Hairball FET (1176 Style) compressor enclosure hints and tips

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mnats

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
984
Location
Australia
A couple of months ago I met up with Mike from Hairball in Portland OR. He was kind enough drive down from Seattle and to present me with one of the prototypes of the cases he will soon offer on his site. Edit: read Mike's own announcement and scroll down for additional information including future plans for other cases.

The quality of the cases is wonderful and they are a such a pleasure to work with I just had to start a new thread. Hopefully we can add to the thread with hints and tips that can help out those who use these cases.


Click for larger image

OK, first tip: When we spoke, Mike was concerned about the standoffs for the zero set potentiometer on the prototypes which are 1/4" (same as the switch standoffs). I thought I would try to use a long #4-40 screw with a plain spacer to attach the pot mounting plate further back from the front panel.

As it turned out, I found that the Clarostat 53C22K (available from Digikey) works fine with the 1/4" standoffs:



Just throw out the locking nut and replace it with a plain nut. Set the rear nut and lock washer to the right depth so the front of the shaft is just shy of the front panel, then put another nut and lock washer on to lock it in place:



Like the pushbutton switch mounting plates, everything lines up perfectly without any fooling around:



I understand the final production cases will get a 1/2" standoff for the zero set pot which will probably mean that there will be a number of different pots that will work well in that application. Great work Mike!

Edit: I've created some new wiring pages specifically for the Hairball case and my boards: http://mnats.net/1176_reva-d_hairball_wiring_power.html
 
I was going to buy 4  "FET Compressor Hardware Kit" for my revJ MNATS PCB to hairball audio, but if it sell this case soon I can wait a little.

Have you a date of sale?
Have you a price ?

My English is not very good, I perhaps badly understood!!!
 
Gege said:
I was going to buy 4  "FET Compressor Hardware Kit" for my revJ MNATS PCB to hairball audio, but if it sell this case soon I can wait a little.

Have you a date of sale?
Have you a price ?

My English is not very good, I perhaps badly understood!!!

Where:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=28923.msg350065#msg350065

When:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=28923.msg446429#msg446429

Price: Looks like Mike has not "Set the Price Yet" so this is his aprox. (Awesome deal for the quality)
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=28923.msg437412#msg437412



 
okgb said:
Looks a nice fit & Finish , Bravo

Yes, really beautifully designed and executed. Here's a close-up of the ratio switch. Again, no fiddling with anything, I just screwed on the switch bank to the plate then attached the plate to the case:


Click for larger image

The clearance is precise at top, bottom and sides. I should have said thanks to Skylar too for his good work.

kazper said:
(Awesome deal for the quality)

I agree - just try getting a one-off panel made and adding that to a generic case. Then you still have to drill/punch a bunch of holes to get the rest bolted down.

I know that Mike has sunk a huge investment of both time and money to provide these cases and he's not out to gouge anyone either with the initial price or any hidden "shipping" charges. My hope is that he gets enough sales to make it worth his while to continue developing more things for the DIY community.
 
Wow great Job Mike!!! Thanks for expending the necessary engineering and Capitol to do it right.  A real giant leap in the Mnats's awesome comps! And I for one really appreciated the easy parts source for this particular compressor. Because of it's do all sound. Works on everything.

John

 
Thanks for the kind words guys!

As previously stated, the enclosures are currently in production and I should have them in about 3 weeks.  Thanks again to Skylar for the great design work.

Here are a few notes about rear panel connectors.

XLR
The Neutrik D series drill template was used for the XLR connectors.  Neutrik D, DL and DLX connectors will work fine.  I believe the D series is PCB pin termination only,  the DL is the standard connector with solder cup and screw termination options and the DLX offers some RF protection and solder cups.

IEC
Here is a list of the connectors I tested with success.  Some people like a loose fit and others like a tight fit so I have noted that.

Schurter
6220.2100 (Tight Fit)
6200.2100 (Tight Fit)
4301.0501 (Loose Fit) Does not come with fuse drawer, you must purchase separately

Kobiconn
161-0717-1-187-E (Loose Fit)

Qualtek
719W-00/02 (Medium Fit)

Thanks again,

Mike
 
it would be killer if you could get the case, XLR and power connector all in one kit... not to add to your list or anything.

After the first of the year I'll get that Fet tester hammered out that we talked about.

Kaz
 
kazper said:
it would be killer if you could get the case, XLR and power connector all in one kit... not to add to your list or anything.

Yes I do have this on the list of things to do but it won't be for a bit.  I'd have to order pretty high numbers to compete with mouser/digi and a lot on my plate right now (remember I still have the N*ve input/output transformers on the way).

When the enclosures arrive I'll put together a "suggested BOM" and include these parts on it.

Thanks again,

Mike
 
Great stuff!!

I am wondering if my Purple audio parts will fit in these cases, but I am sure they will somehow.
As soon as you are ready I will be in for four cases.

API
 
API said:
Great stuff!!

I am wondering if my Purple audio parts will fit in these cases, but I am sure they will somehow.
As soon as you are ready I will be in for four cases.

API

The purple stuff should fit.  The only trick will be the PCB since it is much larger then the MNATS and Gyraf boards.

There should be plenty of room (since my enclosure is a little deeper), you'll just need to drill a hole to enlarge the space between the PCB rails or mount the PCB to the bottom of the case w/ standoffs. 

All the other parts I sell are the same as the Purple parts so they will fit great.

Thanks!

Mike

If you want to send me the Purple PCB dimensions I can confirm 100% for you that it'll work.
 
API said:
I am wondering if my Purple audio parts will fit in these cases, but I am sure they will somehow.
Echo North said:
If you want to send me the Purple PCB dimensions I can confirm 100% for you that it'll work.
The Purple PCB is approximately 426 x 135.5mm. It will fit - the "somehow" part is that you have to flex the board to clear the lip of the case or put the side of the case on after the board is inserted.
 
They were silk screened on Thursday.

I'm not sure where that falls in the process but I'm guessing it's near the end.

:)

Mike
 
Looks like the cases are going to be done about the same time I finish my build, I am super excited to get this project finished.  The cases look great!
 
Hi,

I spoke with the metal shop today.

The enclosures are shipping on the 30th so I should have them in hand on Jan 8th give or take a day.

All of the hardware is in.

Thanks,

Mike
 
Sounds great that the Purple stuff will fit.
Let´s start building!!

Can you pre-order some cases or should we just wait for your word?

API
 
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