Chienmortbb

With regards to the TH500, any one run out of headroom or find it gets hit if driven moderately or hard. There just does not seem to be enough metal in there to keep a 500W (even a Class D) cool at those power levels.

The designs are early stage Charlie and I am the one that never goes to a blockbuster, and despite everyone's efforts never got Springsteen,so I will not use blue LEDs just because they are en vogue. Might try some purple ones though. It helps having you guys around though to keep me honest.Now where can I buy some HH electroluminescent strip.

Phil, I live in Poole and I would love to meet to checkout the Cabs especially with the amp I am building. Unfortunately I can't get out much due to my wife's illness. Perhaps we could arrange a Somerset/Devon/Dorset get together at the same time around June.

A good point about the jack sockets. I will look at that later and it may also help with the spacing about the knobs.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1427064594' post='2725444'] text wise the 3rd one is better- but - keep the type all the same size/ weight and in line across the top. I also know why you've spaced them as you have, and it kinda makes sense but visually in 3d - and also in terms of the ergonomics of the thing I would space the knobs out equally to each other across the top. Colourwise I like the orange one - (but not the type choice for can'd heat) . No mute button? [/quote] Good points. The typeface for the controls will changed to a uniform style and size. The control spacing will be equal too, I just need to play around with the control names a bit as the longer names screw with the spacing. The Can'd Heat' is an abreviation of the place I live and I thought it fun in a Lynyrd Skynyrd kind of way. If I keep it, the font will change. As for the mute switch, you have caught me out. Front panel mute is part of the design but I forgot to include it on the drawings. I like all three colours in different ways and will try the black one first as my laser printer is monochrome. However I can get the red and orange printed at Staples for about £1

I have mocked up three options for the front panel and would appreciate comments. There is a black, red and orange option. I tried other colours but none of the worked. They are rough and ready and all need some tarting up but you get the idea So which one is more rock and roll?<p>

Great I just did not want to waste anyone's time. I will be designing the front panel soon and may put a couple of designs up to guage opinion.

I am just wondering whether anyone is still following this other than Passinwind. I will keep posting but it would be nice to know.

[quote name='Passinwind' timestamp='1426692775' post='2720884'] <p> Being able to do the graphics in stages is a great reason to go with your method. I've done inkjet printing on sticky-backed plastic sheets a few times, but those decals look a lot nicer. [/quote] I have to say that I am very impressed with them. I got 5 A4 sheets ( three sheets leae and 2 sheets white) for £9 or approx $14 and so far have used half a sheet.

I have enough space to do the pot/switch on either panel and the Decals are so thin that I can add the graphics to the rear later. I should have mentioned that there are 6 or 7 coats of acrylic lacquer over those decals to protect them. I am so pleased with the decals that initially I will use them for the front panel too. Once I have finalised the design I may add an acrylic (Perspex/plexiglass) panel. A couple of words on using the decals. I made few mistakes so I will add my advice for using them. Once the decals start to dry, don't move them unless absolutely necessary, I did that on the speaker decal and if you look carefully you can see the problem. Do not drill holes then attempt to line up the decals. It is really difficult. Put the decals on first. Leave them to dry for 24 hours. Cut the decals smaller than the panel. This allows the lacquer to seal the edge of the decal. Spray 2-3 layers of lacquer before you drill holes. Once you have cleaned the holes apply 2-3 more coats of lacquer to seal the fresh edges. Leave the lacquer for 24 hours before working on the panel again.

So progress has been slow but progress has been made. The rear panel is now complete although I am waiting for a second Speakon/Jack combo socket to be delivered. Despite my dislike of the use of Jack Sockets for speaker connection, the Combo sockets are rated at 15 amps (about 900 watts into 4 ohms). To get a Jack and a speakon in the same package, the length is about 6mm longer than a standard Speakon socket. The extra length is in front of the chassis ensuring that the length inside the chassis us the same. You can see the ewffwct of this on the second angled picture, The graphics on the panel were designed on a computer and printed onto Waterslide Decal Paper. This works like the decals in an Airfix or Revell kit.

[quote name='DeeC16' timestamp='1423681639' post='2687932'] Thanks Chris, I might just stump up the 9 quid. I'll check with a few other muso types I know to see what they might have lying around. [/quote]if you let me know what the problem is I might be able to repair it for you. It it the socket that is faulty?

