[Hutnicks]

If that's stopping you from ordering I could throw in the pre-drilled tin and Kapton heat transfer tape.

Where the devil does one source Kapton tape?

 

[xrk971]

Where the devil does one source Kapton tape?

Like almost all good things - just search Amazon, for example. The skinny stuff is cheaper and you could just add several strips to make wider. He wide stuff costs more by looks nicer. The adhesive on this tape is amazing. It's silicone based so never gums up or leaves residue. Can take direct soldering iron no fuss.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LXKJXCW/

 

[stellarelephant]

Digikey has it, but buying an entire roll for $22 seems silly when only a few inches are needed.

 

[Lohb]

If that's stopping you from ordering I could throw in the pre-drilled tin and Kapton heat transfer tape.

I just meant if it's going commercial like other Altoid amp variant long-time sellers on eBay.

 

[xrk971]

Digikey has it, but buying an entire roll for $22 seems silly when only a few inches are needed.

It sounds expensive and it is. But make no mistake this stuff is the dream of plastics. I use it all the time for insulating my transistors from heatsinks instead of mica washers or silicone spacers. It will be handy for a lot of diy projects. OTOH, just use white paper masking tape. Works almost as well. Leaves residue. The blue painters tape looks better and doesn't leave residue. Anything is better than bare shiny metal. I should have tossed in a few inches of it for you gratis when I sent you the matched FETs. Sorry.

 

[stellarelephant]

Thanks, I should have thought to ask, but it's all good.  I have some frog tape on hand, as well as a little bit of leftover Rustoleum High Heat flat black enamel paint, meant for grills and woodstoves.  By the way, in case folks are wondering, we are talking about adding coatings to the inside of the mint tin to aid in the absorption and dissipation of heat by the metal tin.  Shiny metal with air space next to it is indeed a radiant barrier. 
 
This cool infrared pic of a hot-water-filled "Leslie's cube" shows emissivity of different surfaces.  I think absorption should be directly proportional to emissivity.  What's surprising is that black and white paint perform relatively the same with this test (I guess color only matters with absorption of visible light).  But yeah, polished metal certainly doesn't like to transfer heat!

 

[Hutnicks]

Like almost all good things - just search Amazon, for example. The skinny stuff is cheaper and you could just add several strips to make wider. He wide stuff costs more by looks nicer. The adhesive on this tape is amazing. It's silicone based so never gums up or leaves residue. Can take direct soldering iron no fuss.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LXKJXCW/

Awesome, thanks for the info.

 

[stellarelephant]

X, I received my matched FETs in the mail today.  Thanks!
 
By the way, I started another thread about the X's complete PCB version of this amp in the portable amp forum:
New Portable Amp - "Pocket Class A" by xrk971 - now available as complete PCB

 

[xrk971]

X, I received my matched FETs in the mail today.  Thanks!

Good luck on the build! It's easy really.

By the way, I started another thread about the X's complete PCB version of this amp in the portable amp forum:
New Portable Amp - "Pocket Class A" by xrk971 - now available as complete PCB

 

[Lohb]

Is THE GB still live over at DIYA ?
 
Luckily I know someone with solder/amp repair/builder skills.

 

[xrk971]

Is THE GB still live over at DIYA ?

Yes we are on GB2.

Luckily I know someone with solder/amp repair/builder skills.

 

[stellarelephant]

Just got all my parts today...by some great stroke of luck, FedEx delivered my Mouser and Digikey boxes simultaneously. Hope to have an amp together soon. I got some tiny .015 solder I think will work well. But I am slightly concerned that the 1.5 mm tip on my new iron is a bit bigger than Ideal size. Time will tell!

X, FYI it looks like you are somehow posting your replies within the quote boxes, which makes your reply harder to spot.

 

[xrk971]

I actually use a pretty big 1/8in wide chisel tip to solder 0805's. Just add solder to one pad first, the take part and touch it solder pad and then solder other end.

 

[stellarelephant]

I actually use a pretty big 1/8in wide chisel tip to solder 0805's. Just add solder to one pad first, the take part and touch it solder pad and then solder other end.

That's encouraging! I watched a few YouTube videos that show the exact technique you describe. Here we go...

 

[xrk971]

Happy soldering! If you make a mistake no big deal. Use solder wick to clean it up good as new. Be careful to use ESD protection when soldering FETs or once they are installed. Don't touch board in tin if lid open and you don't have a grounded wrist strap. I blew a few MOSFETs this way.