[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aphexii /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hrmph. So I soldered in the first tube socket and tried to insert the tube to test it out, I didn't want to push all that hard but it really didn't seem to want to go in....

Push a little harder.

These aren't delicate solid state parts. That said, however, it's why we recommend filling all the voids in the tube pin holes with solder. It's also why we state that the center of the board must be supported. There's a heckuva lot of stress put on those sockets and the board when plugging and unplugging tubes.

If you drilled out the socket pins and epoxied the socket halves to use the tube LED's (you must have with your LED sockets), then they will be extra-tough the first time you use them. You might even want to use an old tube, if you have one. That way, you can apply more force without worrying about the tube (use a cloth to grip the tube).

When doing the tube LED-thing, it's inevitable that some epoxy gets on the pins on the inside when you glue the socket halves back together. Not to worry - the first couple of times you plug and un-plug a tube, it will break the epoxy off of the pins, but not the ceramic. Things will get a little easier after that.

 

[aphexii]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Push a little harder. These aren't delicate solid state parts. That said, however, it's why we recommend filling all the voids in the tube pin holes with solder. It's also why we state that the center of the board must be supported. There's a heckuva lot of stress put on those sockets and the board when plugging and unplugging tubes. If you drilled out the socket pins and epoxied the socket halves to use the tube LED's (you must have with your LED sockets), then they will be extra-tough the first time you use them. You might even want to use an old tube, if you have one. That way, you can apply more force without worrying about the tube (use a cloth to grip the tube). When doing the tube LED-thing, it's inevitable that some epoxy gets on the pins on the inside when you glue the socket halves back together. Not to worry - the first couple of times you plug and un-plug a tube, it will break the epoxy off of the pins, but not the ceramic. Things will get a little easier after that.

Gotcha. Yea, mine were drilled and epoxied so I'll wait till i have it all ready to go before I start pushing like hell

BTW, thanks to all of you guys for answering all my Q's as I've gone along. I really do appreciate it....

And on that note, another question.

I'm having a tough time figuring out which way QM1 should go in, any suggestions?

 

[DaMnEd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aphexii /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm having a tough time figuring out which way QM1 should go in, any suggestions?

Millett Hybrid MiniMAX Relay-Delay

Bottom of the page

 

[aphexii]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaMnEd /img/forum/go_quote.gif Millett Hybrid MiniMAX Relay-Delay Bottom of the page

You would think, having graduated from law school a few years ago, I would be a wee bit more of an attentive reader

Guess not

lol, thanks!

 

[aphexii]

Am I nuts (or maybe thinking of another build), or are we supposed to do something to the RK27 before soldering it to the board?

 

[DaMnEd]

I believe you are supposed to trim the metal tab on the pot.

 

[ruZZ.il]

really?

 

[rds]

Quote:

really?

no

 

[DaMnEd]

I did a little search regarding this since I remember something (was not exactly sure what ) being done to the pot, came up with this: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/new...im#post5207997

 

[Beefy]

You can still do it after you solder the pot in. You just have to make sure you hold the shaft very firmly with pliers so that any vibration/movement from the saw blade doesn't translate straight through to the pot itself.

I actually trimmed both of my pots after the amp was fully cased.

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can still do it after you solder the pot in. You just have to make sure you hold the shaft very firmly with pliers so that any vibration/movement from the saw blade doesn't translate straight through to the pot itself. I actually trimmed both of my pots after the amp was fully cased.

Also, be sure you "baggie" the amp before doing this, so none of those nasty metal shavings/powder get inside and do damage.

I still prefer the Dremel to do this but you have to be very careful. The problem is that the pot shaft is such a soft metal that the cutting wheel will load up quickly with melted metal on it's surface. When that happens, it will bind and the Dremel's rpms will send it shooting off the shaft in either direction.

About the locator tab on the pot - rds is correct. That's the little hole to the left of the pot shaft hole on the front plate. It's up to you whether you trim the post on the pot, though, or slightly enlarge the hole in case it doesn't line up perfectly. As noted early on when the cases came in, there will be some variation in how your own soldering has located the headphone jack and pot in terms of the relative heights, frontplate holes vs. pot/jack.

 

[aphexii]

Ahhh, ok, so the only part that needs to be trimmed from the pot is that small metal tab next to the shaft?

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually trimmed both of my pots after the amp was fully cased.

(horror)

are you serious??

aren't you worried about stress on the part?

lately I've been taking the pots, brand new, then wrapping some shipping clear plastic tape (just stuff I had lying around the house) around all the parts that would matter except the metal shaft. THEN clamp the shaft in a vise and hacksaw that off. hopefully the pot won't go thru physical stress that much, that way.

then unwrap the tape and the pot should be good go to. or maybe file or sand the rough edge down before removing the tape.

seriously - even high end pots are not meant to be 'sawed on' while in place!!

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, be sure you "baggie" the amp before doing this, so none of those nasty metal shavings/powder get inside and do damage.

that was my use of clear packing tape

after I hacksawed a few pots and noticed that lotsa metal filings were all over the place, I later adopted the practice of wrapping things before sawing or painting or even some kinds of cleaning.

just like autobody guys that use lots of masking tape when painting, think the same idea here

 

[aphexii]

I'm confused, are you guys trimming the shaft itself, or the little nipple next to it? (Wow, that sounds bad

)