Son of a Breadboard

[SILVERGUN]

I am proud to announce the birth of a new baby breadboard  

The first one has been such a hit for me that I wanted to do a smaller version for home use.....and here it is!
I found that I like to let circuits marinate on my main board a while,,,,but when other interest arise, I wanted a platform to experiment on, quickly, and painlessly...
I hate to call it a breadboard, because it does not have anywhere near the flexibility of a true breadboard,,,,but after some thought, it includes the features that I wanted, without too many options that I find distracting, and counter productive............
So I refer to it as my "experimental platform"

Until now I have not had anything at home that resembles amp tinkering (except books and schematics), so this is not only an experiment of audio circuits, BUT also an experiment of the tolerance of a woman  
I had a room in the house free up recently, and I decided to jump in there before it becomes another "arts and crafts" room (we already have one of those)

Wish me luck as I wire up some of the old standards as well as some of the new toys on the block....
I realized, while I was starting to put the first circuit on place, that I hadn't shot any pictures.....so here it is:

The inaugural amp will be a Tubenit designed TBM variety, which I hope to have completed and running this weekend.....
The white sockets are set up for 12__7 types, and the black 2 are wired up for 9-pin pentodes....there are also 2 DIN mounted octal sockets.
There is an aluminum bar that runs down the center, under the board that serves as my main ground buss, and all heater wiring was done under the board as well (separate xfmr)
For now, just SS rectifier, and fixed voltage main xfmr (because I'm sitting on 6 of them),,,,,,,,with the option to change both in the future

    Here's to the future!

[Ed_Chambley]

SG, you are the man.  Good to know a nice feller like you has testing boards.  Rather cool I think, but it is a little selfish.  I know you will be using it to feed me and others with some cool new findings.

Looks great.

[kagliostro]

  Welcome to the new offspring, congratulations dad

Now we want to see some photo in use 

K

[TubeGeek]

 

I'm jealous now!

Nice job.  Got me thinking now. Damnit.

[SILVERGUN]

SG, you are the man.  Good to know a nice feller like you has testing boards.  Rather cool I think, but it is a little selfish.  I know you will be using it to feed me and others with some cool new findings

You got it sir....I promise to give you the goods  

Now we want to see some photo in use  

Alright, I'll remember that.....and sound clips coming soon  

I'm jealous now!
Nice job.  Got me thinking now. Damnit.

C'mon man.....you got this
Parts list:
Plywood, garolite, sockets, screws, lots'o' terminal strips, misc. electrical supplies, aluminum flat bar, steel pre-punched rails......DONE

[TubeGeek]

SG, you are the man.  Good to know a nice feller like you has testing boards.  Rather cool I think, but it is a little selfish.  I know you will be using it to feed me and others with some cool new findings

You got it sir....I promise to give you the goods  

Now we want to see some photo in use  

Alright, I'll remember that.....and sound clips coming soon  

I'm jealous now!
Nice job.  Got me thinking now. Damnit.

C'mon man.....you got this
Parts list:
Plywood, garolite, sockets, screws, lots'o' terminal strips, misc. electrical supplies, aluminum flat bar, steel pre-punched rails......DONE

Yeah but....the problem is time. Too many people paying me money to build them stuff. No time left for me and my own ideas  

Seriously though I want to build something like yours someday so I can experiment with ideas. It's gonna be interesting to see you put this in use.

[SILVERGUN]

Here's a shot of the original for comparison

[Willabe]

Yup, you do very nice work.

One thing, if you go to use a pair of (fat) 6550's or KT88's, KT90's, etc. you'll have to move those sockets further apart.


           Brad     

[jojokeo]

Well done "point man"! You are leading the (electrical) charge and the point to point practice you will gain is why the new nick name. I know what you mean regarding marinating circuits on a breadboard. You get something going you like and you're not in a hurry to disassemble! It's hard to imagine how quickly you can go from one design to another in such a short amount of time. Tubenit has competition now ;) you can both confirm each other's findings in only an hour or two. But the great thing is how fast & easy it can be to totally insert a whole new tube or whatever anywhere and however you want to. Set up a tray of various jumpers & alligator clip leads you're all set...
 

