Post by jon on Dec 27, 2018 9:02:34 GMT 12
Hi
I was fortunate to obtain 3 of Nelson Pass's AMP CAMP Amps last July - I must say I was impressed by DIY Audio's responsiveness to my complaint about not being able to order for the previous run (it sold out before I could get there) - they instituted pre-ordering!
There is an huge thread on DIY Audio which I'll not link to as it only confused me, however if you are more competent than I, do have a read!
The build guide is here:
guides.diyaudio.com/Guide/Amp+Camp+Amp+V1.6+Build+Guide/5
Contained in it is an excellent hints and tips guide to soldering:
What follows is my comments on the build so far and, yes, it is not complete, and I will not be able to do more until the New Year
Great emphasis is laid on measuring your components and I completely agree. I was very cautious in that regard, measuring three times (prelim, on selection, and on stuffing)
This is a vanilla build, I'm not going to change a thing! Much...
Stage 1 Board Stuffing
First deviation from the build guide...
Step 7 shows multiple resistors inserted (unsoldered), I tried it and found it very cramped with leads getting in the way of the iron and so on
Do each resistor one at a time and I did not bend out slightly, I bent out a lot!!!
Step 11 & 12 has you inserting the two transistors. It's very tight here and I'd recommend splaying the leads as much as possible to allow you to get in and solder properly. I actually flattened them
Mounting the boards onto the heatsinks was fairly trivial, and unlike the picture I had a plastic standoff and not a brass one, it worked fine so no real worries.
On the other hand, I'm not keen on a single centre standoff and as you can see, there is a facility to mount extra standoffs, I'll be doing that in the next builds.
Both Channels completed and mounted with a single centre standoff.
Stage 2 Chassis Build
Worth a dry run, however you'll be taking it apart again to attach all the rest to the build.
Stage 3 Back Panel Hardware
I chose to sink the XLR connector as per the picture rather than having it surface mounted.
Other than that pretty much as the pictures
Stage 4 - Wiring Up
So I carried on and started in on wiring up! "Easy! This is so cool," I thought... Ha! My chosen iteration was not mentioned, so confused I backtracked and that is when I saw the link and had a 'Homer Simpson' moment!
I almost missed this link:
cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1006/5046/files/ACA_wiring_-_All_Together.pdf?14616092618923597814
Here my selected option was apparent (Power switch on front, no rear switch.)
At this point the build instructions rapidly lost relevance for me as I had a very early build so I almost exclusively referred to the wiring diagram and used the pictures for reference.
It's not hard, however it is fiddly and it is here that I have had to stop as family activities will now take precedence until the new year.
More anon...
Music for this post:
Dvorak; Wind & String Serenade
I was fortunate to obtain 3 of Nelson Pass's AMP CAMP Amps last July - I must say I was impressed by DIY Audio's responsiveness to my complaint about not being able to order for the previous run (it sold out before I could get there) - they instituted pre-ordering!
There is an huge thread on DIY Audio which I'll not link to as it only confused me, however if you are more competent than I, do have a read!
The build guide is here:
guides.diyaudio.com/Guide/Amp+Camp+Amp+V1.6+Build+Guide/5
Contained in it is an excellent hints and tips guide to soldering:
What follows is my comments on the build so far and, yes, it is not complete, and I will not be able to do more until the New Year
Great emphasis is laid on measuring your components and I completely agree. I was very cautious in that regard, measuring three times (prelim, on selection, and on stuffing)
This is a vanilla build, I'm not going to change a thing! Much...
Stage 1 Board Stuffing
First deviation from the build guide...
Step 7 shows multiple resistors inserted (unsoldered), I tried it and found it very cramped with leads getting in the way of the iron and so on
Do each resistor one at a time and I did not bend out slightly, I bent out a lot!!!
Step 11 & 12 has you inserting the two transistors. It's very tight here and I'd recommend splaying the leads as much as possible to allow you to get in and solder properly. I actually flattened them
Mounting the boards onto the heatsinks was fairly trivial, and unlike the picture I had a plastic standoff and not a brass one, it worked fine so no real worries.
On the other hand, I'm not keen on a single centre standoff and as you can see, there is a facility to mount extra standoffs, I'll be doing that in the next builds.
Both Channels completed and mounted with a single centre standoff.
Stage 2 Chassis Build
Worth a dry run, however you'll be taking it apart again to attach all the rest to the build.
Stage 3 Back Panel Hardware
I chose to sink the XLR connector as per the picture rather than having it surface mounted.
Other than that pretty much as the pictures
Stage 4 - Wiring Up
So I carried on and started in on wiring up! "Easy! This is so cool," I thought... Ha! My chosen iteration was not mentioned, so confused I backtracked and that is when I saw the link and had a 'Homer Simpson' moment!
I almost missed this link:
cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1006/5046/files/ACA_wiring_-_All_Together.pdf?14616092618923597814
Here my selected option was apparent (Power switch on front, no rear switch.)
At this point the build instructions rapidly lost relevance for me as I had a very early build so I almost exclusively referred to the wiring diagram and used the pictures for reference.
It's not hard, however it is fiddly and it is here that I have had to stop as family activities will now take precedence until the new year.
More anon...
Music for this post:
Dvorak; Wind & String Serenade
