[cats4cans]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on your thoughts about a total newb attempting this build. All great advice.

My first step was completing this practice kit. It seemed like a lot of work to get little red lights to flash… but it worked! lol! It certainly gave me a lot of soldering practice.

Next up is a cheesy radio kit I got on Amazon and then a BH Crack. Then maybe I’ll be ready.

Nice to see a pragmatic approach by a noob. My soldering skills are industrial at best. They work, but are ugly and clunky looking. I’m very hesitant to even attempt a BHC. A few posts back demonstrated the depth of my ignorance as I’ve never even thought about different sized or shaped tips. So many details you can only figure out by doing. Best of luck on your future builds. I read this thread mostly for inspiration and motivation. I’ll get to it.
Eventually.

 

[mchuckp]

Can you show a pic of the backside of the board to show the solder joints?

The top part is where it had me do a bunch of things in the same pads and looks quite messy (bridges, wicking, tacking, jumpers, etc)

Where you see all the circuit connections below that is the final project. My soldering definitely improved the more i did it but not consistently good. It did work as planned the first time so at least I put stuff in the right slots and made connections. I think the pic makes it look worse than it really is. lol! The shine of all the leftover flux is unsightly.

 

[AnyDave]

The top part is where it had me do a bunch of things in the same pads and looks quite messy (bridges, wicking, tacking, jumpers, etc)

Where you see all the circuit connections below that is the final project. My soldering definitely improved the more i did it but not consistently good. It did work as planned the first time so at least I put stuff in the right slots and made connections. I think the pic makes it look worse than it really is. lol! The shine of all the leftover flux is unsightly.

I think that it’s a great start. Some of the joints are slightly iffy, so it might be worth adding some flux and reflowing them. That’ll also help you get used to what a good joint looks like.

But not bad at all if you’re just getting going.

 

[mchuckp]

I think that it’s a great start. Some of the joints are slightly iffy, so it might be worth adding some flux and reflowing them. That’ll also help you get used to what a good joint looks like.

But not bad at all if you’re just getting going.

Here is another angle. I’d honestly appreciate any criticism and tips. Seems what i found consistently was the solder attaching high up on the wire. I’d cut the wire off but would leave the off center “humps” where it held the wire that was pushed to the side that I did to keep the part in place.

Am I using too much solder generally speaking and/or just too sloppy and need more practice being neat? As small as the pads are, I do find it difficult to be super neat…at least at my current skill level.

 

[AnyDave]

Here is another angle. I’d honestly appreciate any criticism and tips. Seems what i found consistently was the solder attaching high up on the wire. I’d cut the wire off but would leave the off center “humps” where it held the wire that was pushed to the side that I did to keep the part in place.

Am I using too much solder generally speaking and/or just too sloppy and need more practice being neat? As small as the pads are, I do find it difficult to be super neat…at least at my current skill level.

If it's attaching too high up the wire, either there's a contaminant that it preventing proper wetting, or you are not heating the joint when applying solder.

This is a really good page, with some very helpful pictures. It's better than I could describe:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-guide-excellent-soldering/common-problems

 

[pravous]

Might be helpful if you could describe your process. What iron/tip are you using? What temp is it set too? What kind of solder are you using? When I started out I was too afraid of burning up the components and did not give the iron enough time to heat up the pad and lead before feeding the solder.

 

[mchuckp]

Might be helpful if you could describe your process. What iron/tip are you using? What temp is it set too? What kind of solder are you using? When I started out I was too afraid of burning up the components and did not give the iron enough time to heat up the pad and lead before feeding the solder.

I bought a Weller

Might be helpful if you could describe your process. What iron/tip are you using? What temp is it set too? What kind of solder are you using? When I started out I was too afraid of burning up the components and did not give the iron enough time to heat up the pad and lead before feeding the solder.

I bought a Weller WE1010 station. It came with a WEP 70 tip and that is what I've been using:
https://www.tequipment.net/Weller/W...m-Wks3H1TJf71SHzAIgsumlxj8YO_VO0aAqydEALw_wcB

The solder I got on Amazon and is a 63/37 with rosin core. It's 0.33mm. I had no clue what to buy. To me, it seems fine for the tiny pads but the larger pads I have to feed quite a bit and hard to keep my hand steady long enough. I've been using 700 deg F. I have some Cardas solder coming this week to try. From reading, it is a little larger diameter than what I bought.

I tried a bunch of different techniques via trial and error to see what seemed to give better results. Early on, I think I wasn't moving the iron out of the way and kept getting a gap in that spot. I slowly starting to move it out of the way earlier.

I'm still learning so not gonna beat myself up too much..yet. I'll practice as long as I need to but will take any suggestions,

 

[mchuckp]

If it's attaching too high up the wire, either there's a contaminant that it preventing proper wetting, or you are not heating the joint when applying solder.

This is a really good page, with some very helpful pictures. It's better than I could describe:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-guide-excellent-soldering/common-problems

Thanks for the link. I'll give it a thorough read tomorrow.