[eleventeen]

That really looks like fun.

Very nicely executed, too.

[jojokeo]

Wow! That look much better on my computer than my cell phone 

[SILVERGUN]

Thanks guys!

One thing, if you go to use a pair of (fat) 6550's or KT88's, KT90's, etc. you'll have to move those sockets further apart.

Yeah, I stuck a couple 6L6s in there when I was evaluating filament voltage drop,,,and they looked odd that close....
Luckily I left some slack on the wires, and there's just enough DIN rail there to spread em...
If I ever go to 4 output tubes I'll just add some rail

[SILVERGUN]

I know what you mean regarding marinating circuits on a breadboard. You get something going you like and you're not in a hurry to disassemble! It's hard to imagine how quickly you can go from one design to another in such a short amount of time.

That's exactly what's going on......I've got a great thing going on over there, and I'm afraid that if I start disassembling it, I'll lose the magic....I hope to not get so attached on this one 

Tubenit has competition now ;) you can both confirm each other's findings in only an hour or two. But the great thing is how fast & easy it can be to totally insert a whole new tube or whatever anywhere and however you want to.

I would love to be able to provide quick results for his (and others) hard work......and it can be frustrating working within the confines of a standard chassis......all this really is, is a flat wooden chassis with screw connectors for convenience......
I'm gonna miss the smell of flux, but my wife wont 

[jojokeo]

I'm gonna miss the smell of flux, but my wife wont 

I originally thought the idea of "breadboarding" was for making effects pedals (for me) and/or other fun little projects limited to smaller circuits but you opened my eyes about it "PM".

I try to be careful about the solder fumes as I wonder if Ken Fischer's auto immune disease might have been attributed to all the soldering and handling of the lead through all the years? But there is something about it isn't there? I love the smell of electronics equipment - old and new. Some people like the smell of a new book or magazine and open up a few pages and stick their nose in there, well when a new or old amp comes in one of the first things I do is get my nose in there too, lol. People think I'm a bit whacky at times anyway so WTF I don't mind. It can help w/ troubleshooting sometimes. I'm likely not the only one here I suspect??? 

[Tone Junkie]

Looks Great SG I like the size of the footprint not to big. But you can try out almost anything on it.
Bill

[TIMBO]

That's Great, The schems on its way and i'll get you the tweak it to the max, then when your 100% happy with the final sound
, chuck a sound clip together then send the amended schem back to me, this will save me a couple of months of tearing apart a chassis load of bits. YOU ARE THE MAN 

[SILVERGUN]

That's Great, The schems on its way and i'll get you the tweak it to the max, then when your 100% happy with the final sound
, chuck a sound clip together then send the amended schem back to me, this will save me a couple of months of tearing apart a chassis load of bits. YOU ARE THE MAN 

Alright TIMBO,,,,you're my first "customer"

Let's do the math:
1) $5000 deposit to clear the board and work exclusively on "your" design
2) $100 per hour X 3 hours for initial layout = $300
3) Unlimited tweaking billed at $100/hr. = ? (this could get pricey)
4) Rehearsal and recording time @ $250/hr. X 10 hrs= $2500
5) Schematic adjustment charge-----for you, I'll throw it in for free on the FIRST one

Hmmmmmm,,,,,,
I'm thinkin it might be cheaper for you to just BUILD ONE 

 

[jojokeo]

Holy crap that's expensive - how much would you charge just for a schematic of the schematic?! (tongue in cheek) 

[TIMBO]

 

[silverfox]

Jojokeo said: "Holy crap that's expensive - how much would you charge just for a schematic of the schematic?! (tongue in cheek)"

I understand your humour. But on the serious side consider the possibilities and perhaps put this in your tool box should you need it one day-

What do you think it would cost to hire an Indian to do the same job over here? About $25,000 minimum and that's not very realistic. So...

Should your day job ever move to say, an Asian country? you might seriously consider design consulting work as an alternative. Offer a "Try before you buy option". I used to charge $80/hr. as a computer consultant and people were happy to pay that for the service, as it was guaranteed.

