[flecom]

I can definately feel the OP's delima...

I bought a pair of HE60's and a KGSS PCB along with most of the parts for it... so far im about $1600 in the hole and I havent even soldered anything to the board... i got so frustrated trying to get the transformer for the KGSS that i kind of just gave up... which sucks cause i cant listen to my HE60's since i dont have an electrostatic amp

 

[ozshadow]

I do not have this problem. Please send boards and boxes of parts to me and I will finish them and send them back

My problem is wallet burnout. Rent, bills, groceries, insurances, etc. and my wallets all burned out and cannot fund the addiction fast enough.

 

[mono]

Me too, I always get burnout syndrome right about when I've finished the amp itself and it's time to build the case.

It would be easy to just do a case like everybody else and so many people have good ideas, but where's the fun in that? Doing a lot of meaurements just to end up with something that looks similar seems uninspiring.

Rightabout now Legos and model airplane cement is looking good.

Just kidding, that'd be too easy.

 

[ChrioN]

I say, put the project on ice for about 1 month, then dig in to it. I promise you that you will feel better as soon as you got the soldering iron in your hand, and starting to get into it. Its the pre-start that is painful sometimes, and can cause anxiety. Just chill for 4 weeks, then get yourself together and finnish the darn project.

 

[blueworm]

Yup I'm on burn out mode too. I was spending more cash on DIY audio than on music.
I put the SOHA and mini ppa thingy on hold until whenever.

 

[bhjazz]

I hear ya, but I'm on the other end. I work in the Internet software industry, so the though of coming home and sourcing parts, scouring the 'net for great deals and all that just doesn't have any appeal lately. I suppose it's because I spend so much time with browsers anyway, and the last two weeks have been blown on some huge code deploy. Ack. Just listen to some music for a bit, then plan to do just a small bit of soldering. Nothing major, just a little. Once you get your iron in your hand you'll get the fun back.

 

[Voodoochile]

Burnout sneaks up on you. I did not totally burn out, but I did loose interest when it became (eek) hard to tell the difference between work and a hobby. As soon as you view it as "going off to a job", it's too late.

It frightens me to think of being soured on this all together, so I really pace myself, and be sure to allow time for family, home maintenance (don't ask!), and other hobbies. Especially in the summer. Here in NH, summer is about four weeks long. I don't want to spend too much time holed up in the workshop.

Nowadays I tend to go longer between projects, and I also spend a lot longer with planning, sourcing parts, etc. As an example, I finally started drilling and punching the chassis for a small dual balanced power supply last night. I've been reading and mulling over ideas for this since early springtime, before I was finished with the Mapletree chassis work, even.

By the time I found a couple free hours work on the back panel last night, I had already done it a dozen times in my head. I was able to finish the entire rear panel, including a pair of large holes for single outlets, without incurring any forehead-slapping, post-drilling epiphany. I hate it when that happens... frikking 20/20 hindsight! I'm trying to focus more on foresight, no pun intended.

 

[The Monkey]

I love this thread. I'm glad you guys get the burnout, too. I find that mine tends to coincide with plateaus in my skill level. Then I take some time to reboot and come back to a new or unfinished project to get to the next level. I must say, though, I find casework very difficult and it's always a downer for me because it never comes out the way I want it.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Monkey- keep at it. Case fab does get better with practice. I'm not anywhere near perfect, but my third headphone amp (that I'm working on right now) came out a lot better than the first two. The tubes are not perfectly aligned (off 1/32" or so) which disappointed me, but isn't really noticeable unless you're looking for it.

As for burnout, I managed to shake it off the past two days and have been productive. One of the big obstacles was clearing out and sorting the big box of components. I'd picked up parts for four projects, and due to house cleaning, etc., they wound up intermingled for a couple months. That was a huge psychological block to actually getting work done.

So last night, I forced myself to spread them out on the coffee table, got my schematics and BOMs, sorted everything according to project and marked every bag with a Sharpie. Tonight, I warmed up the iron and got to work on the Dickman Headphone Amp. I need to order a few items I screwed up (like the SMD diodes I accidentally ordered... right value, but are not going to work in point-to-point), but I should get the rest of it done this weekend. I also got paint for the Millett SRPP ECC99 amp (the one he designed specifically for the K-1000) and should start measuring and punching holes Saturday or Sunday. I've got all the parts, I just need to build it.

I stay focused on how much use I will get out of it and how long it's going to last. That seems to help.

 

[69CamaroSS396]

Uncle Erik hit on the root cause of this for me, and probably most others. "Psychological block". I find it a mental struggle at times to do even the easiest chore around the house. There are some things I just despise doing regardless of how "difficult" they may be. Other things that I don't mind doing, I don't mind doing. An example for me; I would 100:1 rather go out in the blazing sun for 2 hours and cut the grass than to work on a clogged drain for 10 minutes. Go figure.

I would think these same psychological issues apply to any task, be it a hobby or otherwise.