Two picture of the rear panel, the first witj the power switch in situ and the Powercon and one speakon resting in their respective holes but fromt mounted. The second shows the Powercon and Speakon mounted from the rear. Of course they are not attached yet. I was favouring mounting from the front at the socket surrounds hide any imperfections in the metalwork. However the holes are so clean and Brest that if I have left enough Space behind, I will mount the sockets from the rear. Incidentally I chose Powercon for the mains as it uses the same hole as the Speakons and the XLR and so was easier than cutting a rectangular hole for an IEC power socket. After a the trouble I had drilling and filing for the power switch it was definitely the right choice. Now I just have to make sure I never forget the mains lead.

Although the case is small it is not ultra small so I have a reasonable anout of room to work in. I am working on the back panel, more on that later. One of the earlier contributors told me to get all the bits together before I started, Apart from cosmetic parts like knobs I did this but that stretched me financially at the time. So I compromised on cost on one component and.,, Below is part of the email I sent to Charlie ( passinwind) earlier today. After re-reading it I thought it was good info do I am putting it up here for info/discussion I have tried to make sure that I don't compromise on parts but when I was a bit cash poor, I bought some unbranded jack sockets for the rear EFX send and return as well as Pre Amp out and Power Amp in. Big mistake. The barrel is 1mm short and the plug is not held in properly, I am in the process if getting those replaced. I have been looking carefully at what jacks to use and found some interesting detail in the specs. Neutrik, Switchcraft and Cliff rate their jacks for 10,000 insertions but others are 1,000. The lower ones include some big names like Amphenol and Rean (Neutrik subsidiary). I was offered some Amphenol ones and decided ask them and Rean about this "discrepancy". Rean did not reply but Amphenol said that their jacks were also good for 10K insertions despite the sales spec. So I took the plunge and I have to say they do not look as well made or finished as Cliff, Neutrik or Switchcraft. I would not trust them and will use them in some other non critical application. Of course the unbranded ones could be anything and will be avoided in future. As my dad would have said "Don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar". He started his adult life as a shipbuilder so it was apt. This may explain why cheap, or sometime not so cheap amps have trouble with the input jacks. I have two HH Amps with Cliff jacks. They were made in 1970/71 and gigged professionally for 25 years. All four input jacks are still silent and feel good although one of the switch contacts is slightly bent meaning no connection for the Active/Passive connection on one amp. Now for me 25 years for an electro mech part is OK. So now to order some good parts and check out the latest circuit.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1420503107' post='2650186'] can I just interject here and say sorry. I'm a fussy designer - and I made a comment about a logo that isn't great in my opinion - but it's also not awful and far worse design horrors have been unleashed on us bass players... warwick up to a few years ago used comic sans as the main typeface on their amps and so on. Please don't turn this thread into a barefaced slagging one - we've had enough of them. I'm interested in Jenny's new cab, and the new designs generally - I think I've played through about 5 or 6 different barefaced models - 1 I didn't like, 1 was very impressive, 2 were brilliant but not my taste and 1 was one of the best bass cabs I've ever played through. I'ld buy one tomorrow if I had the money. Please don't start the slagging again. (I was actually thinking - what other UK based, UK build amplification/cab companies do we have? Barefaced, Purple Chilli, Matamp and [i]some [/i]ashdown stuff are all I could think of, does anyone make speakers in the UK still Celestion I guess... and volt which Glockenklang use?) [/quote]Precision Devices make chassis Soeakers in the UK and one of their 12" models is my ideal driver. They also own Fane and although most of the Fane stuff is made in the Far East, some are clearly rebadged PD speakers. Celestion is owned by a Chinese Company and now all drivers are made there although the designs are still by British Engineers.

As promised a picture of the progress so far. All boards mounted, power amp, two pre amo power supplies plus the Pre amp and HPF unpopulated PCBs. I have used a heatsink to both support the power amo module and take more of the heat away. More about that later. Next job is to drill the rear panel and test the PSUs with the power amp. I will then do a soak* test while building the preamp anf HPF modules. *Soak testing is sometimes (incorrectly ) called running in I will run the moufles for 100 hours to ensure there are no infant mortality issues.

