Hi all,
I'm about 80% through building my Crack (with no apparent problems so far), and while doing this, I've been wondering how much leeway there is in arranging the components. I've seen photos online of Crack builds that differ in how neat the wires are (e.g., whether they're laid out in right angles or not), so this doesn't seem to be functionally important. However, I've gathered that, for example, the twisting and braiding of wires is functional.
This made me wonder about other components. Is orienting the two adjacent 220 uF capacitors at right angles to each other critical, and if so, why? What about the third 220 uF capacitor -- must it be flat (if so, why)? Does it matter if a wire is routed under/over, or around one or another side of a terminal strip?
While I'm at it, a more general question is whether it would be possible for BH to perhaps include a supplemental document explaining the functions of different parts of the amp. What do the LEDs, capacitors, rectifiers do, etc? What clever design choices were made? I understand if this is intellectual property that BH doesn't want to reveal, but as a builder I'd be much more satisfied if after building my Crack, I gained some understanding of audio circuitry, instead of just following a recipe. Even a general schematic -- this part generates a DC current, this part amplifies the input signal, etc would be informative!
Thanks very much for any feedback.