However, there should be a minimum set up fee of say $99. applicable to final purchase price. You pick some basic designs available and then tweak to finished product.

Cover the box though so people don't see the mystique otherwise they would lose some degree of fascination... Put a card board box over the design that say "Doe's proprietary design Monster Gain Blah Blah Amp"

Good job.. You've got great skills and hard work. Don't sell yourself short.

Silverfox.

[jojokeo]

Point taken silver fox. My kidding was obvious but if I was asked to perform consignment work for an actual company paying me for professional services in this regard, it actually wouldn't be out of line at all. Cheap actually but that wasn't my intent either originally.
*interesting you mentioned hiring an Indian not Asian or Mexican since they are the two cultures that normally perform this kind of work these days. I don't know if either type of "Indians" (peace or huka pipes) are suited for hiring in our line of endeavor?!
*no offense intended to ethnicities mentioned.

[silverfox]

Your right Jojokeo, it would be hard to get an engineer from India to accept an amp design project. They tend to gravitate towards the Silicone Valley jobs that come in at the 70K to 100K range, no taxes and a US Visa. But then those are the kind of jobs, ("Automated Test Systems Design Engineer Wanted") Americans won't do or they can't find someone with those skill here so they go overseas to fill the positions.... Oh and of course no offence intended towards any ethunicities- all comers welcome to America... and my first smiley- 

Silverfox.

[SILVERGUN]

Now we want to see some photo in use 

Alright K, here it is with the TBM 5879 OD circuit on it 

Took a little bit of troubleshooting to get it running but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out....

[jojokeo]

Alright K, here it is with the TBM 5879 OD circuit on it 

Took a little bit of troubleshooting to get it running but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out....

Nice! In the sailing world your maiden voyage is known as the "shake down cruise" and where you discover any issues or problems that need to be addressed before you're really ready to set off to far away places. Good job but it looks nothing like tubenit's layout!? 

[SILVERGUN]

Nice! In the sailing world your maiden voyage is known as the "shake down cruise" and where you discover any issues or problems that need to be addressed before you're really ready to set off to far away places. Good job but it looks nothing like tubenit's layout!? 

Well,,,to be honest,,,the shakedown cruise went through some rough waters.....
I was reminded that all preamp cathode resitors must get attached to the ground buss ,,,in order for the signal to get through 
Other than that,,,it was smooth....
Until I tried to turn it up past 2 on the volume and realized exactly how loud this was going to be in my house....
I don't know why I didn't realize it was gonna be that bad, but I'm up on the 3rd floor, and I live on a quiet street......whoooooa

Not sure how I'm gonna handle it, but it came back to work with me today so I can "open 'er up" 

My favorite part about working like this, is not having to follow a layout...... I just keep a schematic there with a highlighter and highlight each component, one at a time (after I double-check the value), as I install them..............fun

[jojokeo]

Until I tried to turn it up past 2 on the volume and realized exactly how loud this was going to be in my house....
I don't know why I didn't realize it was gonna be that bad, but I'm up on the 3rd floor, and I live on a quiet street......whoooooa

Not sure how I'm gonna handle it, but it came back to work with me today so I can "open 'er up" 

My favorite part about working like this, is not having to follow a layout...... I just keep a schematic there with a highlighter and highlight each component, one at a time (after I double-check the value), as I install them..............fun

Yep, I have finally installed my DumbleWatt chassis into a cab this weekend (2xel84). I put in a ppimv a while back and found some baked screen resistors after worrying about have too high of voltage on them. The big lesson was "screw them screens". It really squashed my power output but now it's really loud on 2 also. Even with the MV on 3 it gets really loud. I think I'm getting full power with the MV on only 5 or 6? As it goes towards full up I only get a little more floor noise not really any extra power or headroom. We get a lot more signal voltage than we realize in most cases hitting those power tubes.

[Jack_Hester]

Well, I'm at it again.  Drawing is kinda like thinking out loud, for me.  

