Isolated, regulated, toroidal step down transformer AC power

[Poxy]

Mark wrote:

Poxy, you can not claim that asking a difficult question IS prima
facie a claim of expertise by the person posing the question. That
appears to be the edifice of your argument and it isn't true.

I apologise for assuming you had some level of competence and experience
with electronics. I clearly misjudged you initially.

However, what I can tell now after reading these inumerable posts containing
so little information about your alleged "device" and so much sbout yourself
and your opinions is that whether you know it or not, you're a troll. I
don't think your motivations nor intentions in going on this way are to
solve whatever problem you might have, it's to cause conflict and grief.

I doubt whether this "device" actually exists, or whether it's a construct
of experiences and things you've read, as when put together none of it makes
sense and you are unable to come up with a cogent explanation.

In a similar way, I doubt all this business about your family - it's such an
irrelevant thing to bring into a discussion about a technical issue - it
sounds like another fabrication you've made up and thrown in just to cause
conflict and confusion.

I don't quite get what it is you find so attractive about trolling, but I do
regret being sucked in and trying to offer help.

Difficult questions aren't always difficult to postulate. Sometimes
they are very simple. For example, the square root of minus one has
no real solution but it isn't difficult to postulate.

If I've asked a difficult question it is entirely accidental. If I've
acted with belligerence, it was entirely in defending MYSELF and not
my IGNORANCE.

People have value WHETHER OR NOT they know anything about
electronics. I had a right to defend my self respect and I exercised
that right and I still do, against anyone that would seek to take it
away from me.

There has been precious little help and a hell of a lot of
humiliation. And that's the truth about it.

Piffle to your top-posting argument.

Top posting + asking for help + not suppling all requests for more
information <> arrogance.

Top posting is a matter of style.

Asking for help is sometimes necessary and at other times, unwise.

Suppling ALL requests for information is:

a) Sometimes not possible.
b) Not always timely or practical (equipment and expertise).
c) Not something you should EVER allow yourself to be BULLIED into.

The more you bludgeon the more resolutely I resist. Why?

People have value WHETHER OR NOT they know anything about electronics.

How can you NOT see that?

"Poxy" <pox@poxmail.com> wrote in message
news:460f65ff@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
Mark wrote:

'Difficult' questions might be asked out of pure ignorance. In fact,
'difficult' questions might be asked for any reason what-so-ever.
If a question poses a difficult answer, it would be pure folly to
make ASSUMPTIONS about the expertise of the person putting the
question.

You have purposely supplied so incredibly little information that
we've had
to make the best assumptions we could in an attempt to help. Even
when told
what you're asking is complex, impractical and most likely not
required, you've responded in such a dismissive manner that one
could only assume you
must have a clue what you're talking about.

Interestingly, the only person who immediately picked you for what
you are is Phil - I'm not the biggest fan of Phil's choice of
interpersonal manner sometimes, but he did work you out in an
accurate and timely fashion.

As to your suggestion that 'top-posting' is arrogant, that
presupposes that top-posting amounts to a pretension of superior
importance. I regard it as a subjective judgement of style. I
honestly have no objection to any particular topography of posting
and do not make assumptions about a persons pretentions based on it.

No, top posting in a forum where bottom posting is the convention
*AND* asking for help *AND* ignoring repeated requests to not top
post is arrogant
and rude, as is your general manner.

Rather, such persistent objections to any particular topography of
posting are childish in the extreme. You might just as well say "I
don't like you because you're wearing green today"

No, because you are being rude and inconsiderate towards the people
*YOU ARE
ASKING FOR HELP*.

Phil-O-phile's are a community, not a conspiracy. Nor are they
entirely composed of "dysfunctional sociopaths" and I have already
made this distinction perfectly clear (maybe about 3 times
already!).

 

[Andy Wood]

"Mark" <marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote:

.. . .

There has been precious little help and a hell of a lot of humiliation. And
that's the truth about it.

Ok Mark, I have come up with a solution for you.

I have to warn you that it will take some effort, but it is guaranteed
to solve your clipping problem.

You will need to gather the the right tools and parts first:

Anti-static mat and wrist strap.

250W soldering iron.

About 25cm of 2.5mm diameter pure silver wire.

One of Bob's ESR meters (if you are lucky you might still find one at
DSE, otherwise Bob says there is a mob in Canada that supply them).

A large assortment of those Black Gate capacitors - perhaps you have
some left over?

