rainton's P2P LA2A chassis "original style" discussion thread

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rainton

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
651
Location
Southern Germany
+++UPDATE+++

A 3rd run is definitely  happening!!! Read my last post for more info!

+++++


UPDATE FOR THE 2ND RUN of this group buy:

For everybody who is interested in another run of LA2A style chassis, I updated this first post to include all necessary facts for a possible 2nd run of the group buy.
While I left some of the old content that might help to explain the situation and how I came to start this feeler,  I added some new information and pics.
If you're interested to join round 2 of the group buy please PM me how many chassis you need and if and what kind of transformer adapter plates (more info on that below) are needed.




Hi everybody,

I did an LA2A a while ago - very close to the vintage original with UTC trannys and all that.
Anyway, ever since I built it more and more people where asking me if I could build one for them or at least offer a nice "original style" enclosure.

It took me a while to figure out how much machining would be and I didn't want to open up a thread here having no clue about how much it would cost in the end...and most likely  ending up with a lot of people that "want one depending on the price" ;)

So now I have at least the most important numbers and can get going.

The enclosure will have all cutouts for every single component - even the turret board,  silkscreening etc. it needs to recreate an LA2A very close to the original. You basically should be able to start the build with out any other modifications. Basically the chassis is completely plug &play.
Here's some pictures of the one I did for myself:

2lthr39.jpg


4kgymw.jpg


2zex9c3.jpg



Here are some pics from the finish chassis of the first run:

10r7lsw.jpg


and the back:

2lk5sgl.jpg



The color will be the original RAL7035 light grey.

The cutouts on the chassis will be made for UTC HA-100x input and UTC A24 Output transformers, however there are various adapter plates available that make it possible to use Sowter transformers, or also a UTC A-10 on input instead of an HA-100x.
If you want to join the group buy please specify what kind of adapter plates you need and how many I will add them for you.

These are the adapter plates:

jrebe1.jpg


The VU meter cutout will fit the SIFAM AL39WF and the second run chassis will be modified to fit the "Teletronix" style Sifam meter with the broad bezel without any additional mods.

How much does it cost?
The thing is, the more people join, the cheaper it gets to have them manufactured :)
If only 5 people want one, each enclosure will be 235 Euros.
If 10 people want one, we will come down to 195 Euros each and if we can find 20+ people we will be at 175 Euros each!
All prices are excl. VAT (if applicable).  Shipping & Paypal fees will be added on top after I  know your location.

So if you're interested post here or PM me, and  don't forget to let me know if you want adapter plates for the transformers and for which transformers ;)

Also I'm working on an original style Pultec EQP1-A P2P enclosure at the moment - again with all cutouts on the back, but I'll let you know when I'm ready...

Martin

List for the first run:

Weiss [paid]
juancarloszeta [paid]
nickhepfer (2) [paid]
Floti [paid]
kvintus [paid]
fishdrop [paid]
Quayhog  [paid]
Le Roux  [paid]
hymentoptera (+1)  [paid]
craig (2)  [paid]
samulijp (2) [paid]
potato cakes  [paid]
unit 7 [paid]
remsouille [paid]
ravachol [paid]
Donnie Darko (2) [paid]
shaker (2) [paid]
lolo-m (2) [paid]
Jmcc (2) [paid]
Woot (2) [paid]
rainton (2)[paid]




List for the 2nd run:

rainton (2)[paid]
critterkllr (2) + 4 adapter plates [paid]
audiosway [paid]
gltech (2) [paid]
nickhepfer  ONLY 2x Sowter IN + 1x Sowter OUT  adapter plates[paid]
lolo-m (2) + 2x A10 adapter plates [paid]
Rob Flinn (2) + 2 A10 adapter plates [paid]
jpharao (2) + 2x Sowter IN/OUT + 2x A10 adapter plates [paid]
Gambaholic (2) + 2x A10 adapter plates [paid]
bancho [paid]
Meyer + A10 adapter plate[paid]
ravachol + A10 [paid]
kyal & jonne (2) [paid]
le roux [paid]
 
great work, martin! i am interested in both, la2a and pultec cases (but i am using UTC A-24 and Sowter 1009 trafos in the la2a)
 
Hi  Martin,
Is that my beede meter? Yes, I recognise it. Ha, just kidding.  Wouldn't it be better to offer a blank  enclosure without any cutouts at all. Maybe just for IEC inlet. So people could use it for La2a, Pultec,  Gates or whatever.  I think this would increase interest drastically. Nice effort anyway. If you've got a blank enclosure without any cutouts and colour, I'll take at least one. Thanks.
Bernd
 
Hello Martin,

I'd like to order one, too. Don't know exactly about the transformers. Sowter probably.  Will get in touch with You, as soon as kits are ready to sell & ship. Thank You very much, fantastic job.

