69. Not Helios/Phaeton. Pics/schematics/building support thread.

[Igor]

so what exactly do i have to populate at the bypass pcb?

One-by-one.

at the moment i have 24v relays + diode with solder jumper at series connection.

In case of 24V relays, the connection should be PARALLEL, 2 jumpers.
/not the central one, those which right down the relays/

solder jumper at ING.

Connects input xlr pin 1 to case

solder jumper at 1+2 at bypass switch 3pin molex (is that right?),

Right, we shorting the bypass switch on bypass pcb and feeding 24V from EQ pcb

vrel1 2pin molex connected to byp on eq pcb,

Right, 24V from front PCB to bypass board

2-pin Molex marked "24V" on EQ board goes to power supply, 1+ 2-

and input / output 3pin molex wired with the makeup ba283, no rled installed.

Rled on bypass PCB is out of care
3-pin Molex:
IN goes to IN, OUT goes to OUT at make-up PCB

groundplane on bypass pcb to case!

Yes, right!

i measure 24VDC at pin 1 of 2pin molex vrel1
when switching the eq bypass switch either up or down.

I assume 3 position switch ON-OFF-ON used. This way, up is eq+makeup,
center is bypass, down is makeup without EQ.

Let's do next. Connect 24V to bypass board, to VREL, 1+ 2-, and see if bypass works.
Pins 1+2 at 3-pin Molex, BYP_SW, should be shorted.

 

[ultra-alex]

at the moment i have 24v relays + diode with solder jumper at series connection.

In case of 24V relays, the connection should be PARALLEL, 2 jumpers.
/not the central one, those which right down the relays/

okay, i followed your previous post / link...

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg291/diy33609/HeByp1.jpg

will check tomorrow and report back.
thank you! alex

EDIT: yeah, the relays were connected in series. stupid mistake. the three modes are working now...
thanks igor!

 

[ultra-alex]

so far mids and high bands and ba283 boards are working, but i found a strange behaviour with the hpf / low band.
when selecting a freq i.e. 60Hz it seriously boosts but only when the corresponding gain switch (2. lorlin) is in off position!? when i step this gain switch up it attenuates but only in first position. no other positions seem to work. inductors are carnhill and all switches are lorlins 1x12. reversed switch / inductor?  
thanks for any hint...

EDIT: HPF doesn´t work either. rechecked all solder joints/values for C11-C15, correct! all boost frequencies on lowband are working, so i assume vtb9043 and C17, C20, C23, C26, C29 are okay.
rechecked all solder joints / res values on lowgain switch, correct!
same for R1-R12, correct! mid and high band working like a charm.
i´am stuck...

 

[Igor]

okay, i followed your previous post / link...

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg291/diy33609/HeByp1.jpg

will check tomorrow and report back.

Errata: this was my mistake, not yours
I used to 12v relays and thought about supply voltages instead of relay coil's nominal voltages.
In case of whatever, to clarify:
For 24V power supply, if 12V relays used, series connection-
one jumper at the middle. If 24V relys are used, parallel connection, 2 jumpers (under the relays).

EDIT: yeah, the relays were connected in series. stupid mistake. the three modes are working now...
thanks igor!

To my shame. I usually check everything when post drawings/etc.
Well, human factor worked at this time.

so far mids and high bands and ba283 boards are working, but i found a strange behaviour with the hpf / low band.
when selecting a freq i.e. 60Hz it seriously boosts but only when the corresponding gain switch (2. lorlin) is in off position!? when i step this gain switch up it attenuates but only in first position. no other positions seem to work. inductors are carnhill and all switches are lorlins 1x12. reversed switch / inductor?
thanks for any hint...

In case of whatever. VER.1.1. used modified switch for LO (first from left).
There were only 2 test boards of this version at first prototype.
Ver.1.2 which is fixed, checked and current one doesn't needs modified switch,
i.e. 1pole 12 pos Lorlin switches are used everywhere.
If modified 2x6 switch used (the mod is simple, take out the second half's wiper,
which works at 7-11 positions), everything is OK.
If 2x6 switch is used, this can be a prob.
Let me think on this....