A big sheet of bubble wrap.

This is what you need to do:

I'm sure you have heard that some electronic components are sensitive
to static electricity, so only work on the anti-static mat and ground
yourself with the wrist strap.

Open up the amplifier - sorry, I mean the secret device, and locate
the diodes in the power supply circuitry. You said that the voltage
drop across these can be ignored, but that is just not true - voltage
drop across a diode can be a killer, so those diodes have to go. As
you no doubt know, silver is a very good conductor, so for minimum
voltage drop you need to replace all the diodes with a short length of
the silver wire. You will probably need to drill out the holes in the
PCB a little to do this. Unfortunately, silver is also a good
conductor of heat so this is where you will need the the 250W
soldering iron.

Now I know you have already been through the "recapping" process, but
you have more work to do. With those Black Gate caps being so good, a
few more in there are bound to work wonders, and you can achieve this
by replacing all low value resistors with some of the wonder caps. Of
course, to do this you have to know what value of capacitor is
equivalent to a particular resistor, and this is where Bob's magic
device comes in - you see, it will give you a resistance measurement
for a capacitor! Paradoxically, good capacitors usually have low
equivalent resistance, so you might have to use many capacitors in
series to get the required value, but then that is really good news
because you can cram more of that Black goodness in there.

Once you have done that you can replace the cover and then wrap the
whole thing carefully in bubble wrap and secure it with tape or
string, and then carefully place it in the garbage bin.



Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au

 

[Bob Parker]

On 2/04/2007 10:55 Andy Wood wrote:

"Mark" <marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote:

. . .

There has been precious little help and a hell of a lot of humiliation. And
that's the truth about it.

Ok Mark, I have come up with a solution for you.

I have to warn you that it will take some effort, but it is guaranteed
to solve your clipping problem.

You will need to gather the the right tools and parts first:

Anti-static mat and wrist strap.

250W soldering iron.

About 25cm of 2.5mm diameter pure silver wire.

One of Bob's ESR meters (if you are lucky you might still find one at
DSE, otherwise Bob says there is a mob in Canada that supply them).

A large assortment of those Black Gate capacitors - perhaps you have
some left over?

A big sheet of bubble wrap.

This is what you need to do:

I'm sure you have heard that some electronic components are sensitive
to static electricity, so only work on the anti-static mat and ground
yourself with the wrist strap.

Open up the amplifier - sorry, I mean the secret device, and locate
the diodes in the power supply circuitry. You said that the voltage
drop across these can be ignored, but that is just not true - voltage
drop across a diode can be a killer, so those diodes have to go. As
you no doubt know, silver is a very good conductor, so for minimum
voltage drop you need to replace all the diodes with a short length of
the silver wire. You will probably need to drill out the holes in the
PCB a little to do this. Unfortunately, silver is also a good
conductor of heat so this is where you will need the the 250W
soldering iron.

Now I know you have already been through the "recapping" process, but
you have more work to do. With those Black Gate caps being so good, a
few more in there are bound to work wonders, and you can achieve this
by replacing all low value resistors with some of the wonder caps. Of
course, to do this you have to know what value of capacitor is
equivalent to a particular resistor, and this is where Bob's magic
device comes in - you see, it will give you a resistance measurement
for a capacitor! Paradoxically, good capacitors usually have low
equivalent resistance, so you might have to use many capacitors in
series to get the required value, but then that is really good news
because you can cram more of that Black goodness in there.

Once you have done that you can replace the cover and then wrap the
whole thing carefully in bubble wrap and secure it with tape or
string, and then carefully place it in the garbage bin.



Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au

I was drinking some coffee while I read that, and I *almost* sprayed
the monitor when I started laughing!
Very well done Andy - thanks.

Bob

 

[dmm]

On Mon, 02 Apr 2007 12:17:14 +1000, Bob Parker <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote:

Once you have done that you can replace the cover and then wrap the
whole thing carefully in bubble wrap and secure it with tape or
string, and then carefully place it in the garbage bin.



Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au


I was drinking some coffee while I read that, and I *almost* sprayed
the monitor when I started laughing!
Very well done Andy - thanks.

Bob

Perhaps Mark could check the variability of his mains supply with this gadget...

http://www.engadget.com/photos/art-lebedevs-vilcus-dactyloadapter/198275/

 

[Bob Parker]

On 2/04/2007 17:46 dmm wrote:

Perhaps Mark could check the variability of his mains supply with this gadget...

http://www.engadget.com/photos/art-lebedevs-vilcus-dactyloadapter/198275/

Hehehehe!

