[Paladin79]

I see he is dutifully protecting BCOWIN's amp cardboard...

Yep lol
Since it is getting warm here we are using some ceiling fans. Finnegan loves to lay underneath them with his belly up.

 

[FLTWS]

I used to have a 3020 and a 3140. I still have a 2155 and a 3155 combo. Good stuff.

Ya know, 3020 sounds even more familiar.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

sounds like trouble

always power down the soldering station, even if you are just leaving the work area "for just a minute".
likely you are thinking about building a coaster amp or two...IMO get familiar and comfortable with thru-hole PCB soldering first.
SMT needs a fine tip, thin diameter solder, tweezers, magnifier, a steady hand, and a bit of patience.
DIY RCA or XLR interconnects will need a bigger soldering iron tip and medium diameter solder. triple check for shorts before connecting to equipment.

I'm rediscovering being a teenager, but without the drama. I'm cntrl-v and cntrl-v your post and add it to my notebook (electronic version). What a strange time to be a middle-aged man, no?

 

[bcowen]

I have become acquainted with many folks on this thread and overall I am often impressed by the intelligence shown here. Heck even @bcowen has a moment or two.

I've never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed. Just the best looking.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

sounds like trouble

always power down the soldering station, even if you are just leaving the work area "for just a minute".
likely you are thinking about building a coaster amp or two...IMO get familiar and comfortable with thru-hole PCB soldering first.
SMT needs a fine tip, thin diameter solder, tweezers, magnifier, a steady hand, and a bit of patience.
DIY RCA or XLR interconnects will need a bigger soldering iron tip and medium diameter solder. triple check for shorts before connecting to equipment.

Copy and pasted.

All good advice.

Always power down... I've got a power panel salvaged from an assembly at work with four or five duplex outlets. The outlet for my two soldering stations has a one-hour lighting timer as power-down backup. I rarely turn it past 30 minutes, but might do that multiple times per session.

The link above is inconsistent. Try this amazon link.

Copy and pasted (will look at the link later). Thank you, @cricket

You guys are using soldering stations with iron holders right? If I was like Cowen and was producing whiskey from corn near by I might shut down more often.

If there's a surplus stand tossed into a closet at my workplace (destined for the dumpster), I'll dive in and pinch it.

Cowen's "NC BBQ" technique of soldering. Note the firm grip and precise angle, as the well tinned tip is applied to the specific location, allowing it to reach proper temperature before applying solder. A precision instrument, wielded by a masterful hand......

I looked at that image for a while. Then. Thought about it. I teach teenagers. This could happen in the lab. But only once.

A few decades back, in my early days of working on electronics, I didn't have fancy Schiit like an iron holder.
One fine afternoon, my leg accidentally tugged on the iron's cable and yanked the whole thing off the table.
Let's just say that cat-like reflexes aren't always beneficial to have.

Copy and paste.

Speaking of cats, I once had a Persian wave his tail across a candle; it started smoking like crazy. I was in the middle of an online card tournament and had to apologize when I got back cause my cat was on fire.

Finnegan knows better, he feels the heat from my soldering irons and never gets too close.
To me candles are more dangerous.

Copy and paste.

Iron holders for both. My power panel is mounted in a Formica-clad plywood box. That's one step up from cardboard, isn't it?

I was warned to put a heat resistant slab (of something) on my teacher-desk >>> switch to >>>> DIY bench.

You are a wise man and you will do well. Happy Birthday!

Thank you!

+1


JC

Ibid.

In @bcowen’s defense, he eventually figured out which end of the soldering iron to hold. Even young children learn not to place their hands on a hot stove, albeit much faster than Bill.

After years of yanking hot tubes out of their sockets all the nerve endings in my fingers are fused together. Now, I only go "ouch" when I smell it.

Damn. Thankfully such occupational diseases are seen less in my workplace.

Even before the Ukraine conflict prices were rising. The more we (and other forums elsewhere) post about how great this or that tube is people are watching and as demand goes up....

Sourcing tubes manufactured in that area of Europe will become more difficult I suppose. I don't sweat the NOS situation, I've got a pretty good inventory of all the tubes I use in my various amps in good NOS condition. And I have had good success sourcing newly manufactured tubes from China. And who you buy from is probably the most important consideration.

