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

[Strat96]

Hi everybody.  I've been searching on the net and following this thread for a little while.  Did anyone ever find out the specs for the inductors on the originals?  Strength/size of core, number of windings, gauge wire, measured resistance, etc?  I have read something about the bass inductor having a ferrite core and the mid-band having a nickel composite core.  I've also seen postings for RM8, RM10, EI24 on here.

Someone may have already mentioned this, but just in case, one of the techs identified his Helios having a 12H in the bass and I believe it.  They pretty much made these with what they had in the beginning.  The bigger inductor would have some effect on bandwidth, but that's what sets them apart.  Almost like the old Les Paul's having different windings in the PAF's.

Cheers!

Jason

 

[AW_music]

Hi Igor,
where's our PROMISED solution for the "bass Switch problem" ???  ??? ;D ???

Please give us some informations about !

I wanna complete this project !
>Thanks<

Regards

 

[AW_music]

IGOR  ??? :
Are you there ??
It's a long time now!!!

PLEASE, Tell me how I can solve the PCB problem to finish this project !

Regards

 

[lotus]

Bump.I would like to know what to do about this project.More input and a  fix for the lows and/or redesign,I did send an email and haven't heard back from Igor.

 

[delaymix]

I fear that all stakeholders are expecting the same, that Igor is proposing an efficient and happy end.

 

[Igor]

Yes, there will be happy end.
The switch should have <27mm after front panel.
We will use these bases, I already have them in-stock;
The wafers are on the way here.

 

[lotus]

Hi Igor or anyone else,  can you tell me if it is possible to use 12h on the bass side?Is this just a question of changing cap values and resistors? or should I save my 12h for something else and use the reccomended 10h?

 

[lotus]

Nobody? ok I guess I'll have to dig out my copy of the Audio encyclopedia and do some more reading.

 

[Igor]

12H isn't so far from 10H.
From the guy who have original modules, I know that bass inductor is 10H.
Switch wafers still not arrived. ArrrGGGhhhH!!!!

 

[Holger]

Any news here, Igor?

 

[haima]

I'm keen for news too... just a friendly prod igor, old boy

Stay healthy and relaxed though, don't let us stress you out with our little switch grumblings!

 

[glazunost]

Hi Igor et al.

I have one or two questions regarding the helios style line amp. Please forgive the noob factor, but maybe it will help some other noobs too.

Q1: it seem that the transistor BC214 is not really available (nobody has it in stock anymore, mouser and digikey list it, but as out of stock). Can you give a recommendation for an adequate replacement? http://www.auroraaudio.net/dcforum/DCForumID1/554.html recommends an BC461 as a replacement, but this one too is not available.

Q2: How do I make use of the helios style line amp?  I don't know what to do about the RIN, RZ and the CZ. I don't know how to interpret the hint in the first post "Just insert it in between first and second stage, and use more gain on second stage.". With the Helios style line amp, i do not absolutely need an input transformer, is that right?

I just had a first listen to the assembled boards, height seem to work well on both channels, PK mids seem to be ok, TR seems to have not much effect, the bass seems to have a problem on both assemblies, but i will probably find some inconsistency of my work.

Thanx a lot in advance!
G

 

[haima]

Q1: it seem that the transistor BC214 is not really available (nobody has it in stock anymore, mouser and digikey list it, but as out of stock). Can you give a recommendation for an adequate replacement? http://www.auroraaudio.net/dcforum/DCForumID1/554.html recommends an BC461 as a replacement, but this one too is not available.

Do a search. This has been discussed at length in igor's 2254c thread and others.

I got mine from "Futurelec" - they are the "BC214L" version. The "L" has a different pinout, but i was able to rotate it to fit on Igor's 2254c boards - i imagine the same will be true here.

Q2: How do I make use of the helios style line amp?  I don't know what to do about the RIN, RZ and the CZ. I don't know how to interpret the hint in the first post "Just insert it in between first and second stage, and use more gain on second stage.". With the Helios style line amp, i do not absolutely need an input transformer, is that right?

RZ and CZ are "zobel" components - you only need to fit them if your input transformer requires a zobel.

RIN is also placed across the input - a resistive load if whatever is connected before this amp needs one.

The helios amp will work without any of these components - they are there for tweaking...

I can't see any reason why you must have a input transformer, no.

I'll let Igor or someone else explain how to use these amp boards, i'm not familiar with the project yet - waiting on Igors switch fix.

I just had a first listen to the assembled boards, height seem to work well on both channels, PK mids seem to be ok, TR seems to have not much effect, the bass seems to have a problem on both assemblies, but i will probably find some inconsistency of my work.

Have you read this thread? There is a known problem with the "bass" band... Igor has ordered replacement switches that apparently will work, but AFAIK he hasn't received them yet.

Glad to hear some of the EQ works - but you might have to de-solder some stuff in the end unfortunately...

 

[haima]

I don't know how to interpret the hint in the first post "Just insert it in between first and second stage, and use more gain on second stage.".

I believe this statement is referring to "dual stage preamps" like the JLM "BA Dual" and Jensen "Dual Servo" etc - not the "helios amp boards"

I imagine the helios amp boards would be used in a similar way to the neve boards - i.e. after the EQ boards.

See the original schem: http://danalexanderaudio.com/OutboardPic/HeliosChannelSchem.jpg

And Igor's "neve amp" implementation: http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg291/diy33609/ba283_mkup_sch.png

 

[glazunost]

hi haima

thank you very much for your support, much appreciated!

i know about the lowcut currently not working, but i was referring to the bass eq component which should be working. anyway, this was not really a question, more a status report. i sure will be able to make it work.

i was not reading the 2254c thread, because i do not plan to build one of those. thanx for the futurelec hint. i think, the questions and answers belong here to this thread. there might not be many people building this project in this configuration, but for the few who do, it might be valuable information.

thanx a lot, again!
g

 

[haima]

All good - it's great to hear someone's building this! I'm waiting for igor's fix... but if it doesn't happen soon i'll start looking for my own solutions i think.

Doesn't the bass and lowcut share the same switch?

Keep us posted. This thread needs more action!  

 

[glazunost]

as far as i know, it is only the low cut section (= half of the positions of the first lorlin) which is affected, the rest should be working fine. for me it is the least important part of this device, i decided to build this project and maybe never apply the fix, i.e. if it is to complicated as i have ample other options to apply a lo cut to a signal if i really need to.

 

[Igor]

as far as i know, it is only the low cut section (= half of the positions of the first lorlin) which is affected,
the rest should be working fine. for me it is the least important part of this device

+1 (me too
Just came today from little vacations, will take more time for support threads tomorrow,
the fix (dual switch which takes 20mm behind front panel) is almost worked out.

 

[ultra-alex]

as far as i know, it is only the low cut section (= half of the positions of the first lorlin) which is affected, the rest should be working fine. for me it is the least important part of this device, i decided to build this project and maybe never apply the fix, i.e. if it is to complicated as i have ample other options to apply a lo cut to a signal if i really need to.

the entire low section is not working properly on my unit. and holger reported the exact same behaviour on his build.

 

[glazunost]

on one of my two channels, the bass is currently working somewhat, when i turn the first lorlin to the very first position, the second lorlin indeed does work as intended and boost the bass (very nice sound, mmmh), but only on this very first position. i cannot exactly say which frequency it is, might be either 60hz or 80hz, probably 60. the other channel does not have this behavior. so i guess i did something wrong, as igor has stated, on his own module, the bass section is working except for the low cut. as soon as i find out anything, i will post my findings.