 

[Mark]

As Phil surmised; no that isn't it. The schematic calls for only 9 VAC
input. The wall-wart measures at only 11.2 VAC, unloaded.

"swanny" <blahgswan3blah@blahbigpondblah.comblah.blahau> wrote in message
newsnJPh.7331$M.2761@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

Mark wrote:
9 VAC in, 15 VDC out, after regulation.

How is that NOT a voltage DOUBLING design?

Or is it because you believe that such a design is impossible?

It must be one or the other.

That's not what you have got. It's what you think you have got.
You have 30VDC out (+/-15VDC).

You have a wall wart transformer with poor load regulation. I'm guessing
it's
about 15VAC you have coming out of your wall wart. I also suspect the
original
design is relying on this to work.

Try taking some measurements rather than quoting the info that's printed
on it.


"swanny" <blahgswan3blah@blahbigpondblah.comblah.blahau> wrote in message
news:E0sPh.6977$M.5225@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
Mark wrote:
Some of my assumptions may well have been incorrect, but they are ALL
THERE
in the thread and that was ALL I claimed about them.

..but you retorted "No it isn't. You simply spout a whole lot of
hogwash
in
your thread."

So you can probably understand my frustration (about being asked to
repeat
things over and over again) and my futher presumptions that:

a) You didn't read (or understand) the thread. You got it wrong.

b) Having not read (or understood) the thread, decided that I was
"spout[ing] a whole lot of hogwash in [my] thread."

So, you came to a conclusion on a wrong basis. I.E. Having not read or
understood the thread.

I HAVE read the thread. ALL of it. And I know that you have made little
contibution to what has already been written.

Yes, it is a pair of half-wave rectifiers which DOUBLE the voltage. 9
VAC
in
and +/-15 VDC out AFTER regulation. Before regulation it MUST be
something
less than 18 VDC, but the schematic does not specify this. The diodes
look
like Schottkys to me, I haven't replaced them.
No, it must be more than that or the regulators won't regulate. Once
again, you
have no idea what you are talking about.

I would say that these simple features (9 VAC in, 15 VAC out, after
regulation) qualify the rectifier as a "voltage DOUBLING design". It is
in
the SCHEMATIC and I can reproduce it.

I am calling your BLUFF. It is a "voltage DOUBLING design".
No it isn't. You don't have a clue. You've said so previously. It's a
pair
of
half wave rectifiers, one for the +DC rail and one for the -DC rail.

Wolf in a sheep's clothing.


"swanny" <blahgswan3blah@blahbigpondblah.comblah.blahau> wrote in
message
news:cChPh.6704$M.5618@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
Mark wrote:
Yes it is.

Because I believed the voltage of the AC domestic supply was straying
outside the operating range of the existing regs (after
transformation
and
voltage doubling rectification) and because I wanted to replace an
existing
wall-wart AC power supply with a regulated AC power supply and
because
the
application displays errant behaviour during times of over voltage
supply.

Once again, your assumptions appear incorrect. The AC mains moves
around
a
bit,
usually to within +/-10%. Manufacturers know this and product is
designed
to
handle it.

You have a little 9VAC wall wart transformer and these small
transformers
usually have poor load regulation so its output when lightly loaded is
probably
around 15VAC.

You don't have a voltage doubler, you have a pair of half-wave
rectifiers
which
give you a bipolar DC supply which is unregulated. The unregulated DC
supply is
a good place to put those super caps, so as to smooth out the ripple
in
the
supply to the regulators.

The regulators will accept a minimum of around +/-17VDC to regulate
properly.
With your wall wart, you probably have about 20VDC on their inputs so
it
works
OK, until you load it down a bit. Then the wall wart AC output will
drop
and the
inputs to the regulators will drop below 17V. Now your regulators will
not
be
able to regulate. Your mystery circuit may not like this very much.

If you replace your wall wart with a better 9VAC transformer then your
regulators may have an input below 17VDC most of the time and fail to
regulate.
You should probably replace the wall wart with a 12-15VAC transformer
with
good
load regulation specs. Then your regulators will be happy with their
input
voltage and regulate all the time.

However, you must be aware that linear regulators get hot if they have
a
large
voltage drop across them when under load, so you may need to make sure
they are
mounted to a heatsink to dissipate this heat.

