Smash newbie build

Stedes · 25370

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Offline Chris65

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Reply #15 on: September 03, 2014, 03:35:26 AM
Yes, the transformer bell ends are supplied 'unfinished'. They have an anti-corrosion coating on them.
That should be cleaned off and sanded, apply the finish of your choice - paint or polished with a clear coat. Have look at the gallery to give you an idea how people finish them.


Offline Stedes

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Reply #16 on: September 03, 2014, 03:56:22 AM
Quote from: Chris65 on September 03, 2014, 03:35:26 AM
Yes, the transformer bell ends are supplied 'unfinished'. They have an anti-corrosion coating on them.
That should be cleaned off and sanded, apply the finish of your choice - paint or polished with a clear coat. Have look at the gallery to give you an idea how people finish them.

Thanks Chris. I will do. At this point I'm thinking some kind of blue or grey colour, perhaps gunmetal...


Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #17 on: September 03, 2014, 05:12:41 AM
Quote from: Grainger49 on September 02, 2014, 02:39:39 PM

I don't have experience with the 4p1L either, but with the run of tube failures that I have read a spare set is a good idea.  I can't imagine why you would think otherwise or feel the need to say it isn't a good idea.
What run of the failures?

I'm not aware that we have replaced any 4P1L's.

This is diverging from the topic started by Stedes, who is doing a knockout job.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2014, 05:51:57 AM by Doc B. »

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Offline Stedes

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Reply #18 on: September 04, 2014, 02:49:05 PM
Quote from: Doc B. on September 02, 2014, 02:23:16 PM
You guys might want to watch for an announcement about the upcoming amp tomorrow. And the guys will be working on the BeeQuiet for Smash in the next few weeks.

Well...the picture of the amp looks nice....can we have a name? Maybe a price? And maybe a first run of special pricing orders???


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #19 on: September 04, 2014, 02:54:27 PM
Tomorrow your wishes will be fulfilled. We ran out of time today. It is called Seductor.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.

Offline Stedes

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Reply #20 on: September 04, 2014, 03:07:04 PM
Quote from: Doc B. on September 04, 2014, 02:54:27 PM
Tomorrow your wishes will be fulfilled. We ran out of time today. It is called Seductor.

Doc...here in Sydney it's already tomorrow. But since you've given me a name I guess I'll just have to wait a bit longer.

:)


Offline Stedes

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Reply #21 on: September 04, 2014, 04:15:51 PM
Day 3 Smash Build:

Tough day at work yesterday (Thursday). Wasn't home until 1am and after some food and chillaxing went to bed. Up early this morning to drop off family and then on to the build again...

So the base had a couple of days to rest and cure the glue. I took the masking tape off...and nothing fell apart which was good. As you can see in the picture below I put 4 thin nails into the bottom of the base to keep it off the table in preparation for staining and varnishing. A little trick I saw in someone's Crack build, can't remember who but thanks whoever you are. I guess some of you might think that you end up with 4 holes in the bottom but they are small and will be covered anyway...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SIcAWpcE7Pk/VAkYnXcNTYI/AAAAAAAAByM/NBzjidfLKqM/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140905_093655.jpg)


After 1 coat of the combined stain and varnish. Colour looks good. I am happy with it but it is obvious that more coats will be needed...

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5jQ__Y1hgyw/VAkYX3qz2cI/AAAAAAAABx0/stEYMdd7XfI/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140905_095148.jpg)

So I let it dry for a couple of hours. It was dry to touch by this point so I added another coat.

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wv8068J0bck/VAkYLQpTM1I/AAAAAAAABxY/7iLL_2XXhZU/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140905_112137.jpg)

More pics after two coats...

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NvTY3ECY5Ko/VAkYe5BX7nI/AAAAAAAAByA/3urpsR5Mt7k/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140905_112141.jpg)

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-39QLU8I_IwY/VAkYRQFVwjI/AAAAAAAABxo/9pOLkUALR3c/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140905_112154.jpg)

As you can see after the second coat it doesn't look appreciably darker but it is starting to look a bit more shiny. The guy at the hardware store suggested this combined varnish and stain product and I thought there's no harm in trying. I'm generally suspicious of these "convenience" products but so far this has been easy to work and the fact that it's water based makes it easier to get off my hands (and my mobile phone screen - don't ask...).

After the first coat I was actually thinking I would need a separate varnishing step after finishing this but I'm going to apply another 1-2 coats of this and see what happens.

This took me back to woodwork class in my first year of high school back in 80s. I never really liked that class and I must say I secretly envied the girls doing home economics or whatever that was called...mainly cause I liked food a lot (I still do).

