucson.

Pretty sleek, just the way I would love to make it, congratulations !;)