All of this has been spelt out to you many times here by many people.
Is
there
anything here you don't follow?

 

[Bob Parker]

On 2/04/2007 05:10 Trevor Wilson wrote:

Here's another couple of places you can ask
your nonsensical question:

sci.electronics.repair
rec.audio.tech

See what responses you receive.

The techs in sci.electronics.repair are a much less bullying lot
than the aggressive riff-raff here.
They're sure to welcome a vague question about an unidentified item
of audiophile equipment, and being lectured about their manners when
they ask for enough information to be able to give any advice. ;-)


Bob

 

[Mark]

What a stupendously stupid proposition to make.

The topographic particulars of any individual post has NO IMPACT whatsoever
on the chronology or the EXTERNAL thread structure of any given subject of
conversation on Usenet, AFAIK.

If you have a reader that CAN thread conversations based on the internal
topographic details of the text of individual posts, then good for you, but
you can't expect others to adjust their habits for the peculiar capabilities
of your reader.


"Two Bob" <dept9@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:460f9a1f_1@news.iprimus.com.au...

With great difficulty.

However, it is a problem with the thread structure of most readers, not
with the order of my statements.

BINGO!!!!
You have just solved the riddle of why you shouldnt top post.

 

[Mark]

Can't do it NOW, Andy. I'll get around to it.

I am a little apprehensive about poking around inside live electrical
equipment. Sorry to disappoint you so.

"Andy Wood" <woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:46101643.1703109@freenews.ozemail.com.au...

"Mark" <marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote:

Oh, very droll. I meant I haven't had the lid off SINCE it was suggested
that I take the measurements. Not YET, anyway.

I finished recapping it around 12 months ago.

The AC/AC transformer measures 11.2 VAC when unloaded.


How about you take the damn lid off NOW and measure the voltage WHEN
LOADED too?

Having done that you might as well measure the voltages at the input
and output of the regulators, like countless others have suggested.

Oh, and while you are about it, measure the voltages when FULLY LOADED
as well. Perhaps the load does not vary, but then how the hell would I
know, because you insist that nobody needs to know what the gismo is.


Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au

 

[Bob Parker]

On 2/04/2007 18:45 Mark wrote:

What a stupendously stupid proposition to make.

The topographic particulars of any individual post has NO IMPACT whatsoever
on the chronology or the EXTERNAL thread structure of any given subject of
conversation on Usenet, AFAIK.

If you have a reader that CAN thread conversations based on the internal
topographic details of the text of individual posts, then good for you, but
you can't expect others to adjust their habits for the peculiar capabilities
of your reader.

"To get attention, causing disruptions, *annoy people*, or general
chaos are almost always at the top of a troll's agenda."

 

[Mark]

Pfffft....

You make some of the most inane suggestions, dress them up as cognisant
arguments and then call ME the Troll!??

Bob, ANYONE can see through you.

"Bob Parker" <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote in message
news:4610c4f0$0$15030$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...

On 2/04/2007 18:45 Mark wrote:
What a stupendously stupid proposition to make.

The topographic particulars of any individual post has NO IMPACT
whatsoever on the chronology or the EXTERNAL thread structure of any
given subject of conversation on Usenet, AFAIK.

If you have a reader that CAN thread conversations based on the internal
topographic details of the text of individual posts, then good for you,
but you can't expect others to adjust their habits for the peculiar
capabilities of your reader.


"To get attention, causing disruptions, *annoy people*, or general chaos
are almost always at the top of a troll's agenda."

 

[Bob Parker]

On 2/04/2007 22:12 Mark wrote:

Pfffft....

You make some of the most inane suggestions, dress them up as cognisant
arguments and then call ME the Troll!??

Bob, ANYONE can see through you.

Get back under your bridge, troll.

http://www.bygonebyways.com/99-WA-Seattle-Aurora_Bridge_Troll_2.jpg

 

[Mark]

What was wrong with either of these suggestions?

a) Buy another UPS (on Ebay for around $30) and then just step-down the
voltage using my pre-existing wall-wart transformer. If 240 VAC goes in,
something CLOSE to 9 VAC should come out and everything is happy, ..maybe.

b) A design involving transformation to a nominal VAC then rectification and
regulation to a nominal DC, filtering and decoupling, and then inversion
back to 9 VAC (+/- x%).

But then why bother to make it when you can buy option a) for $30 bucks.

