On 2 Jan 2011, at 09:56, Nick wrote:
Given that most of us had a bit of time off, what new toys have you
been building/acquired?
For my part, its mostly HV & Audio (especially value amps) that I do
now, but I "feel the need" to build another clock!!!
I don't know what value amps are Nick, but before Xmas I had the
stereo valve amp in my 1959 Wurlitzer jukebox completely rebuilt by
an expert. Every resistor, cap and tube. Electro-Harmonix bought out
the Sovtek Reflektor factory, so I replaced the 50 year old RCA 6CZ5
tubes with new EH 6973s. Nasty smell of frying resistor in one
channel tells me quickly something is amiss. Replace the two old
tubes in that channel and all is well. So yup, I got a dud new tube.
All I can say is that bringing the amp back to factory spec. has
amazed me. Punchy bass and a lovely sweet tone. The loudness
compensation for records cut at different volumes is working well
too. I have the wrong tweeter in the juke - someone replaced it with
a small horn tweeter at some point and it should be a 4" cone. So for
now that has been cut out while I source a replacement, as it was
giving a shrillness that was not very nice to hear.
I just sourced a jukebox I fell in love with when I saw an example
last summer. It's a Rockola 1448 'icicle' of 1955. One came in on a
container from the US just before Xmas and I now have first refusal
from the guy who is restoring it. As usual the glass pilasters are
smashed, otherwise it is shabby but restorable and the friend doing
the restoration is second to none. I only hope I can afford it when
it is finished. I have to sell my AMi K first.
I have a 'Nick-o-time' nixie clock back for repair. I made two of
these. One I gave to Nicko a while back and the other was snapped up
by a friend as a present for her husband. I'd been a bit brain-dead
about the way I did the power supply and frankly I am at a loss to
know why it worked at all. The one I have back has fried the circuit
board quite badly - an overheating voltage regulator. So, Nicko,
unplug that clock if it is still working until I suss out what the
remedy might be. I've had a quick fiddle and again I am having
problems with no regulation via the feedback pin on the MAX1771. It
cranks up to around 240 volts and wants to fry the FET. Nice.
I have a bench full of unfinished projects and a head full of
ignorance and new ideas too. Combined with a lack of time and energy
it is a frustrating time for me. I have orders for a magic trick
stacking up and no time to get those made either, although I have a
set of five almost finished. You can see a video of the magic trick
here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw9MGa7iQq4.
I promised Fixitsan I'd proto up one of the IV-11 smartsocket clocks
in the summer, but I never did that either, although I did design a
board for it. Then there is that other guy here I promised I'd make a
clock for...
Happy New Year,
John S
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