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Advice for an aspiring DIYer!

post #1 of 8
9/11/10 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 

I received my Grado's. They bring me joy. But I need another project now. I built my PC, got it setup with a HTIB system, got a pair of Grado's, and now I need something else to do.

I have found that my Grado's sound poor with my onboard sound card. They sound okay with my Droid. I wan't to get into audiophile DIY so why not build an amp?

 

So I have a few questions...

 

1. Will my Grado's (SR225i) improve with a Cmoy (w/ my Droid)?

2. I have never soldered before so what "How To" guides are there?

3. What soldering equipment will I need?

4. Are there any other (better) designs similarly priced with the Cmoy?

5. Where can I get my parts for the Cmoy?

 

Thanks!

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post #2 of 8
9/11/10 at 12:13pm

This will answer your basic questions, but the "What else is there?" will require a lot of search, sift, and application of personal parameters to determine. Not to worry, we've all been there.

 

http://www.tangentsoft.com/audio/

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post #3 of 8
9/11/10 at 12:17pm

http://tangentsoft.net/audio/

 

The first three articles should provide answers to most of your questions.

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post #4 of 8
9/11/10 at 12:38pm

Outta be a sticky, or required reading to post in DIY, huh?   :-)

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post #5 of 8
9/11/10 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mralexosborn View Post

So I have a few questions...

 

2. I have never soldered before so what "How To" guides are there?

3. What soldering equipment will I need?


First, great advice so far.

 

You're going to want to practice your soldering before you build a CMoy.  See if your local Radio Shack has some stripboard and bags of assorted caps and resistors.  Buy those and work on soldering parts together.

 

I pulled up a list of surplus places around you and found Arcade Electronics and:

 

Alcomp Electronics
56, 9th Street
Lynchburg, VA 24504
Tel: (804) 847-7456 (old number?)
Fax: (804) 845-1205

 

Salvage King TV & VCR Parts

2818 O'Donnell Street

Baltimore, MD 21224

(410) 675-7525

 

There are probably more out there in your area, but these will probably have some stuff to pick through and play with.

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post #6 of 8
9/11/10 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post


First, great advice so far.

 

You're going to want to practice your soldering before you build a CMoy.  See if your local Radio Shack has some stripboard and bags of assorted caps and resistors.  Buy those and work on soldering parts together.

 

I pulled up a list of surplus places around you and found Arcade Electronics and:

 

Alcomp Electronics
56, 9th Street
Lynchburg, VA 24504
Tel: (804) 847-7456 (old number?)
Fax: (804) 845-1205

 

Salvage King TV & VCR Parts

2818 O'Donnell Street

Baltimore, MD 21224

(410) 675-7525

 

There are probably more out there in your area, but these will probably have some stuff to pick through and play with.


Both of those places are over 120 miles away. So not really a good idea...

Thanks for the advice. I will try to find some electronic shops in my area.

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post #7 of 8
9/11/10 at 3:29pm
Is Arcade Electronics near you? Look for surplus places of any type - there ought to be plenty of government and military surplus back there. Also, check the arrl.org site for any upcoming nearby Hamfests. You'll find all sorts of cool stuff at them.

Sometimes, the trips are worth it. Every couple of months I take about a 100 mile round trip to hit Apex out in the valley. I'll probably start going around 350 miles round trip to hit Apache in Phoenix once I get settled in Yuma.

They're worth it, especially for cases and transformers. Those are expensive, so cast-offs and salvage can save an immense amount of money. That might be a little way down the road for you, but keep it in mind.
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post #8 of 8
9/11/10 at 10:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post

Is Arcade Electronics near you? Look for surplus places of any type - there ought to be plenty of government and military surplus back there. Also, check the arrl.org site for any upcoming nearby Hamfests. You'll find all sorts of cool stuff at them.

Sometimes, the trips are worth it. Every couple of months I take about a 100 mile round trip to hit Apex out in the valley. I'll probably start going around 350 miles round trip to hit Apache in Phoenix once I get settled in Yuma.

They're worth it, especially for cases and transformers. Those are expensive, so cast-offs and salvage can save an immense amount of money. That might be a little way down the road for you, but keep it in mind.

That's not so far considering I go out to Northern VA quite often since it is civilization.
 

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