[dmoffitt]

I'm thinking of building a new power supply for my headphone amp, I figured it's about time I DIY something instead of pay thru the nose for it

anyhow, here are two (****** cell phone) pictures of the power connetor that goes into it, it's round, approx 1/2" with 3 pins and a metal sleeve... above it is printed 24VAC / 500mA - I figure, something like pinkfloyd's big toroidal transformer in a box, but USA 115VA 10A to 24VA 500mA, a switched 3-prong IEC inlet, a fuse, some decent gauge wiring, maybe an LED on the front to indicate 'on' if I feel like getting fancy....... it's GOTTA sound better than the "wall wart"

so what IS that connetor called? 3-pin std. din?

also - floyd mentions the "2nd board on top is for power regulation" - I don't recall seeing much of any regulation on the single board in the v3 (haven't had a v2 to open/compare unfortunately). so will I need to build some kind of regulation, and if so, where's a good place to start researching? i'm pretty hand with a soldering iron, decent at reading BASIC schematics and understanding stuff like resistance, basic basic electronics like v=i*r / p=i^2*r or i*v etc - but i know little / nothing about circuit design, despite having dated a microelectronic engineer for over 2 years lol. i'm a film student, but gimme a wrench and an engine..... keep me away from the insides of your amp tho (til i learn more, which i'd desperately like). ok, so i'm putting myself down too much, i did some nice stuff inside my old Jolida... but back to the topic at hand:

CLIFF NOTES:

1) what is the 3-pin connector pictured (from X-CAN v3) called?
2) do I need some sort of voltage regulation since I don't THINK the V3 has any inside of the unit?
3) if so, where to I start as far as looking it up

I kinda want to build a high-end PSU, not necessarily a cost-no-object one but close, musical fidelity has always been known to me as a company who's products are so good in no small part due to the power supplies (like my DAC) so this has to be pretty darned good or I might as well pony up the cash for an X-PSU

 

[dmoffitt]

3-pin (male)

approx 1/2" dia

 

[jboehle]

[removed]

 

[PinkFloyd]

Whoah! hold your horses! This is nothing like the V2 PSU.... I'll PM Guzzler and get him to explain...... watch this space........................

EDIT: To save time have a read of this thread in particular go straight to "Guzzler's" post

The original X-PSU supplied 12v "AC" into the X-can V2.... the X-Can V3 requires +/-12V "dc" there is a BIG difference and Guzzler explains it superbly.

Hope this helps

Pinkie.

 

[qwerty870]

[No longer necesssary]

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwerty870 The STEPS is a DC power supply. It cannot be used with the X-Can V3.

Edit: a few hours sleepwill do me good

 

[qwerty870]

One CANNOT use a STEPs to power the V3. The STEPS is a single rail DC power supply.

 

[PinkFloyd]

I'm off to bed now but will reply in the morning..........

 

[qwerty870]

[No longer necessary]

 

[dmoffitt]

*shakes head* just when i thought i had a grasp of what I was trying to do....

maybe I should get out my multimeter and just see what is coming out of that wallwart? the back of the xcan says 24v ac 500 ma

 

[Juergen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmoffitt ...the back of the xcan says 24v ac 500 ma

That says it all, well sort of. It doesn't tell you if it is regulated or not. Unfortunately I do not know the answer to that question. If it is, then it should be as simple as the X-PSU design you just need a 24VAC transformer instead of 12VAC. I got mine from Handmade Electronics, I don't think Digikey, Mouser or Newark carries them. Once we get the regulation issue solved I'm sure we can help you with the wiring part.

 

[dmoffitt]

is it against the DIY / headfi policies if post a picture of the innards of the xcan for the sake of seeing if it's regulated (not because i plan to copy it, heavens no i respect Antony far too much for that - i only want to make my own PSU to learn circuits)?

 

[qwerty870]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmoffitt maybe I should get out my multimeter and just see what is coming out of that wallwart?

If its not too much trouble I would be curious to see exactly what you do measure in DC and AC from that wallwart.

I remember seeing detailed pictures of the Xcan innards on head-fi a while back. I cannot seem to find them now. I don't remember seeing regulation. There were several smoothing capacitors.

 

[jboehle]

Wow I must've been asleep this afternoon, I didn't even see the 24VAC mentioned in the first post and obviously didn't correlate the 3 pins != single voltage. Sorry for the bad suggestion of the STEPS I will edit my post above so as not to mislead anyone else.

-Jason

 

[PinkFloyd]

guzzler says

"After checking the MF website, I can tell you exactly what you need to do to make a new power supply. From the picture of the X-Can V3, at the back there is something that looks like an XLR connector, that I presume is the power connector. What the mains adaptor for this has is two 12Vac wired in series, with a ground taken from the junction of the two. Inside the V3 there will be 2 rectifier bridges, each one taking the 12Vac from the respective side of the transformer ground. The output from these bridges is the DC that the V3 needs to run, with one 12Vac being rectified to the positive half of the transformer ground, and the other to the negative... phew!

it will also help to remember that voltage is relative, so if you measure using an AC meter from the ground we have created, to either side of it, you'll get 12V, but measure from the two outsides, and you'll get 24V... here is a diagram of the adaptor:"