Glad to hear it Buke. If it ever happens again contact me, did you not have a fairly long wait for the diodes?
Today I start cutting some copper plate and then on to the patination. That will take a day but hopefully tomorrow I start the build on my second Crack.
I'm comparing my Crack with some thinner sounding tubes to a stock Mjolnir 2 using the Utopia. With my "good" tubes, the utopia was way too bass/bloomy. I must say, the Crack holds its own. Bass is looser and bloomer on the Crack, even with the thinner tubes, which is expected given the 80 Ohm impedance of the Utopia. Still, pretty good and a sort of fun sound (Hotel California goes boom boom!). For bass heavy music it would be too much, for classical, it's quite good. Usable, but the Mj2 is better. and I have some better tubes on order for the Mj2.
With good tubes and the HD800 or T1, the Crack totally holds its own.
Digital meters are great for some things but my old Simpson 260 analog meter is phenomenal for testing for audio or linear taper pots. You can watch the kick of the meter needle and not have to sit there and calculate the change on a digital meter.
For bass test I use Hotel California but my all time favorite test is Nighttime at the Switching Yard by Warren Zevon and a couple Chuck E. Weiss songs that are a little obscure.
Copper is considered a soft metal but when thick enough, it can take a while to work through. Cutting square or rectangular holes are going to be interesting. I tried a Dremel cutting wheel but the thing went flying across the room and made a successful escape. It may be in Canada by now.
One plate is nearly ready for patination but alas there are three plates per amp and the front and the top plate are fairly easy. The back plate is causing me to entertain the idea of a large square opening in the back of the box with wires hanging out. It would probably be easier to train a cat to sit there and cover the opening but I will persevere. A couple good stiff drinks are called for but I am rather attached to my fingers and must face this with all possible sobriety.
Solution, a metal cutting blade in a Bosch jigsaw. Once again the world is spinning in greased grooves. Beats my other option which involved a hammer, chisel, bandaids and earplugs.
Back plate nearly done, just leaves top plate and applying finish.
I love the 260 I almost bought one a couple years back . That is what we had when I was in the Navy then right before I got out we started getting Fluke 70's. If you want a bass track it would be for me "Da Funk" by Daft Punk.
Well the amp is coming together pretty well it seems.
I love the 260 I almost bought one a couple years back . That is what we had when I was in the Navy then right before I got out we started getting Fluke 70's. If you want a bass track it would be for me "Da Funk" by Daft Punk.
Well the amp is coming together pretty well it seems.
I have not touched this one in about five years and it fired right up, batteries were fine. i also have a bunch of Simpson digital 467's that were military surplus, they are still working fine.
I am about done with my top plate then I need to clean all the copper and hopefully get started with the patina late tonight.
on to copper clean up for me, I put a large hole in the plate for a vent system that should go well with the Steampunk theme. I also have a few surprises but those will only be shown on the finished piece. The four holes around the transformer line up perfectly, I was rushing to try to get this finished today and lucked out. Hopefully the sockets fit well but I will find that out when I do the build, and install the vu meters.
Damn Paladin79 I'm really digging the copper!! Wasn't sure how I felt but as I see it coming along I see the attraction. Nice job on the project so far bud! 2thumsup
Damn Paladin79 I'm really digging the copper!! Wasn't sure how I felt but as I see it coming along I see the attraction. Nice job on the project so far bud! 2thumsup
You may not say that when you see the finished result lol, If all goes well with the chemicals, all plates are in the process of getting a green patina. What you see was before i buffed it out- a bit in prep for the patina, it had to be perfectly clean and oil free. I like the looks of the polished copper ones I have seen so I am considering doing that to my second one and then sealing it so it does not oxidize. I also have to do a little bit of tweaking, the switch is not perfectly straight but that will be on the back side anyway. I have two other switches to install and a mirror ball (just kidding).
It will be a couple weeks before the cabinets are done, the case will be taller to accommodate the meters in the front. That is copper mesh over the vent holes but that is just temporary.
Quote:
I love the 260 I almost bought one a couple years back . That is what we had when I was in the Navy then right before I got out we started getting Fluke 70's. If you want a bass track it would be for me "Da Funk" by Daft Punk.
Well the amp is coming together pretty well it seems.
Buke I have an extra Alps dual gang volume control you can have if you ever want to do an upgrade on your existing pots. Say the word and it is yours gratis.I have some really good Alps single gang but they were a little large for the front plate I am using. They are ladder pots so I may figure out something to do with them on another build.
Here is what happens to that lovely copper when you expose it to NaCl and NH3, this is happening in my shed maybe fifty yards from my house. A good place for it. I was expecting blues but so far I have greens, it is early. This is part of my current Crack build so it pertains to this thread, i guess.
The Bottlehead Cracks I expected to still be for sale are still for sale on Ebay. $875, $675, and $345 for non-working. I may well be offering the gentleman who is making my cabinets a percentage of whatever one of mine brings if i sell it there.
With patina and sealed. Some assembly will take place today.
top view, no jacks or controls or switches will be on the top, my preference but probably not for everyone. Still considering options, the blade switches are just there for looks at this time. White contrasts well, I think Buke mentioned it should. No silver shall show.
Na I just set those there for looks lol, there will be no switches, jacks, or control pots on top. I happened across those and I and thinking about how to use them. If anything they will control low level DC if active. I am still kicking around steampunk ideas. I even mentioned they were just there for looks.
Na I just set those there for looks lol, there will be no switches, jacks, or control pots on top. I happened across those and I and thinking about how to use them. If anything they will control low level DC if active. I am still kicking around steampunk ideas. I even mentioned they were just there for looks.
BTW I'am in a process of building my own amp to compliment my CRACK,These transformers are not cheap it cost me $99 canadian peso including tax for both but these are the most expensive parts the rest are peanuts
PS Palidin79 i might steal some of your ideas,Sorry!
no harm done, scary looking are they not lol? If I replace a switch and use it in an AC circuit it will have a 15 amp rating like this one.
I do have a background in electronics and when I am done the amp may look a little scary but it will be perfectly safe.
no harm done, scary looking are they not lol? If I replace a switch and use it in an AC circuit it will have a 15 amp rating like this one.
I do have a background in electronics and when I am done the amp may look a little scary but it will be perfectly safe.
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