[soloz2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pars Not sure if anyone told you this or you figured it out for yourself, but the Alps Blue Velvet DOES NOT have a switch built in. The Alps RK097 that Tangent sells does.

yeah, someone told me that it did have a switch built in, but I believe that I did throw in a little toggle switch to my order at either digi-key or mouser, so I'm not too worried.
but yeah, I did figure that out on my own yesterday bc I got my blue velvet and I spun it around both ways and realized that it didn't have a switch built in

 

[soloz2]

I can't seem to get the caps off... will it hurt anything to have them switched around since they're optional anyway?

 

[MisterX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soloz2 I can't seem to get the caps off... will it hurt anything to have them switched around since they're optional anyway?

The leads are close enough together that you can heat them both at the same time.
When the solder is flowing simply pull the cap out.
The cap will get hot so you may want to use something besides your fingers.

 

[soloz2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterX The leads are close enough together that you can heat them both at the same time. When the solder is flowing simply pull the cap out. The cap will get hot so you may want to use something besides your fingers.

I'm just scard of overheating it...

 

[soloz2]

got them!

 

[soloz2]

A couple things. I need to get some replacement tips for my soldering iron. It's a cheap Lenk 25w iron that I picked up somewhere a while ago. It came with a nice small tip that was great for detail work and the TREAD I put together, but it didn't make it through the TREAD... yeah cheap tips and it literally melted away.

So, it's a standard size.. I belive 1/8" and I was thinking that some of the Weller MT series tips might fit. here are the mouser part #'s I was looking at:
578-MT-1 .125 cone tip
578-MT-2 .125 screwdriver tip

Also, I ordered an oversized Hammond enclosure to be sure that I'd have plenty of room... and since I was making a desktop amp I wanted it to have a larger footprint. However, I wasn't thinking about how to mount the PIMETA and TREAD boards in the case when I ordered. They are too small to fit from side to side and utilize the slots in the side of the case so what is the best way to mount the boards without having them touch the bottom of the enclosure.

 

[FallenAngel]

I don't know about mixing and matching soldering iron tips, i never had any luck. I got a cheap Weller SP23L and the only tips I found that work are Weller tips.

As for attaching your Pimeta / Tread boards to the case, what I do is lay down a nice layer of electrical tape on the bottom of the case, measure like 10 times where exactly I will have the pimeta and tread and mark the holes, drill the holes in the bottom of the case and just use spacers (little screws that have screw holes on top instead of the tip) to mount the boards. You might want to use a dremel to cut away any screw tips that are sticking out the bottom side of your case, just to make it look nicer.

 

[soloz2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel I don't know about mixing and matching soldering iron tips, i never had any luck. I got a cheap Weller SP23L and the only tips I found that work are Weller tips. As for attaching your Pimeta / Tread boards to the case, what I do is lay down a nice layer of electrical tape on the bottom of the case, measure like 10 times where exactly I will have the pimeta and tread and mark the holes, drill the holes in the bottom of the case and just use spacers (little screws that have screw holes on top instead of the tip) to mount the boards. You might want to use a dremel to cut away any screw tips that are sticking out the bottom side of your case, just to make it look nicer.

thanks. well I figure I'll try the weller tips and see if that works. I know that my iron can use radio shack tips, but radio shack didn't have any small tips when i went the other day.

and i was wondering about mounting the boards like that. I was thinking that a screw similar to a motherboard standoff (for those familar with computers) would work. I do have some small bolts that would also work, that and I have some tubing that I can use for spacers and just make the spacers to the length I want. Thanks for that... It furthers the idea that I had brewing in my head... lol. And the holes on the outsides aren't connected to anything so mounting them this way shouldn't short anything, or even ground them... I'll have to give it some more thought, but I'll probably end up doing something similar

 

[FallenAngel]

Those motherboard standoffs are exactly what I used, i built computers to put myself through college so I have like a ton of those little things and they work great.

 

[NeilR]

You're spending too much time dealing with your soldering iron issues. Get a nice but inepensive iron like a Hakko Dash or one of the Wellers; both are used and liked here. Something with replaceable tips. The funny thing is, though, that the easily sourcable tips on decent irons last a long time. One of the great ironies in DIY life. I got 6 months out of the generic tip that came with my Hakko 936. What finally did it in? I misplaced it when I was switching between that and a smaller tip for SMD work. I know it's within 10 feet of where I do my work but it isn't coming out of hiding. I built at least 6 amps with that tip and it was still going strong.

 

[soloz2]

I would, but I've already spent too much this month. I ordered a couple tips. if those don't work I'll have to wait till next month to get a new soldering iron. So, I'm hoping and praying that the tips work!

 

[soloz2]

well, I've got some good and some bad news.... first the bad. the tips aren't compatable.

so if anyone has a Weller SP (I believe) soldering iron I've got some tips that you can have for cheap

the good news is.... I got the corerct power jack for my tread and hooked it up... I was really scared that I overheated something while trying to switch around the 2 caps that I messed up... but it worked!

nothing blew up (I hid behind the counter) and it checks out w/ my voltmeter. my 24v wallwart actually supplies about 33v w/o a load but settles down to about 28-29 when hooked up to my TREAD.
I adjusted the output voltage to right around 22.5v which I figure is great for my PIMETA

 

[FallenAngel]

I've got a weller SP23L and would definitly take those tips off you.

 

[soloz2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel I've got a weller SP23L and would definitly take those tips off you.

I'll keep that in mind. I don't think shipping should cost too much as we aren't too far away and tips are light.


now for some questions. I got tangent's cascade set to bias the amp to class A. Now, in his tweaks section he says to put these parts in last (Q1, Q2, and R100, however in the PIMETA step-by-step directions he says to put them on the board in steps one and two and the pictures show them on the board.
so should I populate the board with them now?

I was going to socket resistors R3-R8 and R11. any others I should socket?

 

[FallenAngel]

Populate the cascade set later because hunting down bugs is easier when it's not Class-A yet.

As for socketing the resistors, you can probably socket all of them.

I would probably consider socketing R10 (Class-A Bias) and R11 (Buffer bandwidth).

Trust me, it's a real pain in the ass if you don't socket the resistors and find out you put the wrong value in the wrong place.