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DIY amp directions

Started by Lauren, August 25, 2014, 07:10:38 PM

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Lauren

And OMG, how do I figure out which resistor is which from my ridiculous collection???

galaxiex

Quote from: Lauren on September 13, 2014, 08:52:33 AM
Good morning!  Thanks, galaxiex, for posting step by step pics...Using then along side Roly's diagram is helping me get started.  Soooo, I just realized that your diagram is only using 1/2 the board, up until the solid line of pads (sorry...I tried to go through the thread to find the correct terminology, but there's too much info for me to find it.  LOL).  If you were sitting with me right now, you'd be laughing at how often I am saying, out loud, "Ohhhh!" as I reread what you've written and actually put things together.  It makes a lot more sense when it's actually necessary to understand for the build.  :)
I actually understand now how you labeled the board, too.  Sorry for saying they didn't match!  Even with all of your explanations as to why it does, it was not until this moment (actually working on it) that the light bulb went off. At least it did, right?  :dbtu:

I ordered a Helping Hand that should be here on Monday.  I think this is definitely a necessary tool, as [someone--sorry, again I can't find you in the thread!] mentioned earlier.  I am curious as to whether you trim the ends off of things like the capacitor, since the are so long.  Don't worry--I'm not cutting anything.  Just wondering. ;)

Taking pics as I go, too.  Will post when I have something that looks like galaxiex's.  :tu:

Hi Lauren, and good morning!  :)

Yup, actually working on it, things come to light, compared to all the "thinking" and theory.
Hands-on, that's the ticket! Visualization of the concept/project takes shape with doing.  8)

Helping Hands really helps. When I first started doing this (electronics) I resisted buying one. (dunno why....  :duh)
Then a friend needed something electronic built and she bought me a Helping Hands as payment for the work.  :)
That is the one you see in the pictures. And now it is my most often used tool.

Trimming the long leads...
After soldering the parts in place we will trim the leads then.
(yuch, my english teacher would roll in her grave at that "sentence")  :lmao:

Cheers! (with coffee, mine might have Bailey's in it)  ;)
Dale
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

galaxiex

Quote from: Lauren on September 13, 2014, 08:59:31 AM
How do I delete a post I started to draft and then changed my mind on?? It doesn't give a cancel option that I can see.
Just click on something else, e.g. the home button at the top of the page, that will take you out of your draft and you can start over.
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

galaxiex

Quote from: Lauren on September 13, 2014, 09:11:34 AM
Possible roadblock:


C2: 100uF Mine does not look like galaxiex's; it has leads (?) coming out of both ends.  Do I need to exchange it for something else?

No need to exchange. we can work with it.
Will show you later...
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

galaxiex

#64
Quote from: Lauren on September 13, 2014, 09:13:32 AM
And OMG, how do I figure out which resistor is which from my ridiculous collection???

That may take a bit of learning.  :)
No problem, Google search for "resistor color code" and you will get a chart that should help.
Find one you like and print it.
From there I bet you can figure it out,  ;) if not, we will help.  :)

Wikipedia has one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_color_code
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

Roly

Quote from: LaurenAt least it did, right?  :dbtu:

Yes, you did.   :dbtu:


One of the good things about threads like this is that anybody can go back and review ("now... somebody said something about this...") and it's all still there (mistakes, side tracks, red herrings, 'n all).


Quote from: LaurenI am curious as to whether you trim the ends off of things like the capacitor, since the are so long.

You do.  (see "offcuts" above, and related safety tips)

That's what your small pliers and sidecutters are so handy for, forming these leads where they are supposed to go.  There are many ways of doing it according to taste and dexterity, but basically you have two component leads poking through the board that have to get connected.

What I generally do is fold the first down next to the other (being careful to form it to avoid touching any other connections or wires), and clip it off just past there, then do the same to the other lead, so one is going "forwards" and the other "backwards", mildly crossed-over/twisted if you can arrange it.  Then you get busy with the soldering iron.  I'm sure you will quickly evolve a method that works and suits you.




Protip: giving component leads a rub with steel wool or kitchen scourer before soldering makes them easier to solder, they "wet" and take the solder better.