After lunch I will apply another coat and then (breathe...relax...) start with the electronics. I may also do a trip to the hardware store again (10 minute drive) to pick up some point for the transformer housing. I was thinking maybe "crackle" finish in either a grey or a blue hue...

Take Care and see you soon...hopefully a bit more "Seduced" (cough cough Doc B. cough cough)


Offline Stedes

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Reply #22 on: September 06, 2014, 03:52:16 AM
Day 4: (Friday September 05)

Yesterday I had one of those enlightenment moments...you know the ones with a light bulb above your head...maybe...

I was thinking that I would like to make the transformer housing look a little bit nicer and a little bit different. I wanted a bit of colour and blue was the initial thought.

So down to the hardware store again for some advice and purchases:

- Scouring pads
- Etch Primer Spray
- Paint

- Ended up choosing a blue colour that I liked. I know many of you will disagree but hey...it can be repainted if it doesn't work.

So...back to the lightbulb moment. I realised that to paint the housing I would have to remove it...and I remembered that removing it would make everything under the chassis that's attached to those 4 screws (the two terminals) fall off...So I thought that I might as well do it before any connections are made, my thinking being that when all the connections are in place the terminals won't move much so I will remove and replace the screws one by one to put the housing back. It remains to be seen if this will work well.

So...The housing was removed and "sanded" making it more shiny and removing all the stains:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iy-MS0F_1DE/VAsOmvfI0vI/AAAAAAAAB0E/keCUQNS2iWY/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140905_173957.jpg)

After a bit of cleaning I used alcohol wipes to clean the surface and sprayed on a coat of primer:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lRJdSLe4zfE/VAsOnhDtOsI/AAAAAAAAB20/oc6YQPO2Ppk/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140905_174328.jpg)

After doing that a very good friend (and engineer - who taught me how to solder) came over to visit. Without realising that the housing wasn't dry, he picked it up to have a look causing a very funny "oops" moment. This was sprayed again and left overnight to dry.

On inspecting the woodwork I then discovered that, on one of the sides, a long hair had stuck itself under the varnish (thanks darling) so the whole exterior of the case was sanded back and cleaned before applying two more coats of stain/varnish.

The rest of the night I...listened to music. Lots to come in Day 5 though...
« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 04:25:01 AM by Stedes »


Offline Stedes

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Reply #23 on: September 06, 2014, 04:20:15 AM
Day 5: September 6

So today I woke up to be Seduced by a forum announcement. I was quite happy with the Seductor and as it is the obvious match to the Smash I ordered one of the first run (thanks Eileen for the speedy email communication).

The weather was crap today...it was raining since the morning...So no painting could be done outside. I was not happy as I had promised I wouldn't use spray paint indoors. But I am a boy and as such quite naughty so I did...it's a small surface area to paint after all.

So...the housing primer coat was dry and so it then received 2 coats of blue Dulux enamel paint...I love this colour.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JLosXhBuMEY/VAsOrmn1g8I/AAAAAAAAB0U/kdoR6MdpzzM/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_154539.jpg)

So this was left to dry. Two more coats were then applied to the base and after the last one dried I was quite happy with how it is turning out...shiny enough but not too glossy and the colour is lovely:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--aazLCeXIlw/VAsOzfLEUdI/AAAAAAAAB0c/36Hdn1KLQzQ/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_163855.jpg)

And so to the chassis build:

Everything was labeled with a non-permanent marker and then I started off the Earth connection and wires from transformer to the power switch and AC connector...

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MUxS88pohnw/VAsO2fjNzDI/AAAAAAAAB0k/HaYaGFRn764/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_163905.jpg)

With this kind of thing I've realised that it pays to read the manual 2-3 steps ahead at a time just to know what's coming so you have an idea of how cables can be rooted etc. Still weird working with inches but I managed to find a tape measure that has both cm and in which has made things easier.

Here are the first lot of connections to the transformer. Not the most elegant soldering but it is solid and I was very careful for things not to touch other things that they're not meant to touch (if that makes sense)...

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r1j_-Vt1x5k/VAsO64l1PbI/AAAAAAAAB0s/DOBI5zAGT74/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_165135.jpg)

And then according the manual it's voltage check time. I followed the procedure as is in the manual exactly except that I didn't have alligator thingys for my multimeter. I kept well away though, using a long extension cable. Firstly I got 8.4V...hmm...something is wrong here. I disconnected everything and looked puzzled. My wife turned around and said: " Are you sure the multimeter is set properly?" which prompted me to look at her with a: "Yes Woman, the Man knows what he is doing" look but thankfully before opening my big mouth and saying something I noticed that the multimeter was set to DC not AC....DOH!

