Prototyping systems

[John_P_WI]

I've been working on a design for a while, but I decided from the start I wanted to be able to change out part values without desoldering.

Here are a couple of Mouser parts, that I plan to use in pairs to mount plate/cathode resistors and caps.

571-14376714 Compression type

571-7969493 Screw type

One thing concerns me,..these are not rated for DC voltage. But the AC current capacity on both connectors is considerably higher than would be found in a guitar amp.

Interesting. So I guess there are two aspects I should investigate. One is being able to swap stages and order of stages in and out quickly, and the other swapping in and out different component values quickly.

Here is a Celestion Sidewinder mentioned in that article.
I have no idea if they sound good but here is one for $10

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-80s-CEL ... 589737e25c

Damn, jump on that sidewinder. I love those speakers, big, clean and loud - Celestion's take on an EV. I have a 2x12 loaded with them as my amp tester.

[Lindz]

I had also thought about making some turrets with screw clamps so you could also swap leads and components quickly on a more traditional board layout.

[Reeltarded]

Love Sidewinders. Those are a useful speaker.

Seems like a small chassis for output and transformers with a peg board and binding posts would be a cheap route to quickly reconfigure an amp.

Duncan stopped selling that Convertible for a good reason.

omg

[Structo]

I know this is getting away from prototyping but Egnator made an amp that allowed different preamp modules to be plugged in.

Sounds neat on paper but if I recall it didn't get great reviews.
Probably the expense for one thing.

http://www.egnater.com/modules.html

[LeftyStrat]

Yeah, I've never heard any great reviews on the modular amps. My goal is be able to quickly try some "what ifs," before settling on a topology, and then build a real amp and tweak it.

Try trying to think outside the box, (or those two walls).

[davent]

Not mine, very cool breadboarding system, variation on the Tube Lab setup.

http://home.polstra.com/amps/breadboard/

More breadbaording ideas here.

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/fun ... be_BB.html

dave

[Reeltarded]

Who is it around here that had the metal frame thing with this idea anyhow? About a year ago.

Thinking of a keyword for a search. It was overbuilt awesomeness though. Made to last.

[printer2]

Keep a trace or two between the parts depending on voltage, fast trying out ideas.

[img729]http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp14 ... dboard.jpg[/img]

[Decko]

Here it is:

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=


Screw terminals suck.

Next revision of this will use sping clamp terminals like Wago.


Decko

[Structo]

Sweet!

So you made the frame?

Where did you get the modules?

[Decko]

Sweet!

So you made the frame?

Where did you get the modules?

Hi Structo,

I made the frame out of standard "slotted" extruded aluminum. (Mfg: 80/20, Bosch, Item)
I used this material because I wanted the frame to be the main conductor. It is also easy to use and modify.

I bought the 8 pin din rail mount sockets from Fry's Electronics.
In order to make the 9 pin module, I modified the 8 pin din rail mounted sockets and purchase 9 pin surface mount socket.

I then procured dinrail.

The other modules ( switches, pots, power, fuse, 1/4 inch inputs, etc) I cut and machined 1.5 X 1 inch angle aluminum. The thought here was to have flexibility in component placement in the initial design of an amp circuit.

The slots in the extruded aluminum allowed me to move the modules around the frame with ease. The screws and t-nuts lock into place with one tool.

I did discover that screw terminals are cumbersome yet functional. But I will change the design to use spring clamp technology. This will allow me to quickly interchange component values quickly without fumbling with a screw driver!

Regards,
Danny

[LeftyStrat]

Here it is:

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=


Screw terminals suck.

Next revision of this will use sping clamp terminals like Wago.


Decko

Very impressive!

[jbefumo]

Here's something I put together. There are 8 identical stations, each accessing power, signal, and tube busses, plus two power amp stations. Boards can go in whichever station is convenient, and the signal routing is controlled by the position within the 12-line signal bus connectors. The boards snap securely into the retainer clips.

the entire thing slides into a cabinet that's the same dimensions as a Marshall 100 head, so it can be safely taken out for field testing.

I've spruced it up quite a bit since these pics were taken.

Basically, I'm working on putting together a set of well-tested, plain-vanilla modules . . . preamp, tone stack, phase inverter, power board, that way I can experiment with new modules within a solid environment without reinventing too many wheels.

[Structo]

Nice!

Is the speaker motor for a dummy load?

[jbefumo]

[quote="Structo"]Nice!

Is the speaker motor for a dummy load?[/quote]

YUP - got it from Weber. Can be had in 50 & 100W versions.

Wouldn't even bother for a stand-alone attenuator, given the reasonable cost of their units, but I've been working on tightly integrating them into my amp designs (see attached).[/img]