Apart from the insulated hookup wire going off the board to things like the pots, you are unlikely to need any extra wire on the board itself (some component side links aside).  Even when a lead does turn out to be too short you now have a bunch of lead offcuts on the bench you can use as a bridge.  I use these offcuts all the time for all sorts of things.

When you are building stuff your sidecutters are in you hand more than any other tool, and you also use them as power tweezers to form and bend leads as well as cut them, so a good pair with comfortable handles are a good investment.  I also have a set of suture clamps/hemostats that I use all the time for all sorts of things, micro-pliers and holders that are very useful.

You remain silent about your soldering experience.

None, some a lot?




Quote from: LaurenHow do I delete a post I started to draft and then changed my mind on?? It doesn't give a cancel option that I can see.

Just dump it using your browser "back" button, left-arrow top-left somewhere normally.


Quote from: LaurenC2: 100uF Mine does not look like galaxiex's; it has leads (?) coming out of both ends.

Ha ha.  An axial type.  The single-ended ones are more common these days and are call "radial".   Don't bother to exchange, we'll just busk it.

Its can length and diameter please?

In any case, it will go on its side horizontally between "i" and "j", +ve to the right, somewhere between the two vertical red wires.  Its -ve end to "i3" (your i5) and the +ve end to the +ve rail "j" wherever looks good, say around your j10-12 depending on its length.

The toyware I used to do that drawing doesn't inhabit a world where there are axial capacitors anyway.  I have a much better circuit drafting package but it's only black and white (and the one I really want to use, I can't get the images off).
If you say theory and practice don't agree you haven't applied enough theory.

galaxiex

#66
I don't know if you have absorbed all the previous posts. There is alot! to take in.
Nice thing about this is you can go back and review.
Please don't feel like you "have to keep up".
Take your time, do what you can at YOUR pace, not ours.
You are learning so much that is completely new to you, it can be (probably is) overwhelming.
Go back and review, re-read posts, all the way back to the beginning if you like.
I've done that a couple times already, just to get a "feel" for how this thread has progressed.

Edit; you are viewing this on a full size computer monitor, right?
Not a hand held device?
I've looked at this thread on my i-phone and it's hard to see stuff.
At least a laptop with a decent screen?

So... carrying on...

Here's some pics to show how I took Roly's suggestion to mark the places where parts go.
Felt-tip pen, on each place where a lead goes.
Makes it MUCH easier after I remove parts, to then place and solder them one-at-a-time.  :)

Please note the last pic LR 018

I have moved C2 the 100uF cap to a different location.
The important things to note are that the circuit will still work if I solder it there.
Notice it would still be electrically connected to the same things, to wit the + and - rails.
To re-state; It doesn't matter where the parts are placed, as long as they are properly connected to where they need to go.

Next post, that pesky 100uF cap you have, that doesn't match mine.
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

galaxiex

The 100uF cap you have is an Axial type, compared to mine which is described as a Radial type.

Axial; the leads exit the cap along it's axis. Make sense?

Check the pics.  :)

See how I bent the minus - lead so it is now "sorta" like a radial cap and allows me to install it on the close-spaced + - rails?
Easy peasy.  8)

Your axial cap may not look exactly like the one I show, but I bet it's similar.  ;)
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

Roly

After you have tried your components for size and layout, the last thing you do before you start seriously stuffing with soldering in mind, is give the copper side of your board a good scrubbing with steel wool (or a scourer) until it is shiny bright, then avoid touching any of the copper while you countcount, stuff, fold, cut, solder, countcount, stuff, fold, cut solder, ...  Like scrubbing the leads, this makes the copper much more receptive to solder.


Quote from: LaurenAnd OMG, how do I figure out which resistor is which from my ridiculous collection???

Like a wombat,



...the first step is to find which end of the critter is which.



Head-to-tail it goes;

head end - three coloured rings - a bit of a gap - a gold ring - another gap - tail end

The gold ring must be on your right, as a full stop, to read the colour rings left-to-right.


(Red/Violet/Brown - using the chart above, what is the value of this resistor?  Test next period.   ;) )


Sorting:

You will need six somethings to hold your resistors (e.g. cheap plastic butter containers, shoebox and envelopes).

Sort your resistors into six piles based on the colour of the third ring.  This is the multiplier and will divide them into their decade ranges, 1, 10, 100, ...


