Foreplay III Redux

[Thermioniclife]

All Righty Then. I made decent progress today, Installed the DC heater supply, Finalized the HV supply, Wired the balance and volume pots. Made up plate and grid caps. The grid stoppers reside inside the grid caps. Do yourself a favor and check the fit of all the caps before soldering them up. 3 of the 8 that I purchased were of a different manufacturer and would not fit the tubes, I spent a considerable amount of time taking them apart and reshaping the terminals. Lesson learned. That's about it for today, My eyes are going crazy. Enjoy the pic's.

[Paul Birkeland]

For those plate caps, I like to get black RTV from the autoparts store and fill the void up with black RTV.  That will protect the resistor and give you some free strain relief. 

(Your caps will go out tomorrow)

-PB

[Thermioniclife]

Thanks Paul,
I have some E6000 but I'm nervous about the heat. I'll get some RTV.

[Paul Birkeland]

You don't want any silicone that has the acrid smell like bathroom caulk does.  I used to work for a place that sold E6000, and I remember that it was pretty stinky. 

The black RTV is non corrosive, so when it outgasses it won't attack the copper that's around it. 

-PB

[Thermioniclife]

Hey PB, I took your advice and got a small tube of Permatex Ultra Black. No acrid odor and it's temp rating is good. Thanks.  Got your ship notification also, Thanks again. As a side note it was refreshing to go an auto parts store today and feel somewhat human today.

[Thermioniclife]

Nice day today, cool and dry. Guess what? It's Done(almost}. It VERKS,.... It VEEEERKS!. Finished the project today and i am happy to report it sounds great in my Evil laboratory running into my pair of S3X mono amps. I did mess up the Volume and Balance wiring but that is a simple fix. The pre is quiet as a church mouse even in a noise rich environment, can't wait to try it in my living room with my 300b mono's and VTA ST70. It may be an Extended time before I report back regarding this project(hint) but be sure that I will bore you further. I know that Paul Joppa was interested in this project so please inform him. Perhaps I will myself. I came to tears when I listened to this as it brought me back to a happier time when I built the original Foreplay III. So stay tuned to a future report on changes.  Thanks to Eileen, Doc, PB and Paul Joppa. Peace Love and Happiness to all.

[Paul Birkeland]

Cool!

[Laudanum]

Way Cool!!!  Still using my 6SN7'd FPIII (non extended version). 

[Thermioniclife]

Thanks Fellas, I fixed my boneheaded balance Mistake(left was right and visa versa) and added a motorized pot and infra red control repurposed from another project, works great. I ran this for 14 hours yesterday and it runs quite cool. The voltage stage runs a little warmer than the cathode follower stage. This was a very enjoyable project for me. These 7193 tubes sound very, very good. give them a shot in a circuit designed for 6sn7's or 12au7's. I chickened out on building a Don Garber inspired chassis I went with a more traditional Bottlehead style, But maybe in the future, we will see. The next project in line is to recap a McIntosh MR78 tuner, never opened one up before, Gulp. So at this point it may be an Extended(wink) time before I report back. Until then, Regards.

[Paul Joppa]

Looks great!

[Thermioniclife]

Thanks Paul, sounds great also, give these 7193's a try I think they sound fantastic. I must say you were and are a great inspiration to me. Thank you sincerely. 
Regards,
Lee

[grufti]

Looks above amazing!

To the Bottlehead Crew: how about offering quality motorized pots as an option? I like stepped attenuators, but I'm also [sometimes] too lazy to get up.

[Doc B.]

Nice job, Lee!

[Thermioniclife]

Yesterday's project. I took the Ir board out of a plastic project box and installed it in a wooden cigar box that had made into an amplifier selector(it could also be used as a speaker selector). That's one less box at my system. Still loving the FPIII, I would say it sparkles.
I'm in the process of putting a finish on the base then it goes into my system.

[Paul Birkeland]

If you have any spare cigars from that box, don't hesitate to send some over