I suspect the number of things that have had price reductions would be a very, very, short list. Utility costs, rents, food, gasoline/diesel,.......................................... and just about everything else is/has gone up in price.

Construction costs are skyrocketing. I'm learning to repair more, with less.

In my work as an experimental high-energy particle physicist I have used all PCB methods but SMT is great especially for high density with high performance. I work at multi tens of GHz and SMT allows small parasitics and things like multi-layer boards and controlled impedance. I was initially reluctant with high voltage but now use it carefully but regularly at 3000 V.

Welcome to the thread, @JWMAstro ... I'm always amazed at the variety of clientele who sign onto this ridiculous hobby. Welcome. 3 kV. Hoy...

"Tonight, I will kill you in your sleep, and I will enjoy your nose with a side of fava beans and a fine chianti."


"…and tomorrow, I will take over the world."


"Hey! What the hell, dude!?!"


"Forget tonight, I better kill you now!"


…meanwhile, I'm like: "Isn't he just the cutest?!?"

Those are some mighty fine images of your beast. Higher res. Nice.

I certainly hope so (heck, I have three of their subs!) I know Denise is talking to both them and Magnepan.

@Jason Stoddard ... for us across the border, can Denise video its highlights and post em on the usual social media?

Vancouver, BC??? Different, but similar mountains and water (cleaner) though...

Re clean water. Yeah, about that. I usually cringe when I discover how often sewage is being pumped out into the bays across from Wreck Beach, BC. Or the stupidity that Victoria was doing with their wastewater. Meh, I still miss the province.

As a former Oklahoman it used to go, “What keeps Texas from falling into the Gulf?”. Oklahoma sucks. Rinse and repeat.

Or, as we used to say in the GVRD... Lower Mainland of British Columbia. "Whenever I lived in Cloverdale, at least I never had to say I was Surrey".

Nudity is legal in VT. A lot of towns have an ordinance against it, usually in the more public areas though. And it's kinda self limiting, we don't have that many days above 80F.

Wreck Beach in BC was my favourite haunt. We have Hanland's Point here on Toronto Island. But it's a pale imitation. I could tear-ass around our property... but the blackflies are thick right now. Followed by the mosquitoes. Ah, rural Ontario. And to my fellow Minnesotans, Michigan Peninsula, and survivors of Manitoba. The Black-fly Song.

 

[bcowen]

"As far as myself, I will never have to apply for another job or work on a resume. I can be just a woodworker who can hold my own in other areas if I wish."

You mean "humble woodworker", right?

"Also for the benefit of @ArmchairPhilosopher, I am picking up a lot of noise with 6sn7's that are normally dead silent with no signal most likely due to stacking three inexpensive adapters on top of each other."

I wondered about the multiple points of contact myself. It would be nice to have a single, tall, adapter into which the 6SN7 could be fully seated.

Like this? This one has a loctal socket on top for a 7N7, but can be made with an octal socket.

 

[Paladin79]

I've never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed. Just the best looking.

I always considered you more of a trowel or a hoe.

 

[Paladin79]

Like this? This one has a loctal socket on top for a 7N7, but can be made with an octal socket.

It has to be taller for a Mjolnir.

 

[ImagesbyMurray]

A copper mesh Faraday cage I made.

Ohhhhhh....... I was speculating they were your wife's?

 

[bcowen]

It has to be taller for a Mjolnir.

Then like this?

 

[bcowen]

Ohhhhhh....... I was speculating they were your wife's?

I thought it was a Barbie dream house. But then I realized it wasn't posted by @Ripper2860 .

 

[bcowen]

Ya know, 3020 sounds even more familiar.

The 3020 was a killer amp. The fact it didn't cost a fortune was a nice bonus.

 

[Paladin79]

Then like this?

Much closer.

 

[GearMe]

I always considered you more of a trowel or a hoe.

Can't believe my eyes!!!!!

Spoiler: Bleepity, bleep, bleep

Did...You...arguably the nicest, most considerate guy on this thread, call @bcowen a hoe?
(btw...what does trowel mean?)

 

[Paladin79]

Can't believe my eyes!!!!!

Spoiler: Bleepity, bleep, bleep

Did...You...arguably the nicest, most considerate guy on this thread, call @bcowen a hoe?
(btw...what does trowel mean?)

I was innocently referring to tools in a shed. Double entendre’s are your call.