But then again, maybe ONLY a Ferro-resonant UPS design will do it? Probably
not.

I did amend my specification to 2 amps (fused at input). The fact of the
matter is that I could have scaled up/down most designs that I was likely to
receive, except for the very small or the ridiculously large.

Now, where's my nomination? CLUELESS NEWBIE OF THE MONTH seems like a synch
to me and you only got two nominations. Phil will vote for me I swear and
you just can't get a better credentials than that. Bob will vote for me,
twice. Trev will, honest!



"Lionel" <usenet@imagenoir.com> wrote in message
news:ejnv03tuhro1acnc2vaoihnps1g38g1vs0@4ax.com...

On Mon, 26 Mar 2007 22:59:59 +1000, "Mark"
marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote:

Can anybody point me to a good design of same.

240 VAC in, 9 VAC out.

Before I comment, I'll just point out that I'm ignoring all the
flamage in the rest of this thread.

Firstly, you won't be able to get a 'regulated' 9VAC out of a
transformer (short of spending a heap of money on a ferro-resonant
unit), & it's extrememly unlikely that you actually need one anyway.

Secondly, it's impossible to give you useful advice unless you specify
the required output voltages & current requirements. (Eg; 9VAC at 1
Amp.) And preferably, what your intended application is. Eg; a modem
might require a 9VAC @ 500mA adapter, but will convert it into +/-5VDC
@ 200mA.

Thirdly, if we know what the intended application is, (eg; the above
modem), we can work out how well regulated the *power supply circuit*
(not the transformer!) needs to be.

If you can clear up the above points, I (& many others here, of
course) might be able to give you a useful answer.

--
W "Some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them."
. | ,. w ,
\|/ \|/ Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Lionel]

On Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:09:17 +1000, "Mark"
<marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote:

[Big snip of my helpful questions that the OP totally ignored]

Well, there's 3 minutes of my life I won't be seeing again...

Now, where's my nomination? CLUELESS NEWBIE OF THE MONTH seems like a synch
to me and you only got two nominations. Phil will vote for me I swear and
you just can't get a better credentials than that. Bob will vote for me,
twice. Trev will, honest!

(YANETUT)

YHGMTPO AE & AUK. YHL. LTBF,YPW.

HTH, HAND.

--
W "Some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them."
. | ,. w ,
\|/ \|/ Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Trevor Wilson]

"Mark" <marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:4610f33e$0$77490$c30e37c6@pit-reader.telstra.net...

Pfffft....

You make some of the most inane suggestions, dress them up as cognisant
arguments and then call ME the Troll!??

Bob, ANYONE can see through you.

**Oh yeah? See if you can find anyone who disagrees with Bob. Bob has you
nailed.

I'll wait.

While I do, go to one of the following newsgroups:

rec.audio.tech
sci.electronics.repair

Maybe they'll help you.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

 

[Mark]

Anything else you wanted to tell me about your expectations?

"(You Are Not Expected To Understand This But)

You Have Greatly Misunderstood The Purpose Of Aus.Electronics and Alt Usenet
Kooks. You Have Lost. Learn to Be Funny, You Pathetic Wanker.

Hope This Helps, Have A Nice Day."

I won't bother to make pretensions of 'hip cyber-credibility', except to
say:

TAWSFI, HETLA DETLA YAFLAEIP.

TUTLA EFETLA EEETLA, SRFLA MTFLA ATHFL YAUA!

....and try to sound important whilst doing it.



"Lionel" <usenet@imagenoir.com> wrote in message
news:1ia213lkdc9pqv3ti5oahqh5qr6eod4o2r@4ax.com...

On Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:09:17 +1000, "Mark"
marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote:

[Big snip of my helpful questions that the OP totally ignored]

Well, there's 3 minutes of my life I won't be seeing again...

Now, where's my nomination? CLUELESS NEWBIE OF THE MONTH seems like a
synch
to me and you only got two nominations. Phil will vote for me I swear and
you just can't get a better credentials than that. Bob will vote for me,
twice. Trev will, honest!

(YANETUT)

YHGMTPO AE & AUK. YHL. LTBF,YPW.

HTH, HAND.

--
W "Some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them."
. | ,. w ,
\|/ \|/ Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Bob Parker]

On 3/04/2007 20:20 Mark wrote:

Anything else you wanted to tell me about your expectations?