Once again, being the packrat that I am, and my co-workers know such, one of them (a couple years ago) asked me if I wanted some panels that were being removed to retrofit new equipment.  He brought one of them to the shop, for me to see.  It's 21" long by 17-5/8" wide, and has standoff panels (along the 21" length) that are 5" high.  I most certainly took it, but the contractors working with him threw the other five in the dumpster.  Glad I go the one.  

Anyway, I mentioned having this panel to Silvergun, and finally got some measurements of it's dimensions.  Then, I began laying out some possible boards, using even numbered lengths.  Makes it easier for me to copy/paste portions of a finished board to a smaller one.  

I drew boards with 8-pin sockets, 9-pin sockets, and one with standard 1-3/8" capacitor clamps.  As soon as I can get out to the shop and get my hands on one, I plan to measure and model a 7-pin board, as I like those little tubes.  On the cap board, I figure to stand the caps upright and run wiring from the terminals up to the terminal strips.  

The terminal strips that I patterned my drawing from has 12 terminals, and is right at 3" long.  I believe that it's metric, though, as I can find no really close measurement in fractions of an inch, though 1/64" comes mighty close.  So, I based my drawing of them on 1/64".  

I figure to put the boards on standoffs, with distances between at some common multiples such that I can drill my panel to take long or short boards.  Depending on their application (octals, novals, caps).  

Because there's so much room under this panel, I can hang any iron needed under there, drill and grommet holes for the wiring to come up to binding posts on top.  As there are a variety of OT's available, with multi-impedance taps, I can plan to have a couple of those mounted underneath.  I'm thinking low power will suffice, for breadboarding.  

As to PT's, I can use my bench supply for now.  I have some small auto-transformers that I haven't tested.  If good, I can use one of those with a large PT, to set the secondary voltage to whatever a design may need.  

Anyway, the layout of the drawing is only to get something down for viewing.  I'll re-post it, when I have 7-pin board complete.

Jack

Note: 01Feb14 - See below for additions to layout.  No real changes, otherwise

[Jack_Hester]

Got a board with 7-pin sockets.  At least it's a small file.  Sorry Sluckey, for the green.  Hope that you are able to see it.  It's the color that I have my 'circuit board' layer set at, for all my drawings.

Take a look, and please comment.  I need suggestions as to a proper positioning of the boards, though it will be such that they can be moved about very easily.  Have a good one.

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

A question for Silvergun. 

What is the source for your rails that you mount your pots and jacks to?  I'll add that to a BOM, if someone has need.  Thanks.

Jack

[SILVERGUN]

What is the source for your rails that you mount your pots and jacks to?  I'll add that to a BOM, if someone has need.  Thanks.

Home Depot has a small selection of steel/aluminum in their hardware dept......this stuff comes in 3' lengths, and unfortunately they are $10 a piece.....I was able to make my front and side rails out of one piece.

Everything else looks good Jack.....I never wrote out a true plan, and it took me a month to do a little bit at a time and it worked out well for me.

[Jack_Hester]

Thanks for the easy source.  I may swing by there on the way home from Church, tomorrow.  

I checked, and found that I have more than enough of the little terminal strips to make up the boards that I have drawn.  Only a few standoffs, though.  I have no idea that Home Depot will have such, but I'll look for those too.  

As to a plan, I don't really have one.  That's why I appreciate the work of others.  I'll snap pictures of my progress, whenever it starts to come together.  As I go, I'll be sure the drawing also reflects my work.  At least I can return the favor with drawings, if they can benefit someone else's build.  

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Silvergun -

Found the bracket in Home Depot.  Here's the specs for any who want the info:

Crown Bolt 1-1/4 in. x 48 in. Zinc-Plated Punched Angle
Part No: 470619
$9.48 / each

I also saw flat punched strips, of the same length, in the event that an edge-mount is needed.  I believe that it has plenty of edge to drill for mounting, and still leave room for jacks and pots.  I didn't write that info down.

By today's inflation, that would be a normal price.  At least it's long enough to make several angle strips.  Thanks again, for the source.

Jack