[rei_yano]

so I want to get into DIY. it seems very exciting and satisfying. I figure the most logical starting point would be interconnects. if I am wrong then please tell me what I should start with. can you guys give me some links to good resources on starting down the DIY path? maybe some guides or tips? motivate me /DIY/! (kudos if you get the reference lol)

 

[Zorander]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/how...ep-pics-50729/

A sticky you should have read before creating this thread...

 

[dir_d]

I actually am in the same boat as you but ive soldered many times...I just cant read schematics for electronics or figure out the math involved so i bought Circuitbuilding Do-It-Yourself For Dummies:Book Information - For Dummies and it teaches you alot of basic stuff, picked it up at Borders books.
I dont know about you but its easier for me to have a physical book in front of me instead of just reading on a computer screen.
You might wanna give it a try it has helped me a whole lot so far.

 

[rei_yano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/how...ep-pics-50729/ A sticky you should have read before creating this thread...

i have seen the thread. I was hoping for some extra tidbits of info before I got into this. I should have mentioned that I know. any extra info would be awesome really. tips or tricks. anything really. I am looking for some motivation here cuase I am fairly nervous about it really.

honestly my main insperation was the realization that my ms2is would eventually need to be recabled. I think I would like to be the one responsible for that. they are my babies afterall.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rei_yano /img/forum/go_quote.gif i have seen the thread. I was hoping for some extra tidbits of info before I got into this. I should have mentioned that I know. any extra info would be awesome really. tips or tricks. anything really. I am looking for some motivation here cuase I am fairly nervous about it really. honestly my main insperation was the realization that my ms2is would eventually need to be recabled. I think I would like to be the one responsible for that. they are my babies afterall.

Ahh...then this thread should prove useful to you when that time comes. Just take extra care with those aluminium cups.

HeadWize - Project: The Collected Grado Headphone Mods by "Skippy" et al.

It's a good idea to practise making interconnects from cheap, disposable parts. The experience will give you more confidence and skill to work with, say, more "exotic" parts.

 

[rei_yano]

thanks. Im gonna buy a soldering iron in a few weeks then ill buy some more stuff a few weeks after that. I should get to my first project in at least a month. figue I should read a bit before going into this. be prepared you know?

 

[Chipp]

Tangent Tutorials

Some excellent information there for anybody looking to get into DIY, the soldering tutorials are particularly good.

 

[rei_yano]

thanks!

 

[rei_yano]

ok so I figure my DIY journey should go something like several interconnects until I feel a bit comfortable and then something a bit more complicated like a cmoy. does that sound like a good plan?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Interconnects are more of an assembly project than an electronics one. The experience is worthwhile, but you don't learn anything. I'd go with a CMoy first, then work to a PCB amp with a wallwart power supply, then to one where you build the power supply.

 

[rei_yano]

I see. well assembly is a good start becuase I need to get a feel for the soldering and such. I love surfing through the diy cable sticky. some beautiful work in there. I cant wait till I have to recable my alessandros. hopefully by then I will be good enough to give these some really beautiful cables.

 

[Uncle Erik]

If you want to practice, get a few perfboards at Radio Shack and a bag of the cheapest components they have. Practice soldering them to the board. It's not that difficult and you'll get the hang of it.

 

[threepointone]

Oh, and uh, if at possible try to avoid the radioshack soldering iron (or anything else that looks like the tip is your nail) even if you're a starter. The first time I experimented with electronics (wayyy before head-fi), I basically gave up because the tip ratshack 30W basically died halfway through my first soldering job. If you really must, go with the 15W ratshack iron (seems to last a bit longer); otherwise, see if a local electronics store sells something that doesn't look like the ratshack soldering nail (there's some really cheap Wellers and no-names that use the same "nail" soldering head and suck just as much)

And yes, start with the CMOY. If possible, see if someone's selling a kit with the CMOY--"head-fi tradition" usually states that you start with the standard tangent CMOY on radioshack protoboard, but it's usually a lot easier when you've got the PC board laid out for you.

Then again, the fact that your CMOY usually gets miswired the first time around usually teaches you a couple things about how audio amps work =)

 

[rei_yano]

Im gonna spend a bit on the iron. I do not want to get something too terrible. Im thinking around the 30 - 40 dollar range. I want to make sure I start with great tools. like any guitarist will tell you: learning guitar on a cheap sub 200 dollar guitar can be a pain and can actually make some people give up. start with a good guitar and you are doing yourself a favor. same usually holds true with anything.

 

[nickyboyo]

Don't worry about the iron so much, just make sure it has a nice fine tip to it, even if you have to buy a new finer tip it will be worth it. As long as it gets hot enough to melt the solder and you keep your tip clean and tinned during soldering you will be all systems go.

As others have suggested, solder bits to perf board, have a look and have a go at Tangents how to make a cmoy guide. Then buy a pcb and make yourself a nice tidy cleanly made amp. Joshatdot and Blackinches both sell very nice pcb's and are very helpful and very easy to deal with. From there you will progress naturally to larger more complicated builds.

Happy building bud