Sorry for the delays in updating this thread but the "infection" was in fact a secondary Cancer so have the whole cycle starts again. I have made some progress and will post more with pictures soon,

Fans don't have to be noisy. The problem is that to keep costs down, cheap fans are often fitted to commercial amplifiers. Fans are electromechanical devices and hence less reliable than electronic components. However the trick is to chose a fan that is higher voltage than the standard fit and run it at the lower voltage. This means tha fan will run slower and will last longer. It will not move as much air as. If it were run at rated voltage but it will be much quieter and more reliable. Of course the other problem is that many lower power also have insufficient heatsinks. Valve amps do get round most of theses problems BUT many are very noisy/hissy, so you cannot just assume that valves are the magic bullet.

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1420132314' post='2645964'] Harke VX250, just the worst sound ever. Thin and broke up at volume. Interestingly, I had an Ashdown Mag 200 combo and I loved it, so maybe all their stuff ain't pants [/quote]i had. Later nag 300 with a 15". Should have kept it but the MAG200 was One of the Early UK made Ashfowns.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1359668876' post='1958658'] Carldro and HH are a given but add to that PV and it is no excuse that they are bombproof, IMO.... they still sound sh*te.. Worse experience in recent times was a GK RB combo.... followed by plugging my cabs into an Ashdown MAG thing...and getting nothing usable...at all. [/quote]maybe your cab (runs and hides)?

I would not use jacks for speaker fans for the following reasons: 1. Most sockets and plugs are rated for 3 amps or fewer. That is about 90 watts into 8 ohms. 2, There are 5 and 10 amp plugs and those are non switched types. 3. Because Jack plugs have exposed contacts, they are prone to short circuiting the amp output. One One power amp manufacturer told me that in MI, shorted jacks were the largest single cause of power amp failures. 4. As the cables can be used for either instrument or speakers, the two types of cable are quite different. A speaker cable is not good for instruments as there is no screening and an instrument cable will not be able to take the current and may cause a badly designed amp to oscillate. If you feel you must use Jacks, switchcraft and nuetrik both make square bodied jacks withe the terminals at the end that are sealed. Cliff make a more traditional Jack with a dust seal that should be fairly airtight. Of course the Soeakon was designed for high current use and the contacts are hidden on both plug and socket so it is really hard to cause an external short circuit.

[quote name='Oldman' timestamp='1375884252' post='2166909'] One of the problem is its all RRP, TecAmp dictate the selling price, discount at your peril and your pocket. [/quote] If that is true them Tecamp are breaking the law. Once you sell on a product you cannot dictate its selling price and you cannot take sanctions against a desler or agent for any reason other than non payment of goods..

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1418463754' post='2630354'] That looks like a good deal, and it's nice and compact. I have the Connex SMPS800RE and the 600 watt IRS2092 power module. While having a conservatively rated power supply could be a good thing, my modules work out a fair bit larger than this integrated module so they're not going to make for as compact an amp. If I hadn't already bought the Connex modules I'd have been considering that one, especially as they're available in Europe and have decent documentation. [/quote] That supply is well know in DIY HiFi circles and has a great reputation. I don't think you will regret buying the Connex units.

A one dB hump is nothing. 1dB is what is known in engineering terms as a JND or just noticeable difference. However that is in controlled conditions where Ambient noise is low and controlled. I don't know if any musical performs fe where that is the case. In normal use no one can hear 1dB.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1418382969' post='2629696'] I have a couple of Connex modules for a project that I've been meaning to get on with (not having a gigging band has made it less of a priority). I haven't wired them up yet, but they look well put together. Their response to emails can be slow (apparently this is normal when dealing directly with Chinese companies) and their documentation isn't as good as some manufacturers - for example I still don't know the input sensitivity of the power amp and I'm going to have to work it out for myself by measuring the gain. Their prices are very good though! [/quote]The Connex modules get a really good press as I said but I was put off by my previous experience with them.I eventually went with the Boyoho MY1-251PA, mainly because of the pre sales support that I got from Michel at Smart and responses from the Boyoho factory. As I said at the start of the thread, part of the inspiration was the 1 X 12 Cab Build. I modeled the Beyma SM212 speaker and in the proposed cabinet and tuning, the maximum SPL is achieved at about 230 watts. So 250W into 8 and 500W into 4 ohms was the target. The fact that the amp is capable of driving double the power into 4 ohms compared to 8 ohms means that the power supply is beefy enough for the task. In fact the power supply is rated at 600W. This allows a full 250W to be put into two 1x12 cabs. Compare this to say the Hartke 3500 where the power into 8 ohms is 250W but only 350W into 4 ohms. Clearly the power supply in the Hartke limits the total power output.