 

[ultra-alex]

In case of whatever. VER.1.1. used modified switch for LO (first from left).
There were only 2 test boards of this version at first prototype.
Ver.1.2 which is fixed, checked and current one doesn't needs modified switch,
i.e. 1pole 12 pos Lorlin switches are used everywhere.
If modified 2x6 switch used (the mod is simple, take out the second half's wiper,
which works at 7-11 positions), everything is OK.
If 2x6 switch is used, this can be a prob.
Let me think on this....

progress. just swapped the low band 1 x 12 with a modified 2 x 6 on the left channel to no avail. no hpf, no lowband boost...
it even makes things stranger cause i lost the third bypass mode (makeup amp without eq). after putting back a 1 x 12 i got that bypass mode working again. desoldering lorlins is a nightmare and before i ruin my switch pcb i´ll better stop for today and wait for your thoughts...
for now i have at least mid and high bands working and the possibility to use the (makeup amp) iron without eq, which is a really nice feature.
let me know what you think.
cheers, alex

p.s. btw, its pretty quiet here. nobody besides igor and myself who has build a 69?

 

[haima]

p.s. btw, its pretty quite here. nobody besides igor and myself who has build a 69?

it's next on my list....  not yet, sorry!

do you have a desoldering gun? i purchased a hakko 808 pretty cheap on ebay a while ago (110v - have to run it on my variac) - it makes desoldering MUCH easier and less stressful/damaging. one of my favourite tools!

sorry i can't really offer more help than that at this point.

 

[Holger]

I have exact the same problem with the low end section as Ultra-Alex.

 

[Igor]

Guys, let me see what can be a problem here. I checked my second unit,
which is still not racked, ver.1.2 pcb; low cut does not works,
everything except it works fine.
At least low boost sounds better than plugin, I love it's sound on highs
and all curves traced with scope/analyzer are very close to simulation.
Will have some time at this week to deal with it.
If there's a problem, it will be fixed within this week and solution will be posted here.
Worst case, I will send corrected pcb for free.

 

[haima]

thanks igor - you are a champ. thanks alex and holger for blazing the trail 

 

[Igor]

Hm...Actually, I prefer if everything works fine.
Anyway:
Errata for all builders. There's a mistake on pcb.
Low cuts are not working. Let me time till 26th July to find the working solution.
I will do all the best to fix it with minimum of your time/money investment, i.e.
new fixed boards will be sent for free or other fix like this.

 

[haima]

Hm...Actually, I prefer if everything works fine.

just trying to put a positive spin on things... haha.

 

[ultra-alex]

Hm...Actually, I prefer if everything works fine.
Anyway:
Errata for all builders. There's a mistake on pcb.
Low cuts are not working.

can you also confirm the low boost misbehaviour. my unit is boosting all lowboost frequ´s BUT only when in off position.
maybe holger can confirm that. otherwise it has to be a different error in my unit...
thanks!

Inductors: Carenhills layout done exactly by .pdf on their webside. Not tested yet.
(If someone want to get free pair of EQ pcb's, he/she can test them with
the Carenhills and post the results).

so as i beta-tested carnhill inductors, you owe my another pair of pcb´s.  ;D
just kidding...  
cheers, alex

 

[Igor]

Low boosts are working fine. Do you have a short between center pins of LO (first from
left) switch?

 

[ultra-alex]

the low BOOST frequencies (first switch left) from postion "off" to position "400Hz" are working fine here too. the adjacent (low boost) GAIN switch isn´t working as supposed! and what center pins of which switch are you talking about? please be more precise...

 

[Jim50hertz]

Errata for all builders. There's a mistake on pcb.
Low cuts are not working. Let me time till 26th July to find the working solution.
I will do all the best to fix it with minimum of your time/money investment, i.e.
new fixed boards will be sent for free or other fix like this.

Any news Igor? 

 

[Igor]

Yes. There's a prob. Will be fixed, people who bought pcb's or kits,
will receive working solution, absolutely for free.
Sorry, it will take some time, between 2 and 5 weeks.

All working fine except low cuts. If you're OK with it...leave it
If you like to fix it, please mail me: transaction ID (to know shipping address
and which version of PCB was sent), and just write you like to fix low cut problem.
No additional costs, no shipping, etc.
/added: ah yes, and minimum of your time consumption

 

[haima]

thanks igor - i've sent you a mail 

 

[Holger]

Mail sent...

 

[ultra-alex]

igor, i don´t think that i need to send you another email... 
cheers, alex

 

[Jim50hertz]

mail sent