*** Email entry ***
I've reached a waypoint in the AMP10 project.
The next step is to test the power supply system on the circuit board. Since the amplifier uses a computer chip to amplify the sound, it only needs five volts on the board. So some of the MANY extremely small parts I've placed are for the purpose of changing the twenty-two volts alternating current to five volts of direct current.
I purchased a variable tranformer that allows you to run current of your choice through the system and hooked it up to one of the input rails of the system. However I got a great deal of fluxuating numbers. I spent a lot of time last night emailing back and forth with the forum dedicated to the assembly of this amplifier. At the time of this posting I'm still not sure if I passed the test or not. It's supposed to have stable voltate but it doesn't. However my transformer only allows you to hook up one rail at a time and I THINK it needs the two rails to give a positive and a negative value from the ground.
In any case, the thing LOOKS great. I really enjoyed building it and I can't wait to get it actually playing music. The soldering has been the best part. It has been a combination of a new skill as well as learning something. Like reading a good book while learning a skill presented in it. Better than reading a book, and better than learning a skill!
The people on the board have been very nice and informative. I spent some time on a forum dedicated to the Yamaha R1 race motorcycle when I owned one. I found the members there to be childish and prone to flame wars about "chicken strips" (the unabraded sidewalls of the tires showing you don't drive agressively) and whether or not wearing safety gear makes you a sissy or not. So it's very refreshing to interact with adults with both a common interest and an intellegence level high enough that actual learning is involved.
I watched a short video on soldering last night (yes, after soldering everything to the board), and I was suprised to learn that you have to keep your soldering times very short because heating the componant could damage it. Oops. Some of the items could be on the "well done" side. Learning how to solder a good joint takes time... Too much time perhaps. I'll know more in a few days when I get the transformer in. I'm ordering one from online since it's not the kind of thing that Walmart stocks.
I'll keep you informed of my progress.
The next step is to test the power supply system on the circuit board. Since the amplifier uses a computer chip to amplify the sound, it only needs five volts on the board. So some of the MANY extremely small parts I've placed are for the purpose of changing the twenty-two volts alternating current to five volts of direct current.
I purchased a variable tranformer that allows you to run current of your choice through the system and hooked it up to one of the input rails of the system. However I got a great deal of fluxuating numbers. I spent a lot of time last night emailing back and forth with the forum dedicated to the assembly of this amplifier. At the time of this posting I'm still not sure if I passed the test or not. It's supposed to have stable voltate but it doesn't. However my transformer only allows you to hook up one rail at a time and I THINK it needs the two rails to give a positive and a negative value from the ground.
In any case, the thing LOOKS great. I really enjoyed building it and I can't wait to get it actually playing music. The soldering has been the best part. It has been a combination of a new skill as well as learning something. Like reading a good book while learning a skill presented in it. Better than reading a book, and better than learning a skill!
The people on the board have been very nice and informative. I spent some time on a forum dedicated to the Yamaha R1 race motorcycle when I owned one. I found the members there to be childish and prone to flame wars about "chicken strips" (the unabraded sidewalls of the tires showing you don't drive agressively) and whether or not wearing safety gear makes you a sissy or not. So it's very refreshing to interact with adults with both a common interest and an intellegence level high enough that actual learning is involved.
I watched a short video on soldering last night (yes, after soldering everything to the board), and I was suprised to learn that you have to keep your soldering times very short because heating the componant could damage it. Oops. Some of the items could be on the "well done" side. Learning how to solder a good joint takes time... Too much time perhaps. I'll know more in a few days when I get the transformer in. I'm ordering one from online since it's not the kind of thing that Walmart stocks.
I'll keep you informed of my progress.
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