If you say theory and practice don't agree you haven't applied enough theory.

galaxiex

#69
"Alright, this is a blues riff in B, watch me for the changes and try to keep up...."  :lmao:  8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox1pkvNHZko
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

Roly

 :lmao:
One of our "locals", John Castellain, jus' jammin'.  Nat is so tight, great "feel" drummer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlC3I6s3VRA&list=UUBBzPG5q5ltCoCyU9vWvwdg


Quote from: galaxiexEdit; you are viewing this on a full size computer monitor, right?

Funny you should say that.  What with "tapatalk" and stuff being missed I was wondering the same thing.

Lauren, I think for best results you will have to try and get this thread up on a laptop or desktop screen so you don't miss the detail.


Quote from: galaxiexMakes it MUCH easier after I remove parts

A major problem with all these generalised perf-boards is orientation, they look like featureless desert whichever way you look.  A normal etched PCB has unique detail everywhere on both sides so orienting yourself is easy.

When I glue down a paper overprint that takes care of the component side, but then I clamp a sewing needle in my suture clamps and punch a hole where every component lead will go, no (mis)counting or thinking, just go over the overprint like a robot.  Now hold the board up to the light and the "drilling pattern" can now be seen from the copper side (which helps you mark the strip cuts indicated on the overprint), it becomes a bit more like a conventional PCB.

{Good pix BTW, well lit and crisp.  :dbtu: }


Are we there yet?   ;)
If you say theory and practice don't agree you haven't applied enough theory.

galaxiex

#71
Quote from: Roly on September 14, 2014, 05:18:24 AM
:lmao:
One of our "locals", John Castellain, jus' jammin'.  Nat is so tight, great "feel" drummer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlC3I6s3VRA&list=UUBBzPG5q5ltCoCyU9vWvwdg

Cool!  8)  :dbtu:


Quote from: Roly on September 14, 2014, 05:18:24 AM
..........What with "tapatalk".......

Yep, that's why I asked.  :)

Quote from: Roly on September 14, 2014, 05:18:24 AM
{Good pix BTW, well lit and crisp.  :dbtu: }

Thanks!  :)
Other times, forums, places, I have seen folks ask for help and upload pics that are....
dark, grainy, blurry, out of focus and with a poorly contrasting badly cluttered background.
(can't even make out what the thing is, never mind trying to help with it)  ::)
WTF, Don't they *look* at the pics before uploading???   :grr

I'm by no means a pro photographer (tho my brother is) and I don't really have an eye for it,
But I hate dislike very much, lousy photos.
I know a bad one when I see it. So I try.

It's just an old cheap little point and shoot Kodak but It seems to do ok.
The only bad thing about the camera is the files are HUGE and I have to convert them (every one!) for uploading.
I use Buzz 3D media converter, free download.  :) Can batch convert so it's not so bad...

Quote from: Roly on September 14, 2014, 05:18:24 AM
Are we there yet?   ;)

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
If it ain't broke I'll fix it until it is.

Lauren

Spent yesterday painting the living room and dining room, with a bit more to go, but I'm hoping to get somewhere with this today!

Roly:  I have zero soldering experience.  I will watch many youtube videos and will enlist the help of my husband.  The idea of surprising him with this is long gone, given my repeated trips to RadioShack and my sudden obsession with my iPad and this site.  LOL.  He's very excited for the results and asked yesterday if I'll ever be able to make him a stomp box.  So, don't worry about me disappearing after this build is done (I'm sure you were all terrified of that. LOL). I sense a new thread a'comin'. :)

I have been using Tapatalk to post any pics, b/c I can't do it through this site, for some reason.  But I generally read the threads through the site.  What is wrong with Tapatalk?

I am viewing on my iPad, and it has been working out so far.  Enables me to enlarge pics easily to see detail. :)

Going to try to catch up to galaxiex.  Really appreciate the step-by-step photos.   <3)




Lauren

 I noticed that all of the resistors have a copper-colored band.  In galaxiex's pics, I noticed two out of 3 times, the copper band in on top, but once, it's on the bottom.  Just making sure it doesn't matter. :)

Those pics really saved me from trying to figure out which were the right resistors from my huge pile!!   :tu:

Lauren

Can you please tell me what color the bands are on R3?  I can't make it out from the pic and there are a couple in my batch that look similar. 

Thanks!