Different Style of Layouts

[CanAmps]

Hello everyone

First post here, now my big question concerning the different layouts seen online.  I love the Hoffman layout style of his amps and I have seen the others and the one thing I noticed is no shared turrets as some others do, the only shared turret on a Hoffman board is when the component is running perpendicular to the next. Is this just a personal preference of Doug or is it producing a better amp with less problem.  If this has been discussed already I apologize in advance.

Thanks
Steve aka CanAmps

[shooter]

I personally like *un-shared turrets* because when you have to get back into it for mods, fixes, etc, you are only messing with a small part-count area.  If you had 5 components all soldered to the same turret, there's a good chance you get a cold-solder on one, and walla, you're back in messing around.  I'm the poster child for ADD so aesthetics  isn't as critical, but when you do a *clean-layout*, it does "shine"

[EL34]

Turret lug holes are way smaller than eyelet holes so you can stuff several parts into a turret lug hole


Plus, I like the way parallel parts look

I came up with my design style back in the early 90's just trying to figure out a logical way to lay out turret boards and having not seen any other amps at the time

[Fresh_Start]

Turret lug holes are way smaller than eyelet holes so you can stuff several parts into a turret lug hole

Plus, I like the way parallel parts look

I came up with my design style back in the early 90's just trying to figure out a logical way to lay out turret boards and having not seen any other amps at the time

Wow!  Makes me feel like a young'n because when I got started there were plenty of gutshots out here in cyberspace. You'd never even peaked inside an old Fender or Marshall?

Cheers,
Chip

P.S. If you want to see an opposite approach to a layout, Googling "gothik ring layout" might turn up something interesting.

[EL34]

No, I had not seen inside amps yet
I just wanted to build a tube amp

I had a crate solid state amp at the time

I had several tube amp books
Some had schematics in them
I studied up on those for a long time before actually working on a tube amp

[vibrolax]

There are other cases in the hoffman layout with shared turrets.  For example, preamp cathode resistors and bypass caps.  One thing I love about Hoffman's layout style is being able to minimize jumper wires.  I have done practically all of my own board layouts this way since I first saw it 11 years ago. 

[EL34]

Yeah, I dislike under the board jumper wires.

I always try and figure out how to have as few as possible


I see some layouts that are a mass of under the board jumper wires 

[Ed_Chambley]

Turret lug holes are way smaller than eyelet holes so you can stuff several parts into a turret lug hole

Plus, I like the way parallel parts look

I came up with my design style back in the early 90's just trying to figure out a logical way to lay out turret boards and having not seen any other amps at the time

Wow!  Makes me feel like a young'n because when I got started there were plenty of gutshots out here in cyberspace. You'd never even peaked inside an old Fender or Marshall?

Cheers,
Chip

P.S. If you want to see an opposite approach to a layout, Googling "gothik ring layout" might turn up something interesting.

I have been doing this style a lot lately, but I ran into a snag.  I had a lot of terminal strips that had a more rounded loop which were much more open than the ones like Doug has and AES and others.  They are really nice to work with and easy to wrap leads and most of all easy to clean up if repairing/modding.  Instead of the triangular opening they have an almost round opening about 3/16 id.  Anyone know a source?

[sluckey]

AES has the rounded loop. Look again. Plenty on eBay. Search for "terminal strip solder lug".

I really like this style (see attached pic) but haven't used them recently. I have a bunch that I keep thinking I'll use one of these days. You could find these in the old Sunn amps on each side of the PI tube.

    http://home.comcast.net/~seluckey/amps/sunn/sunn_04.jpg

[EL34]

I stock the 8 lug in the rounded style
I just have not updated the picture yet


http://hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/catalog/BoardBuilding.htm

[kagliostro]

Our friend Darryl is a great expert of the use of Tag Strips, all his amps use this way





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An italian friend recently developed a personal approach to the Layout problem (similar to the Stereo Preamp approach of Doug)

it is based on modules that can be joined as to compose more complex circuits (and may be build also as a mix of Turrets & PCB or better Turrets on PCB)

http://www.diyitalia.eu/forum/download/file.php?id=11113

(If someone is interested we can translate the italian text in english)

Ciao

Franco

[Ed_Chambley]

AES has the rounded loop. Look again. Plenty on eBay. Search for "terminal strip solder lug".

I really like this style (see attached pic) but haven't used them recently. I have a bunch that I keep thinking I'll use one of these days. You could find these in the old Sunn amps on each side of the PI tube.

    http://home.comcast.net/~seluckey/amps/sunn/sunn_04.jpg

These are not exactly what I was wanting, but I did order some from a a guy on Ebay.  I remember when I fixed the Sunn amp it had those in there and they are really stout when you have those black beauties between them.

It was seeing Darryl's builds that got me started in doing this type of builds.  Very creative.  Timbo does some cool stuff component wise as well.

I am just hung up on something I cannot find and that drives me crazy.  If you could imaging a round looping stiff wire in 3, 6 and 8 sections, metal base, but still phenolic material that what I had a box of.  I used them for everything and thought they would last forever.

Well I ran out

I am sure if I just order some from Doug on my next order I will live through it.  I sort of get obsessed about things.  I know you understand.

[Willabe]

If you could imaging a round looping stiff wire in 3, 6 and 8 sections, metal base, but still phenolic material that what I had a box of.

I've seen those before at some web store, sorry but I don't remember where. They did look very strong IIRC.

[Ed_Chambley]

If you could imaging a round looping stiff wire in 3, 6 and 8 sections, metal base, but still phenolic material that what I had a box of.

I've seen those before at some web store, sorry but I don't remember where. They did look very strong IIRC.

It is the large opening in them that is so nice.  My eyes are not what they used to be.

[CanAmps]

Thanks everyone for the info and replies, the one thing I love about a Hoffman design is the lack of jumpers and some look like a rat nest  of wires in some amps I have seen but to each his own, what works for one person may not work the the next.  With everything being parallel to each other does make for a neat and tidy amp with trouble shooting a bit easier.

Thanks
Steve