Setting to AC and voila...we have something:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1ApCZ4fkkiw/VAsPMi-Y4YI/AAAAAAAAB08/wAU2PdY9OVM/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_170957.jpg)

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1xfB7tCsGao/VAsPNpsS50I/AAAAAAAAB1E/EV-fGte-dRk/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_171258.jpg)

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-i3RLpkvZI4Q/VAsPXzt_OwI/AAAAAAAAB1M/piCD9fvtNug/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_171400.jpg)


Then onto the wiring:

First lot of multicore installed and ready for the ends to be soldered to the RCA inputs:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hB0cX_8SVx0/VAsPfNL3pZI/AAAAAAAAB1U/15YgI-8H7Sw/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_173504.jpg)

Inputs 1 and 2 wired:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D_H2dguHmZ0/VAsPhzZavPI/AAAAAAAAB1c/8cntIRur9TQ/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_185035.jpg)

Selector switch partly wired for inputs 1 and 2:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ss_FCWtkF9c/VAsPmmQcrnI/AAAAAAAAB1k/RZVh5-EgeEI/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_190356.jpg)

Second run of multicore installed next to first one:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cTre6fr7OrQ/VAsPxVJWv8I/AAAAAAAAB1s/KhwE0McW9yo/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_204323.jpg)

Input 3 and outputs wired including resistors. The resistors were not as easy as I thought it would be...fiddly...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-jofowoEiOi4/VAsP-xlvmEI/AAAAAAAAB2M/PPHCZYra2oM/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_215804.jpg)

Output closeup:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8a9TjN4kmrU/VAsP4EGRbyI/AAAAAAAAB10/WRuM0h614vo/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_215815.jpg)

Then on to the stuff around the transformer. The diodes needed quite a lot of care so that they're not touching etc. The capacitors were quite fun to solder in...I love big fat components that are easy to hold especially for someone like me with big sausage fingers...

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gtg50Oihi70/VAsP9BGFglI/AAAAAAAAB18/XGrIvL9-qTU/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_225654.jpg)

And then the bottom half of the wiring around the transformer included the other sexy looking capacitor:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Gyk4K73jc9M/VAsQDrljSiI/AAAAAAAAB2U/dKFaP8vOIEE/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_230836.jpg)

At this point I was getting tired and it was already 11pm. I flicked the manual and the next step is the PCB for the filament voltage regulation. I thought it was probably a good time to stop and get to bed. Before that though I couldn't resist having a sneak peak at how the final article would look like...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZnxGX16uqZQ/VAsQG-hnNJI/AAAAAAAAB2c/hCLapgkZ4yg/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140906_231058.jpg)

The photo is a little bit dark but you can see the dark colour of the wood, the slight sheen to it and, of course, who can miss the blue housing. I don't know if it looks good or not. I like the blue colour very much but I'm not sure it actually matches the rest. Opinions please...what colour do you think would match better?

After that everything off, dog put out and it's off to bed to write this post. Hope you all have a good day and I shall hopefully do some more work tomorrow. It is, after all, Father's Day!
« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 04:26:29 AM by Stedes »


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #24 on: September 06, 2014, 05:19:52 AM
Build looks great, I really like the blue. The only suggestion I have is you might want to desolder the red wire at power transformer terminal 2 and slip a bit of heat shrink or scrap insulation over the bare part, as it looks like it might hit terminal 1 if the cable gets knocked around.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.

Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #25 on: September 06, 2014, 06:27:11 AM
I like the blue color, I'd get her mounted and make it permanent ;)

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man

Offline fullheadofnothing

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Reply #26 on: September 06, 2014, 11:43:31 AM
Quote from: Stedes on September 06, 2014, 04:20:15 AM
Still weird working with inches but I managed to find a tape measure that has both cm and in which has made things easier.

Huh? Every wire is specified in both systems of measure. That's one of the more time consuming tasks in writing a manual, and is done for the benefit of those who can't easily find rulers marked in inches.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 01:12:23 PM by Doc B. »

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Offline Stedes

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Reply #27 on: September 07, 2014, 03:22:56 AM
Quote from: fullheadofnothing on September 06, 2014, 11:43:31 AM
Huh? Every wire is specified in both systems of measure. That's one of the more time consuming tasks in writing a manual, and is done for the benefit of those who can't easily find rulers marked in inches.

Yes. Every wire is specified in both units of measure. I didn't mean to offend you with what I said so let me explain...The reason I found it easier to use inches for cutting the cables is simply that it was much easier for me (and my beginning to be presbyopic eyes) to read on the ruler e.g. 3 inches rather than 76mm because the 3 inches line was big while the 76mm line is much smaller.

Oh and judging by the fact that I have managed to finish the build without running into any problems with the instructions (being a total newb) means that the manual is very very good indeed.


Offline Stedes

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Reply #28 on: September 07, 2014, 04:28:51 AM
Day 6: September 7

It's Father's Day today here in Australia. I received a very nice card from my 2yo daughter..surprisingly good hand writing too!