Juan Carlos
 
bernbrue said:
Hi  Martin,
Is that my beede meter? Yes, I recognise it. Ha, just kidding.  Wouldn't it be better to offer a blank  enclosure without any cutouts at all. Maybe just for IEC inlet. So people could use it for La2a, Pultec,  Gates or whatever.  I think this would increase interest drastically. Nice effort anyway. If you've got a blank enclosure without any cutouts and colour, I'll take at least one. Thanks.
Bernd

Thanks Bernd, yes it is ;)

I could certainly also offer one version without any cutouts - if there's enough interest? But quite a few people asked me about a "ready to go" LA2A chassis, because it's quite hard and tedious to do all the cutouts yourself and also giving it the original looks...
But yes sure, I could add this to the offer and we'll see. I would have to ask prepare a CAD without the cutouts and get a quote from the machinist how much it would be.


By the way the cutout on the front panel on the LA2A enclosure would be for the Sifam AL39WF,  since the original Beede meter is not available anymore.  And there's an LA2A replacement meter available with logo and all that, which is actually also a Siam AL39WF with different bezel, pointer and scale.

Or should I rather offer it with cutout for the Beede meter?
I mean the cutout for the Beede is smaller than the one for the Sifam, so you could of course always make it a little larger later.
But if the cutout is done for the Sifam by default you would not be able to use a Beede meter at all, since you would have to make the cutout smaller later : /
What do you guys think?

 
My suggestion:
Option 1: blank case, no cutouts
Option 2: original case with cutouts for replacement meters (AL39WF) and Sowter transformers
Just my 2 cent
Bernd
 
weiss said:
what does the replacement meter look like?

From the front it looks just like the original - a tiny bit larger. But the same pointer, bezel and also with Teletronix Logo.
The housing looks completely different though:
http://www.studioelectronics.biz/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1790

Very expensive though! I heard of someone getting the exact same VU-meter from IMS for only 125$ or so.
they don't have it on their website though - probably have to call them and ask:
http://www.meterdistributor.com

I'd like to know where UA gets it's meters for the reissue, because they look exactly like the original Beede meters. Maybe they are Beede and custom built for UA exclusively?

bernbrue said:
My suggestion:
Option 1: blank case, no cutouts
Option 2: original case with cutouts for replacement meters (AL39WF) and Sowter transformers
Just my 2 cent
Bernd

Got you ;)
I think I still would offer the Opt.2 enclosure with cutouts for the UTC trannys, because with the adapter panels you can use Sowters easily and it still looks great, but you also always have the option to swap them for UTC at some point in the future if you happen to stumble over them, and it will look completely like an original  8)

The adapter panels will be made out of 2mm aluminum and for the UTC A24 to Sowter adapter will look something like this:

142g3eb.png
 
rainton said:
Very expensive though! I heard of someone getting the exact same VU-meter from IMS for only 125$ or so.
they don't have it on their website though - probably have to call them and ask:
http://www.meterdistributor.com

I'd like to know where UA gets it's meters for the reissue, because they look exactly like the original Beede meters. Maybe they are Beede and custom built for UA exclusively?

Ah now i recognise it. Indeed, it is expensive. You could do a poll on the meter cutout?
I think i will contact them.

rainton said:
I think I still would offer the Opt.2 enclosure with cutouts for the UTC trannys, because with the adapter panels you can use Sowters easily and it still looks great, but you also always have the option to swap them for UTC at some point in the future if you happen to stumble over them, and it will look completely like an original  8)

The adapter panels will be made out of 2mm aluminum and for the UTC A24 to Sowter adapter will look something like this:

This is a great idea! ;) So you don't need to offer two different cases.
 
Lassoharp did some blank chassis like this a few years ago, I recall he had a tough time reaching a (rather small) minimum order.  ....and people didn't want to pay so much for them.  You should ask him about it. 
 
Great!
Now, I need two more for myself and together with 2 friends that want one we have 9 people now.
If we can find one more, we will have 10 which will give everybody a price drop of 40 Euros :)
Hooray!

At the moment I don't expect we reach 20 people, but maybe I'm wrong and it just takes some time for people to become aware of this feeler?

Maybe it's the best if I set a deadline, so it's clear for everybody who want to hop on, when the feeler will close.
So today is the 27th - should we say deadline is Wednesday June 3rd at 10pm CET. This should give everyone the opportunity to join in time if interested.

@bernd: I will meet my friend I'm designing the enclosures with tonight - I will talk to him about the blank enclosure, but I think we have to find at least 5 people that want one for  it to makes sense.

Alright now who else wants to join? ;)
 
I could be that 10th man if shipping to the US isn't too insane. €180 comes out to less than US$200, so I think it's pretty reasonable.

How likely would this enclosure work with a PCB? Drip? I've been wanting to do one for about a year now, but I just didn't like the idea of doing the metalwork myself or putting it in a case that looked nothing like an LA2A. I'm not afraid of point to point!

If I join in then I'm afraid I won't have the money for at least 2 or 3 weeks though, I'm afraid. But, this looks like something worth saving up for!
 
The Only thing holding me back from this project is the chassis.  I've been collecting the necessary special bits that make the LA2a so special.  I have an original HA-100x so that should be the default cutout.

Put me down for one.  I'll follow this forum for more information.
 
If I understand correctly, this chassis would be too small for any PCB version, right? Might be an excuse to get into P2P?
 
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