Getting ready to build

[Paul P]

I finally dug my shop out from under several years worth of accumulated
crap and threw this contraption together to hold my chassis :

chassisvise.jpg

It's a big chassis, 17x10x4, 20 gauge steel. I think I'll make it rack-mountable
though it'll be installed in a more or less regular amp-style cabinet (head).

I've been tweaking my design every day for the past several months and
I'm sort of afraid to start. It's a lot easier to make changes on paper
(well, virtual paper).

Paul P

[Chuck H]

Tre' cool rig, I'm so gonna build one of those...Some day

"I've been tweaking my design every day for the past several months and
I'm sort of afraid to start."

Damn the torpedoes. Build what you have designed. After that, if you can't mod it, rebuild it. What do you have to lose. You could discover something great about what you've been tweaking.

I recently had to build, and then redesign and rebuild an amp. So now I have this prototype board waiting to be salvaged or reworked in a similar chassis sometime. No big deal. It's about $30. U.S. in componants but I DO still have them. You probably have more than one board worth of componants in a tray cabinet right now...Right??

What I discovered on my last build (that I had to rebuild into a more pedantic and predictable design) is that you can use a cathodyne PI followed by a pair of shunt feedback triodes to reduce impedance AND increase drive to the power tubes. That part of my design worked. So something was gained. I don't know when I'll ever get back to experimenting with this. I just didn't have time with this design to trouble shoot all the flaws right then. But it's a new experience under my belt.

Anyone who designs a 360* chassis mount to build on MUST have other ideas of merit. Go for it. Be a designer and not just a builder. I sometimes spend a year massaging a design before I try it out. It still doesn't always work as I plan. But something is always gained.

Chuck

[Paul P]

Thanks for the encouragement Chuck. I see tubeswell zipping along with his
build and figure I should get a move on .

Another little project that let me procrastinate some more :

wirerack.jpg

I have quite a bit more wire than I need but I wanted several colours
to help trace things. Should be enough for a few dozen amps...

Paul P

[Chuck H]

Cool, It looks to made of 3/4" stock with routed edges like a combo cab

Chuck

[Paul P]

Since my chassis will be fairly high while I work on it I wanted some way to
raise my multimeter so that I could read it easily. The multimeter has a picture
frame type rest in the back so you can prop it up but it's very unstable. I
was also worried about knocking it off the bench all the time. And it only
came with a small soft case with little room for probes and stuff.

Hence a new box :

multi_ 004.jpg multi_ 005.jpg multi_ 001.jpgmulti_ 003.jpg multi_ 002.jpg

Paul P

[tubeswell]

That's a smart idea. I see that you have left plenty of room to chuck your tools in beside the meter while your working so you don't lose them all over the bench. I like it.

[Paul P]

This'll be my last post in this thread 'cause I'm no longer getting ready,
I've started .

I needed a couple more tools to help in center punching the holes to be
drilled in the chassis. These are like anvils, one for the top :

anvil1.jpg anvil2.jpg

and one for the front and back panels :

anvil3.jpg anvil4.jpg anvil5.jpg

I'll start a new thread to describe the build itself.

Paul P