 

[pravous]

63/37 is what I use as welI. I settled on.31 size but will use smaller diameters if I am doing smd or smaller stuff like the Aegis output impedance switch. Have not used Cardas solder but did find Kester name brand easier to work with that the generic I first tried. Started off using 700 and found that 750 gave me better results. I think @Paladin79 gave me that suggestion. Larger pads heated up faster and I got more of a fillet result.

 

[miter53]

I'm still learning so not gonna beat myself up too much..yet. I'll practice as long as I need to but will take any suggestions,

At the very least, you should have a solder sucker and some Chemtronics Soder-Wick (the only desoldering braid that works well for me). I guarantee you will need to undo something someday, and desoldering can be a pain. A desoldering station is best, but that's another expense.

 

[nonamerat]

I completed the Aegis today. I only had time for a short test session, but so far I am impressed. I'll have more time tomorrow. Running new production tubes as test tubes, and to get a baseline, before I swap in some other options. My compatible tube list is short but I do have Mullard GZ34 'fat base' and RCA 5691 which seems to be a popular option. I'll have to do some hunting for output tubes.

A few thoughts
- I have built a BHC before and have basic soldering skills. I didn't have any major issues, but some connections challenged me. There are some tight sections but I managed to get through it. I didn't have a magnifier, but I recommend one.
- The instructions are really good. I really appreciate the effort that not only went into designing the amp, but also the instructions really make it straightforward if you can follow directions and have patience.
- It's really heavy!
- I had a very hard time picking a chassis color and ultimately just went with standard black. The finish is a really nice smooth satin. No complaints with sticking with black.
- Mine doesn't sit 100% flat on all four feet. It's only contacting three feet. I'll have to look into that because nothing was apparent with the chassis warping. It's not really an issue because it's so heavy it doesn't move even on three feet.
- I don't have any excessive noise, but I only tested two headphones so far. My tester pair were DT770 80ohm which would hum very slightly if you were at the top 80% of the volume knob. Those listening volumes are insane so I wouldn't consider that an issue. Zero noise at normal human listening levels. With HD800s there was no noise even at full volume (no music playing). I haven't tried my ZMF headphones yet.

Overall, I'm thrilled to have this. I enjoyed the build process and am glad to be part of this owners group. I purchased a stabilized Atrium Closed that I am waiting to ship and I can't wait to pair them with the Aegis!

 

[Toonartist]

Looking great... the AC pairs really well with it, loving mine since it arrived a couple of weeks back

It'll just get better with some run in time as well. Also, I found some tubes can sound great straight off and only change a little in the first few hours.... some take 50hrs to reach their best. Now the serious work of sitting back and listening to music begins... Enjoy

 

[AnyDave]

I completed the Aegis today. I only had time for a short test session, but so far I am impressed. I'll have more time tomorrow. Running new production tubes as test tubes, and to get a baseline, before I swap in some other options. My compatible tube list is short but I do have Mullard GZ34 'fat base' and RCA 5691 which seems to be a popular option. I'll have to do some hunting for output tubes.

A few thoughts
- I have built a BHC before and have basic soldering skills. I didn't have any major issues, but some connections challenged me. There are some tight sections but I managed to get through it. I didn't have a magnifier, but I recommend one.
- The instructions are really good. I really appreciate the effort that not only went into designing the amp, but also the instructions really make it straightforward if you can follow directions and have patience.
- It's really heavy!
- I had a very hard time picking a chassis color and ultimately just went with standard black. The finish is a really nice smooth satin. No complaints with sticking with black.
- Mine doesn't sit 100% flat on all four feet. It's only contacting three feet. I'll have to look into that because nothing was apparent with the chassis warping. It's not really an issue because it's so heavy it doesn't move even on three feet.
- I don't have any excessive noise, but I only tested two headphones so far. My tester pair were DT770 80ohm which would hum very slightly if you were at the top 80% of the volume knob. Those listening volumes are insane so I wouldn't consider that an issue. Zero noise at normal human listening levels. With HD800s there was no noise even at full volume (no music playing). I haven't tried my ZMF headphones yet.

Overall, I'm thrilled to have this. I enjoyed the build process and am glad to be part of this owners group. I purchased a stabilized Atrium Closed that I am waiting to ship and I can't wait to pair them with the Aegis!

The build looks great!

As for the bottom, I would double check that the bottom plate is fully seated in. Mine was tight to the point that it was difficult to install flush, so I'm curious if that's what's going on with yours. Worst case scenario, you could partially unscrew that fourth foot to level it.

 

[whirlwind]

OK, I've wired mine up and got it working. It sounds great. It's not finished aesthetically, but here's are pics of where it's at:

Looks killer, nice and clean...exceptional job sir.

 

[Marutks]

@Marutks try what I suggested, and see. That is the most likely cause. Perhaps there are other areas for improvement but the wiring is a glaring issue, it has to be done first before any other troubleshooting can be done.

I changed all twisted wires to drill-twisted wires. It is better now (no noise with VC headphones).

But my HD-515 still hum, only quieter. The weird thing is that it is right channel now. Channels are not swapped.