Maybe 6-7 years ago I started to catch the bug. I bought my first decent amp, a Virtue Sensation M-901 with all the trimmings, and a GR Research N3 - an MTM transmission line kit. Building the N3 led to another hobby in wood working but also got me thinking I'd like to build an amp. Tube amps were always something that interested me so I got a hold of Viktor Kung at VK Music to ask about them.
I've since built (2) Elekit tube amp kits, the TU 879S with KT88s, and the 8300R, but in doing so discovered I needed some more efficient speakers which led me to getting the 97db co-axial OB GR Research Super Vs (which I still haven't "properly finished but they are singing anyways!).
Early last year I started down the Class D path and ordered a bunch of Hypex modules and a chassis when I ran across an article on the Amp Camp Amp. For whatever reason - maybe the price along with some of the reviews - I ordered and built that and was quite frankly blown away. To that point my beloved Virtue amp was always my go to piece when I just wanted to sit back and listen to music. There is something just so full about that little ACA that brings life to music. This got me looking at some of the other First Watt kits and, after reading many reviews, in June of 2018 I started ordering parts for the F5.
One thing after another delayed it all coming together, but as of today, the last piece showed up - a package of Keratherm insulators I had simply forgot to add to the list. Up to this point I've been posting in several different threads seeking help and getting to the stage I'm at now. I'd like to thank 6L6 for his invaluable contributions through his PSU and F5 build guides. I've also had many people enlighten me thus far including rayma who's been great. I'll post a bunch of pics here. I had more from earlier on but between moving them from DropBox to different files I've managed to lose a bunch unfortunately, but I believe everyone here has probably seen the "un-boxing" of the deluxe chassis from Italy by now.
Pics of the progress below.
I've since built (2) Elekit tube amp kits, the TU 879S with KT88s, and the 8300R, but in doing so discovered I needed some more efficient speakers which led me to getting the 97db co-axial OB GR Research Super Vs (which I still haven't "properly finished but they are singing anyways!).
Early last year I started down the Class D path and ordered a bunch of Hypex modules and a chassis when I ran across an article on the Amp Camp Amp. For whatever reason - maybe the price along with some of the reviews - I ordered and built that and was quite frankly blown away. To that point my beloved Virtue amp was always my go to piece when I just wanted to sit back and listen to music. There is something just so full about that little ACA that brings life to music. This got me looking at some of the other First Watt kits and, after reading many reviews, in June of 2018 I started ordering parts for the F5.
One thing after another delayed it all coming together, but as of today, the last piece showed up - a package of Keratherm insulators I had simply forgot to add to the list. Up to this point I've been posting in several different threads seeking help and getting to the stage I'm at now. I'd like to thank 6L6 for his invaluable contributions through his PSU and F5 build guides. I've also had many people enlighten me thus far including rayma who's been great. I'll post a bunch of pics here. I had more from earlier on but between moving them from DropBox to different files I've managed to lose a bunch unfortunately, but I believe everyone here has probably seen the "un-boxing" of the deluxe chassis from Italy by now.
Pics of the progress below.
Tidied up some things - finished mounting the PSU to the stand-offs properly, added a few more riser tie-downs for the mains and put some tape under the terminal block per ZM, and mounted the amps to get some wire lengths.
For some reason I thought the Keratherm had a sticky side?
And actually now that I'm about to do it, installing the MOSFETs seems like it might be a bit tricky to get everything to line up properly....
For some reason I thought the Keratherm had a sticky side?
And actually now that I'm about to do it, installing the MOSFETs seems like it might be a bit tricky to get everything to line up properly....
Well now... between all the different ways of doing things, I like the way the amps have the power wires coming in from the back of the board and running along the inside of the chassis as is shown in the diyaudio-f5-build-guide pdf.
Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention to the longer standoffs used in this guide and this method does not leave enough room with the smaller brass standoffs that come with the premium parts kit. (Forgive the use of the odd-ball colors as that was all I could find locally in a reasonable gauge). Fortunately the parts kit comes with a plethora of these little standoffs so I doubled them up. I commented earlier about how installing the MOSFETs looked like it was going to be a pain, and quite simply, I could see no realistic way of doing it without taking the sides off (also somewhat of a pain at this stage). I was also a little worried that with the standoffs doubled up like this that the leads on the MOSFETs might not be long enough.
Just barely!
And that's enough for me for now. We're jamming tonight!!
Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention to the longer standoffs used in this guide and this method does not leave enough room with the smaller brass standoffs that come with the premium parts kit. (Forgive the use of the odd-ball colors as that was all I could find locally in a reasonable gauge). Fortunately the parts kit comes with a plethora of these little standoffs so I doubled them up. I commented earlier about how installing the MOSFETs looked like it was going to be a pain, and quite simply, I could see no realistic way of doing it without taking the sides off (also somewhat of a pain at this stage). I was also a little worried that with the standoffs doubled up like this that the leads on the MOSFETs might not be long enough.
Just barely!
And that's enough for me for now. We're jamming tonight!!
move tiny NTCs to touch ceramic part of output mosfets , not bare big washer
not one F5 goes BoomBigBadaBoom , just because paint insulation on NTC was lousy ..... not having anything with their resistive quality
besides that , Moi again - rise that mains NTC from base plate .....
not one F5 goes BoomBigBadaBoom , just because paint insulation on NTC was lousy ..... not having anything with their resistive quality
besides that , Moi again - rise that mains NTC from base plate .....
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Hah! I misinterpreted your reference to NTC as something I was doing was Not To Code. Probably correct either way. You're talking about the CL-60s. NP! I'll put them over top of the connections. As for the ones on the Mosfet, I saw a pic somewhere of exactly this so I thought it was fine. Truth be told, I don't know why they are there anyways. Please explain. I thought they were some kind of safety devide if the mosfet over heated and therefore the washer would make little difference.
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