Out for lunch to a restaurant that we are unlikely to be returning...Not all was lost however as we took a nice drive and then returned home.

Time for some work on the Smash:

Thanks for the comments about the colour of the housing. I decided to put it back on as I didn't want to get to the stage when things got too complicated underneath and I was risking ripping connections. So...very carefully and with the help of some masking tape holding the screws and put it back on for the first time after it was painted...

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5W70A99HFRM/VAxg9nGIB4I/AAAAAAAAB30/Vsheyqnx0pk/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_163046.jpg)

I really like the way it looks. It's glossier than it looks in the photos.

Then it was on to correct a mistake as suggested by Doc B. (thank you - always appreciated). One of the cables connected to the transformer (red wire to Terminal 2) had too much metal exposed. I managed to cover most of it with unused insulation and now it should be safer:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Zx7xlWJA4Hk/VAxg3eEzY3I/AAAAAAAAB7Q/jAnVhaqWMpk/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_164716.jpg)

After this it was time to make build the filament regulator board. Fortunately while I was waiting for the Smash kit to arrive I got some cheap soldering "projects" which involved PCBs to practise soldering on. Resistors soldered on:

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mwrWaYkh_sc/VAxg3uMFMTI/AAAAAAAAB3s/Bv6WRvQmm6o/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_171441.jpg)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JFu_lARnenk/VAxhBeLicsI/AAAAAAAAB4E/KTS1mY0LX2I/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_171448.jpg)

I then mounted the rest of the components on the PCB and installed it on the chassis:

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Va34XwiACG0/VAxhIN7Nm6I/AAAAAAAAB7Y/gVYafFeexMM/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_173013.jpg)

The IC was then mounted (I really liked this bit...not sure why...):

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mFDg72Xq1dI/VAxhNrGlcsI/AAAAAAAAB4U/rwf1O4EsIiQ/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_173035.jpg)

After that came the wiring of the filament regulator board:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZZ9LbhSKqTU/VAxhP3FBRjI/AAAAAAAAB4c/IrY-jRAWRHA/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_174849.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PlV9OQIA4DY/VAxiY8Ilk7I/AAAAAAAAB6U/ZWb4RWTZPiI/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_224511.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hVk91jjZDKg/VAxhYhKUWsI/AAAAAAAAB4k/qR7hM5KRVZ4/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_181102.jpg)

After that I had bit of a break and then started with the connections on the source selector and balance and volume pots:

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CNHtZZ0MrtQ/VAxhcrpa_cI/AAAAAAAAB4s/-D3aBfu6QT4/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_182921.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vCeDNjty6Ko/VAxhfziIrZI/AAAAAAAAB40/pmmKVsPcbfY/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_185613.jpg)

Then came the ground bus and shunt regulator:

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zLZf6yebfB0/VAxho5HirUI/AAAAAAAAB48/t3a-Rs32vcQ/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_191535.jpg)

And finally the audio circuit...wow...components are really starting to run out now...I may finish this tonight!

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lG6NwagipI8/VAxhteJUujI/AAAAAAAAB5E/zYyFKgx_MlE/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_223030.jpg)

At about 11pm and without having had dinner (or anything to drink since about 5pm) it was done...all the connections were anyway...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Jje9CK7y6m4/VAxhwPsprsI/AAAAAAAAB5M/qDd29sttBLI/w1317-h988-no/IMG_20140907_224436.jpg)

At this point I was tired, it was late and I was really really tempted...but common sense (and hunger) prevailed and I thought I would call it a night.
Tomorrow I will do the resistance and voltage checks (after a rest - which is probably much safer) and hopefully we will have...'first sound'.

So I checked all the connections to make sure I didn't have any loose ones. I brushed away any bits of metal left on the bottom of the chassis and I then took close ups of all the components and connections so that I can post them for help if things are working as they should. I then flipped it the right way, positioned it on the wood base and loosely fitted the 3 control knobs...

(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ZKU17DV7Ga8OY5QDNyYH2SuqtI3NJnSdY4JrRzXOYts=w1317-h988-no)

Hope you've all enjoyed reading my rather long thread...More tomorrow after some sleep.

Take care and see you soon.


Offline phildent

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Reply #29 on: September 07, 2014, 05:36:28 AM
Fantastic thread Stedes.Great photo's that will be incredibly useful at build time.
I was rather hoping that ic board was already stuffed,oh well another skill to learn.
One of my John Bowers active one amps has gone down and will need repair.Hopefully just a faulty capacitor or something as the output devices are made of unobtainium.
Best of luck with the measurements and the great switch on but I am sure with all the care you have shown all will be well.
Phil :)


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