"(You Are Not Expected To Understand This But)

You Have Greatly Misunderstood The Purpose Of Aus.Electronics and Alt Usenet
Kooks. You Have Lost. Learn to Be Funny, You Pathetic Wanker.

Hope This Helps, Have A Nice Day."

I won't bother to make pretensions of 'hip cyber-credibility', except to
say:

TAWSFI, HETLA DETLA YAFLAEIP.

TUTLA EFETLA EEETLA, SRFLA MTFLA ATHFL YAUA!

...and try to sound important whilst doing it.

Get back under your bridge, troll.

 

[Mark]

Oh, OK. So why should I try to deny any allegation of success!

Yup, you got me: This is a successful Troll.

I've fooled you all, *except that wise-old-sage Bob* of course. He saw right
through me from the beginning.

Oh, and Phil of course, although I appear to have him turned around, I know
he'll come good. He should have trusted his instincts and never budged an
inch.

Oh, and you of course. Bob has set you strait.

Yup, you got me so nailed I can't scratch my arse for trying.



"Trevor Wilson" <trevor@SPAMBLOCKrageaudio.com.au> wrote in message
news:4611668d$0$16396$88260bb3@free.teranews.com...

"Mark" <marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:4610f33e$0$77490$c30e37c6@pit-reader.telstra.net...
Pfffft....

You make some of the most inane suggestions, dress them up as cognisant
arguments and then call ME the Troll!??

Bob, ANYONE can see through you.

**Oh yeah? See if you can find anyone who disagrees with Bob. Bob has you
nailed.

I'll wait.

While I do, go to one of the following newsgroups:

rec.audio.tech
sci.electronics.repair

Maybe they'll help you.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

 

[swanny]

Bob Parker wrote:

On 2/04/2007 10:55 Andy Wood wrote:
"Mark" <marknospampleaseilsley@dodo.com.au> wrote:

. . .

There has been precious little help and a hell of a lot of
humiliation. And that's the truth about it.

Ok Mark, I have come up with a solution for you.

I have to warn you that it will take some effort, but it is guaranteed
to solve your clipping problem.

You will need to gather the the right tools and parts first:

Anti-static mat and wrist strap.

250W soldering iron.

About 25cm of 2.5mm diameter pure silver wire.

One of Bob's ESR meters (if you are lucky you might still find one at
DSE, otherwise Bob says there is a mob in Canada that supply them).

A large assortment of those Black Gate capacitors - perhaps you have
some left over?

A big sheet of bubble wrap.

This is what you need to do:

I'm sure you have heard that some electronic components are sensitive
to static electricity, so only work on the anti-static mat and ground
yourself with the wrist strap.

Open up the amplifier - sorry, I mean the secret device, and locate
the diodes in the power supply circuitry. You said that the voltage
drop across these can be ignored, but that is just not true - voltage
drop across a diode can be a killer, so those diodes have to go. As
you no doubt know, silver is a very good conductor, so for minimum
voltage drop you need to replace all the diodes with a short length of
the silver wire. You will probably need to drill out the holes in the
PCB a little to do this. Unfortunately, silver is also a good
conductor of heat so this is where you will need the the 250W
soldering iron.

Now I know you have already been through the "recapping" process, but
you have more work to do. With those Black Gate caps being so good, a
few more in there are bound to work wonders, and you can achieve this
by replacing all low value resistors with some of the wonder caps. Of
course, to do this you have to know what value of capacitor is
equivalent to a particular resistor, and this is where Bob's magic
device comes in - you see, it will give you a resistance measurement
for a capacitor! Paradoxically, good capacitors usually have low
equivalent resistance, so you might have to use many capacitors in
series to get the required value, but then that is really good news
because you can cram more of that Black goodness in there.

Once you have done that you can replace the cover and then wrap the
whole thing carefully in bubble wrap and secure it with tape or
string, and then carefully place it in the garbage bin.



Andy Wood
woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au


I was drinking some coffee while I read that, and I *almost* sprayed
the monitor when I started laughing!
Very well done Andy - thanks.

Bob



Damn! And here I am substituting all those caps with resistors instead!

Especially the big caps, with such a small ESR that they can be replaced simply
with a wire link ...

 

[Bob Parker]

swanny wrote:

Damn! And here I am substituting all those caps with resistors instead!
Especially the big caps, with such a small ESR that they can be replaced simply
with a wire link ...

Make sure it's silver wire for good acoustic transparency! ;-)