[ChenaynayC]

You already know what it is. I built a CMOY!

And it works! I've got Gil in the D25 all 'alligatored' to some really cheap headphones right now! I've got clean sound on my first test run. Yeah!

I know nothing about electronics - but Tangent's tutorial is great. And I spent a lot of time reading all the old posts about everyone else's experience. So, my thanks to all of you who asked and answered questions.

It took me a while - about about 3 weeks of as much time (sometimes none) I could spare in the evenings. This doesn't include the week I spent practicing soldering on a 99 cent modem board I bought at a used computer shop. That guy thought I was nuts. I didn't test it until the soldering looked halfway decent. I desolder really well. Then I spent a couple of nights in a basic electronics book learning a little about what I was doing. Old posts are great on that subject too.

Anyway, I'm a little excited and thought I'd share. Next step is to put this in a case and then start on the Meta I already bought parts for!

 

[Dev]

My congratulations!

And, yes, chassis is a good idea

.

 

[Voodoochile]

Thats excellent! Isn't it nice to fire up something you made with your own hands?

"I desolder really well. "... This is also a good skill to have

 

[ChenaynayC]

D**n. Thinking about this it just occurred to me that the 'chassis' is probably the hardest part, isn't it? All those wires - drilling holes in plastic, testing after each new connection, etc.... Here I go!

 

[KurtW]

Congraduations! Yes, the chasis is hard, but you've come a long way already so I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[Dev]

Take it easy! Chassis making is just a creativity work

.

 

[blip]

Congrats man! I'm in the same boat your in so your success gives me courage for working on mine.

Post finished pix when you get the chassis done.

 

[ChenaynayC]

Oh yeah, creative - that's me! I do have some ideas to try (chassis wise), once I have a lot more experience. Right now, I'm on the 'keep it simple' plan. Tonight's discovery is: duct tape forms a grid! I discovered this using a piece to mark measurements on the front panel.

I know someone with a digital camera, so when I'm finished - I'll show it all!

 

[ChenaynayC]

I thought I'd look up this thread to see when it worked last! I spent Sat/Sun burning holes in a RS plastic case. This is smelly...I need help with the holes thing. Oops! a couple of half-moons on the top! I am not starting over, I'll keep 'em and think of them as smiles.

Then I wired the on/off switch and tested again just like Tangent recommends. Now I only have sound on the right.

I don't like this case building part!

Then Wodgy(sp?) shows up with his immaculate 'picture frame' case adaptation! I am no where near his 'creativity'. Anyway, I took a break the last couple of days and will attack it again on the weekend. It sounded so good....

 

[Wodgy]

Don't get discouraged... there's probably just a very small thing wrong; I had to do some debugging of my own amp. It'll all feel worth it when everything works again.

You might want to consider getting a drill if you don't already have one -- it'll be way quicker and less painful then burning holes in plastic (you end up with big bulges of melted plastic around the edges, then have to file them down or cut them off, and inevitably when I try this I end up cutting myself). Even a hand drill would be okay, but you can get an okay corded power drill for $35-40 at the big box stores.

 

[tangent]

Quote:

I spent Sat/Sun burning holes in a RS plastic case.

Sounds like a step bit would be right up your alley. (a.k.a. UniBit, or KwikStep.) These work surprisingly well, especially for larger holes in plastic. Regular drill bits tend to tear at the plastic, but a unibit changes sizes gently so the hole is always perfect. The only problem is keeping them on-center.

Quote:

Now I only have sound on the right

Strange. Well, back up slowly until it starts working, and you will have found what you did wrong. That's the main advantage of testing often; you don't have so much work to un-do when something goes wrong.

 

[ChenaynayC]

I'm not discouraged. Just chilling, listening to some music after a long day at work (my company cut 1700 employees today) and laughing at myself! After all, it's my learning experience.

Oh yeah,sorry about the icon abuse in that post and I love your amp!

 

[Voodoochile]

Quote:

(my company cut 1700 employees today)

That's harsh, but seems more and more common. I hope you doing OK there.

Regarding the single-channel sound... as Tangent noted, backing up a bit should cover it. It's surprising what simple (in retrospect) little things give you grief when casing up.

 

[Dreamslacker]

Quote:

Originally posted by ChenaynayC Now I only have sound on the right.

Check your headphone jack connection. You might have wired the left & ground wires to the wrong places.

 

[ChenaynayC]

Hi guys! Thanks for the tips. I had some time tonight and I found it! Turns out after my test and prior to wiring the LED and on/off switch I decided I should shorten the wires on V- and V+ on the bottom of the board. Well, a 'brain cramp' must have occurred during that operation! I had V- connected to pin 1 instead of pin 4. I rewired it and voila! I'm back in business. I've got both jacks wired now and am on to the potentiometer.

And in response: Tangent, I have purchased a kwikstep. I think I'll need to practice using it. Wodgy, I have a drill already. I'll use it next time. Thanks for the encouragement and, did I tell you I love your amp! Voodoochile, I wasn't quite that far yet. Blip, keep at it. And finally, Dev, just for you I took a small step towards creativity! So there!

I do have a question though. I noticed when testing from line out of 570 after turning off the amp, I can still hear music, like very low bass beats. Doesn't happen when use the headphone jack instead of the line out. Is this normal? I think not. Any thoughts appreciated.

And, I was lucky not to be affected by the layoffs. But I still hate the environment it creates, and it's always a guarantee of an increase in workload. I'm rambling now. Got to figure out the pins on the pot now...