[raptor18]

I just read that it's easy to kill drivers by soldering of the soldier pads. How do I know that I killed it? Is there a way to fix it? I can see the holes clearly behind the pads, the pads are off.

 

[jbr1971]

I just read that it's easy to kill drivers by soldering of the soldier pads. How do I know that I killed it? Is there a way to fix it? I can see the holes clearly behind the pads, the pads are off.

 
So far I've been lucky to not kill any drivers so I'm not sure if yours are dead, although from the description I'm leaning towards yes.
 
When I solder drivers I tin the wire, then I just quickly tap the iron on the wire/pad a couple of times so there is very little sustained heat transfer. Even with that minimal contact it is enough to make a good joint.
 
Good luck.

 

[pc27618349]

I just read that it's easy to kill drivers by soldering of the soldier pads. How do I know that I killed it? Is there a way to fix it? I can see the holes clearly behind the pads, the pads are off.

If the pads have come off the driver, the driver is absolutely unusable. 

 

[AudioJunki3]

So I was lucky enough to get given one of these. I have also been offered the frequency analyser, but I'd rather not have to use a great big box, as its a bit obsolete now. 
 
Is there any way to connect this up to a PC and use some software instead of the old piece of equipment?
 
If anyone can shed some light on this that would be amazing.
Cheers

 

[n82558]

So i've been working on a set of CIEMs and can't get the nail acrylic I"m using to harden at all. I've even tried just exposing it through the top of the mold (so the light is hitting the acrylic directly) to see if I was going crazy and it still didn't harden. This is what I'm using now: http://www.amazon.com/Seche-Ultra-V-Top-Coat-Ounce/dp/B0091IJ4C2
 
I've tried with both a nail light and a black light bulb with exposure times ranging from 3 minutes to an hour and its still just liquid after all that time. Is there a particular brand that anyone has had luck with?

 

[John Furno]

Hi everyone, I've been a long time lurker on this thread admiring all of the beautiful work and i finally decided to try to have a go at making my own. I want to try something simple for my first build so im thinking about using the knowles GK drivers, I just have a couple questions that i would love some advice on before ordering.
 
How long should my audio tubes be on the TWFK and the CI sound ports?
What dampers should i use to fine-tune the sound?
 
Thank you all so much for the great thread, i cant wait to get started!

 

[omgflyingbanana]

What dampers should i use to fine-tune the sound?

I know the green (1500 ohm) dampers are popular on the mid/high port with no dampers on the CI. If you're feeling the need for some heavier bass I hear the orange (3300 ohm) dampers could be used on the mid/high port.

 

[pc27618349]

  So i've been working on a set of CIEMs and can't get the nail acrylic I"m using to harden at all. I've even tried just exposing it through the top of the mold (so the light is hitting the acrylic directly) to see if I was going crazy and it still didn't harden. This is what I'm using now: http://www.amazon.com/Seche-Ultra-V-Top-Coat-Ounce/dp/B0091IJ4C2
 
I've tried with both a nail light and a black light bulb with exposure times ranging from 3 minutes to an hour and its still just liquid after all that time. Is there a particular brand that anyone has had luck with?

 
What material is your mold made of?
What nail light and "black light bulb" are you using?

 

[n82558]

What material is your mold made of?
What nail light and "black light bulb" are you using?

I was using a material called composimold which is a hydrocolloid. When the exposure through the side of the mold didn't work I tried exposing the acrylic directly though the top to see if the mold was the issue and the acrylic still didn't harden (although maybe it's possible that something in the mold was inhibiting the curing process).

The nail lamp is a generic 36W four bulb unit from Amazon (called the salon edge UV) and the black light bulb is a Sunlite SL20 BLB 20watt CFL

Thanks for your help!

 

[MuZo2]

put the uv nail polish in sun and check if it hardens. I think UV wavelength might be a problem.

 

[jbr1971]

  So i've been working on a set of CIEMs and can't get the nail acrylic I"m using to harden at all. I've even tried just exposing it through the top of the mold (so the light is hitting the acrylic directly) to see if I was going crazy and it still didn't harden. This is what I'm using now: http://www.amazon.com/Seche-Ultra-V-Top-Coat-Ounce/dp/B0091IJ4C2
 
I've tried with both a nail light and a black light bulb with exposure times ranging from 3 minutes to an hour and its still just liquid after all that time. Is there a particular brand that anyone has had luck with?

 
I tried using that exact same acrylic to make faceplates for my shells (approx 2mm thick) and I could not get it to harden correctly either. I use a 36W four bulb UV unit almost identical to yours (just sold under a different brand name) and it works great with Fotoplast.
 
It appears there are issues with the consistency or formula of that acrylic that keeps it from hardening correctly at any thickness other than that used on fingernails.
 
I would recommend buying a small sample of Fotoplast (or another product known by others here to work properly) and testing with your molds. I have a 100g/91ml bottle of Fotoplast and it has been enough to make 5 pairs of shells so far, with enough left for probably 3 or 4 pairs. I have a feeling your molds are fine and the fault is with the Seche acrylic.
 
edit: I never thought of wavelength as muzo2 mentioned, but it may be easier to change the material you use than the lighting setup.
 
Good luck.

 

[pc27618349]

   
I tried using that exact same acrylic to make faceplates for my shells (approx 2mm thick) and I could not get it to harden correctly either. I use a 36W four bulb UV unit almost identical to yours (just sold under a different brand name) and it works great with Fotoplast.
 
It appears there are issues with the consistency or formula of that acrylic that keeps it from hardening correctly at any thickness other than that used on fingernails.
 
I would recommend buying a small sample of Fotoplast (or another product known by others here to work properly) and testing with your molds. I have a 100g/91ml bottle of Fotoplast and it has been enough to make 5 pairs of shells so far, with enough left for probably 3 or 4 pairs. I have a feeling your molds are fine and the fault is with the Seche acrylic.
 
edit: I never thought of wavelength as muzo2 mentioned, but it may be easier to change the material you use than the lighting setup.
 
Good luck.

 
Yea I found that Fotoplast is actually cheaper by volume than the UV nail gel I was working with (Gelaze).

 

[John Furno]

I know the green (1500 ohm) dampers are popular on the mid/high port with no dampers on the CI. If you're feeling the need for some heavier bass I hear the orange (3300 ohm) dampers could be used on the mid/high port.

Thank you for your help with the dampers, do you also know what length Tubing I should use for the ports on the GK driver? I've heard conflicting ideas with some people saying that they should both be 10mm and some people saying that the CI should be about 20mm and the TWFK should be about 13. I just want to make sure I get the sound signature correct.

Also, which type of UV acrylic is best for shell build up, the fotoplast-S/IO, the fotoplast-gel or the fotoplast-laquer/3?

Thank you for all your help so far

 

[jbr1971]

Thank you for your help with the dampers, do you also know what length Tubing I should use for the ports on the GK driver? I've heard conflicting ideas with some people saying that they should both be 10mm and some people saying that the CI should be about 20mm and the TWFK should be about 13. I just want to make sure I get the sound signature correct.

Also, which type of UV acrylic is best for shell build up, the fotoplast-S/IO, the fotoplast-gel or the fotoplast-laquer/3?

Thank you for all your help so far

 
I've been using the Fotoplast S-IO and it has worked well. It took a bit of trial and error to get used to working with it, but it does produce great results once you figure it out.

 

[raptor18]

Anyone can guess why shure chose to use two 2.2 microF caps in parallel instead of a single 4.7 microF in the external crossover for the E5?

Surely the precision cannot be that important ?

Shure has specified that the e5 is crossed over at 2.5 kHz on their website. Interesting that they specify such data.