1st time DIYer - tales of my build - questions in 1st post

[wullymc]

Hey Steve,

I am by the Scotiabank place....so almost Kanata!  It is fun to see another person from the same area.  We should all get together eventually and talk kits and music.

....still looking for the best solder in Ottawa money can buy...

[mchurch]

Hi Steve;

Nice to find someone else locally. I hear what you are saying regarding finding time. While I am not in the same boat I do have an elderly parent I am looking after as well as three dogs. I find the kit building is a great way to while away the time for a couple of hours at night and on those rainy or cold Sundays. I can assure you the list are easy to assemble and the instructions are great. It is easy to find support right here as well.

Dave;

For solder Active Electronics on Merivale has Alpha Solder SN63 which is a good solder. The also have all sorts of tools and other products. the only thing I would caution on is that the resistors and caps they sell are not close to audio grade but for those we are fortunate enough to have Parts Connexion in Burlington as well as Electrosonic in Toronto. Both ship fast and cheap. For tube rolling, The Tube Store in Hamilton is an excellent source.

If you want to save a bit of money on solder maybe we could buy a roll between us and divide it up.

Cheers

Mike

[wullymc]

Hey Mike,

Hope things are well.

Sounds good with the solder.  Is this the one you are talking about:

http://www.active123.com/110060-Telecore-Plus-032-P1-Sn63-sold-per-each-1-lb-roll-Prodview.html

Is this the diameter that you would use (.032") or another diameter?

I am thinking of getting a helping hands from them.  Good idea do you think?

Also, when your kits from BH came was it sent with USPS?  How much duty did you end up paying.

I am thinking of ordering tomorrow.

Thanks Mike, I truly appreciate it!...Dave

[mchurch]

Dave;

I prefer a slightly higher flux content so I would use the P2. Its a no clean solder so there won't be much residue to worry about. 1/32 or 1.5MM has worked well for me. As far as I can remember all my kits came via USPS/CPC and all I remember paying was the GST none of the UPS Fed Ex brokerage fees and the service was quite fast from the time they were shipped. When you order Eileen can give you the latest costs for shipping but I don't recall it being prohibitive.

Actually Dave don't worry about the solder I have a partial roll of good old Kester SN63 I got from when they were still Litton Industries in Brantford. I used to work for a fuse manufacturer and we bought the stuff by the truck load so I paid our purchasing dept. and they ordered some extra for me.

If you check my profile you can send me a PM and I will give you my contact information.

Mike

[wullymc]

.....and ordered a Crack!...can't wait to start

[SteveH]

Dave

Really looking forward to hearing (seeing?) about your build experiences!

SteveH

[wullymc]

Thanks Steve,

Talked with Mike last night.  Really good guy.  He has a lot of experience.  He has the knowledge to help us if we get stuck!  We will all have to get together sometime and chat. 

When I receive my Crack I will let you know.

Take care....Dave

[wullymc]

Tried soldering together a traffic light kit.

It unfortunately didn't work.   I atleast practiced my soldering skills or lack thereof.  I used all 3 tips to my soldering iron.  I think I may have damaged the board and that is the reason.  I don't know...they didn't provide testing guidelines.

Next up : the cmoy.  I received the kit but not all the components were there.  I need to wait longer.

Also, I have found .032 to be easier to use than .040 for pcb boards.

I don't believe there is any boards to solder to for the Crack kit.  I wonder for the Speedball kit how much soldering on the boards is required. Can anyone let me know.

Thanks...Dave

[Grainger49]

Dave,

Are 0.032 and 0.040 solder or soldering iron tips?  Just curious. 

Look at the product page for the Speedball kit.  Each component is at least two solder points.

[mchurch]

Dave;

Sounds like we should get together some time and I can help you out if you like.

Cheers;


Mike

[wullymc]

Hi Grainger,

The .032 and .040 is the solder diameter.

Hi Mike,

Yes I would love to get together.  We can chat about things.  I appreciate it.


Take care...Dave

[wullymc]

Well, I finished the CMOY today.

It didn't work....I looked at a tutorial on youtube about how to use a multimeter and was able to use the continuity(?) function to check my solder.  I found one bad one and with the poor instructions also found that I had soldered the power + in the wrong location.

Fixed these and it worked!......once .  I tried it the first time with cheap headphones then turned it off to get my good headphones.  Then powered it up and I didn't get any sound.  Next I hooked up the amp to my computer and was able to get a little bit of sound with static.  I will have to hunt around to find out what could cause this.

...but I was so happy to get the LED to light up!! ..yeah I know amature!   I must admit I was frustrated and wondered what did I do ordering a Crack...I can't even do a CMOY ....but I am relieved now.  I am sure the instructions will be better with the Crack.

Take care...Dave

[Laudanum]

Dave, the instructions that come with Crack are excellent.  Just make sure to check any corrections to the instructions that are in the sticky thread on top of this forum page.   You are working with a good deal more room under the Crack chassis.   Im not a techie like a lot of the folks here but I am competent with an iron and have built quite a few kits over the years, plus, somehow, been able to fix a few older pieces.  The Crack is an excellent first timers kit.  I think you are making it even less challenging by practicing your soldering before building.  A couple of the terminal strips get a little crowded but if you take your time, double check the instructions and the pictures, watch your capacitor and diode (includes the little led's) orientation and I think you'll find that it's an easy build.     You'll be fine, I think you'll find it much easier than you are expecting it to be.

[John Roman]

Hello and welcome to a fascinating hobby,
This group is great as you may already realize. Just to toss my 02 cents in, the key, IMHO, to is two fold:
1) read and understand the instructions- as pointed out by several very experienced Bottleheads the Bottlehead instruction CD's are second to none.
2) I've been a member for over ten years and the overwhelming majority of issues I've seen with building these kits is two fold: correctly orienting parts and then soldering them well. A number of solder joints can appear to be good but be a problem when tested. Just do some soldering on any spare parts and soon you will develop an eye and feel for what is right. The stock Crack kit doesn't have any PCB's which makes it somewhat easier. Good flow and a rather shiny look to the completed solder joint are what I look for. Be careful not to over do it especially with PCB's as the trace's can be damaged, but again the stock Crack won't be an issue there. AND remember you have the support of this tremendous group should anything go awry.

Best of luck,
John

[wullymc]

Thanks Laudanum and John  for your nice replies.  I am anxious to getting going.  It is now approaching 4 weeks since I  ordered.  I will be taking my time putting it together and I think I will be reading the instructions a few times over before beginning.

Take care...Dave