[4season]

Here's a couple of pics of my Gamma 2, hope you folks can see an easy and obvious fix that I keep missing

Besides my Weller WPTCN soldering station, I also have a new 850B hot air setup that I'm still learning to use.

The oscillator seems to be putting out a decent square wave around 25 mhz.

U3 delivers a split-second 3V pulse to U4 immediately at startup but otherwise sits idle.

 

[amb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4season U3 delivers a split-second 3V pulse to U4 immediately at startup but otherwise sits idle.

Ooh. Sounds like you used the wrong part for U3. It should be a MCP100, you probably installed a MCP101 in there.

 

[4season]

Ouch, you're right, I had U9D and U3 swapped. Corrected that, and now I get white noise and lots of it. Audio output sounds like white noise, but looks like semi-random square waves pulsing a couple of times a second. 3.3B power supply is also pulsing like that and looks pretty noisy. Maybe I shouldn't have reused those parts?

 

[amb]

4season, I thought that it was working fine without ASRC, so what changed other than installing the ASRC, oscillator, and fixing U3? Don't forget you need to remove all the JP2-n jumpers.

 

[Anima87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anima87, have you looked at the official γ2 and γ1 websites?

Hi

Yes i have, but only for the y2.. I'm just used to idiot proofed assembly instruction stadign what part goes where. The only thing i see is a sort of connection diagram. But i might just need to spend some time into understanding the schematic.

I also found this on page 39:

Quote:

Originally Posted by misterx The parts cost is roughly $230 not including tax and shipping from Mouser, Digi-key or Allied. The parts cost drops to roughly $190 if you eliminate the USB to S/PDIF outputs, the filter select switch, the anti clipping switch and the Gamma 1 DAC section. The caveat is you will have to design your own custom panels or make them by hand (which is a major PITA but would save you another $45 to $50)

I have a contact who is working for an electronics company, so i might be able to keep price the down.

Found this link in the thread (It's a gold mine once you have the keywords

)

https://dk.mouser.com/ProjectManager...sID=e7373810f7

MERCHANDISE TOTAL:

$58.56 (USD)

Then i would need the boards themselves, a case and i'm good to go?

Casing: 15 USD

Boards: 27 USD


Thanks!

 

[MisterX]

Quote:

Then i would need the boards themselves, a case and i'm good to go?

You would also need a Gamma 1 board and parts.

 

[Anima87]

hi MisterX

Thanks, the parts were forgotten (Boards are 12 and 15 USD)

 

[amb]

Anima87, I know you want to be spoon-fed with everything, but you should read the y1 and y2 websites thoroughly before ordering any parts. There are many build options to consider which will affect what parts you'd need. Also, MisterX's Mouser project does not include everything, so you should use the websites' parts lists sections as the definitive guide.

Yes, it will take some work, but that's the nature of this kind of DIY.

 

[Anima87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anima87, I know you want to be spoon-fed with everything, but you should read the y1 and y2 websites thoroughly before ordering any parts. There are many build options to consider which will affect what parts you'd need. Also, MisterX's Mouser project does not include everything, so you should use the websites' parts lists sections as the definitive guide. Yes, it will take some work, but that's the nature of this kind of DIY.

Appreciate the honesty. I'll do some more research before jumping at it.

I'm just pretty excited tbh. Was going to buy a DacMagic for 400 USD, and now find this at roughly 200 USD. I love diy, and believe that i can do this project.

Been reading the schematic, and it's fairly simple once you take your time to read it. You can even trace the routes over at the board.

Thank you for your comments, it gives food for thought before i jump at it.

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anima87 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Been reading the schematic, and it's fairly simple once you take your time to read it. You can even trace the routes over at the board.

Once you understand the nature of the optional parts, it is pretty much paint by numbers. Check, double check, and triple check your parts list against AMB's website before you order anything. Check, double check, and triple check every part as you install it on the board. Take your time, be patient and very little can go wrong.

 

[4season]

Ugh how embarrassing: I've been fussing with electronics since my teens, and here I go making one rookie mistake after another with my DAC

Turns out I had a solder bridge on the DAC between pins 1 and 2, which I missed under the microscope because I was only looking straight down onto the board, whereas the bridge was small and on the vertical side. The DAC *had* been fine, but I must've run my soldering iron there by mistake while resoldering the ASRC chip. I'm having fun learning SMD, but it definitely has me feeling a bit like a beginner again! Now all I need are the two missing 22 ohm resistors for the USB port, and I'm done.

 

[Anima87]

Just wondering..

My source, a laptop (Lenovo T61), only has headphono output, some usb, firewire and some expansion ports. I see the following while reading the overview of the y1:

# The maximum S/PDIF resolution and sampling rate is limited to 24-bit 96KHz for best digital filter response.
# The maximum USB resolution and sampling rate is 16-bit 48KHz.

That way, i see the s/pdif is superior to the usb. Now, does anyone know how to be able to output to the Y1 without the USB? - i see firewire can handle the higher stream of data, but a firewire to s/pdif adapter can't be found on google. Any ideas?

# Ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 FireWire, Monitor out, modem, Ethernet, headphone out, microphone in
# Slots: 1 PC Card Slot, 1 ExpressCard slot (optional media card reader and Smart Card reader)

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anima87 /img/forum/go_quote.gif # The maximum S/PDIF resolution and sampling rate is limited to 24-bit 96KHz for best digital filter response. # The maximum USB resolution and sampling rate is 16-bit 48KHz. That way, i see the s/pdif is superior to the usb.

Do you have any music that is higher than standard CD at 16/44.1? If not, then don't worry about it.

 

[Anima87]

Ok, thanks.

Most music is rips from standard CD's, so thats settles it.

 

[royewest]

Some of the Thinkpad docks have coax SPDIF out ports. Good luck with USB -- I had a heck of a time with it when I was on Thinkpads with USB -- lots of stuttering and drops. With luck the more sophisticated reclocking, etc., on the y2 will work much better for you when connected to the TP via USB.