[BUILD] CAPI Dual VPR & 51x Floor Box PSU~Official Support Thread

[kante1603]

I understand the "to each his own," but I would rather have the IEC ground first because it would be the last to come off if for some act of God the nut came off. That way the case would be grounded until all eyelets were pulled off. I would rather error on the side of safety. (To anyone reading this, it is still perfectly sound to do it the way Jeff describes in the instructions.)

Hello,

getting this connection save is easy,there are lots of ways to do.
E.g.one can use a tooth washer before the nut.Or use "self-securing nuts" ( pardon me,I don't know the word for this,in german they are called "Sicherungsschrauben").Or use two nuts and tighten them against eaxh other.Or use a drop of "loctite".All of these methods are more or less bullet-proof.

Hope to have helped,

Udo.

 

[cbarrett92]

@jsteiger I guess maybe that was what I was after. I just saw how the parts were painted and thought that they would not be very conductive between each other unless I did something to modify them. Maybe you can have them mask the ends off on the heat sinks and then a little on the backs of the front and rear faceplates? That way one would not have to go about the case with trial and error while sanding. (But I also can understand the added expense the masking might make to the metal parts v. having the user do it themselves...)

@kante1603 Jeff provides the locking nut you describes in his kits already. There are actually 2 of them on the star ground screw.

 

[Satblip]

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thank for all your work !

I've got a problem with my PSU, I did all the build and double check all my solders and physically it seems fine but I don't have the +16v led ON (and mesure 0,034vdc on the JP1) otherwise, I mesure 16,678vac and 17,340vac on both AC16v side. any idea ?

Thanks you ! 

EDIT : The transformer do a little noise at start. If it can help

 

[jsteiger]

What are the DC measurements on both sides of the +16V fuse?

 

[Satblip]

What are the DC measurements on both sides of the +16V fuse?

±0,41vdc on both sides

 

[jsteiger]

If you have you verified the proper AC voltages at the toroid's secondary header, then you will have to follow the schematic and trace your signal thru that part of the circuit to see where the proper voltages stop.

 

[Satblip]

If you have you verified the proper AC voltages at the toroid's secondary header, then you will have to follow the schematic and trace your signal thru that part of the circuit to see where the proper voltages stop.

Ok, I'll do that

I'm sure it's the regulator, I always have problems with regulators They don't like me !

I'll keep you in touch, thanks for your answer !

 

[Satblip]

Ok... I've decided to work on my PSU this night and try to find where the problem was.

I've powered up and all the leds went up... Just rechecked everything and I don't understand. I'm sure of my wiring and soldering. Have you got an idea of one component that could be the issue ? I've "moved" all components and don't loose the +16v...

Or I fix PSUs during my sleep and I didn't realize :-D

 

[kante1603]

Hello,

have finished my floorbox today.
Did it for the "smaller jobs"( some of you might know that I´ve built a dual version before).
A breeze to build,very relaxing,high quality as always.

You "51x-Alliance-Trio"-Guys rock!

One issue:I have a left-over green LED-must I put it in the white market ;D?

O.K.,let´s get serious.
Thought I should share this:Some of us german or european builders seem to have slight difficulties with the transformer wires and their colours,which one goes where etc..
I made a little pic using the transformer description on the classic api site as a template (mea culpa Jeff!) and modified it to german colour coding.You´ll find the pdf at the end of this post.
I´m not sure if this is the same trafo Cemal sells,I got mine from Volker.Maybe someone can chime in here?

Here are some pics in detail I took from my build:







Thanks for watching,hope to have helped,

Udo

 

[Volume11]

Hey guys, I just finished my psu assembly, and I am having a couple issues. I powered it up and noticed that the 48v and -16v leds didn't turn on. I checked for voltages at the molex connector and there was nothing on either. I also checked the fuses so, I believe the LEDs are fine and inserted correctly, but one of my concerns is the voltage regulators. I didn't follow the build docs like I should have, and I soldered the VRs in and cut the leads before bolting them to the sides. My solution to this was to drill holes just below the already existing ones. The holes didn't line up perfectly, of course, so I had to use a little force. Is there a way to test them to see if I may have damaged them? I plan on taking it back apart tomorrow to check for cold solder joints.

Thanks
Chad

 

[kante1603]

Hi Chad,

don't know if I get you right but you drilled new holes in the regulators?
If so swap them out,they're not expensive.
You also can measure the regs inputs and outputs of course before proceeding,just follow the schemo,it is easy.Black probe to 0v of course,dmm to dc.
If you have dc on their inputs but not on the outputs just swap them out.
Don't forget the dc reading on the input will be higher than on output,e.g. for 16vdc it will roughly be 21vdc. etc.
When the regs are out of circuit and you want to go save measure the surrounding parts too,for the -16vdc rail it is the diodes cr8 & cr7,as well as the resistors r12 & r13.

Hope to have helped,

Udo.

 

[Volume11]

Hi Chad,

don't know if I get you right but you drilled new holes in the regulators?
If so swap them out,they're not expensive.
You also can measure the regs inputs and outputs of course before proceeding,just follow the schemo,it is easy.Black probe to 0v of course,dmm to dc.
If you have dc on their inputs but not on the outputs just swap them out.
Don't forget the dc reading on the input will be higher than on output,e.g. for 16vdc it will roughly be 21vdc. etc.
When the regs are out of circuit and you want to go save measure the surrounding parts too,for the -16vdc rail it is the diodes cr8 & cr7,as well as the resistors r12 & r13.

Hope to have helped,

Udo.

Thanks Udo! I actually drilled new holes in the heat sink/side panels. I'll report back soon with some results, hopefully good of course!

Chad

 

[kante1603]

Ohhhhh.....got it now....(language barrier?)....hahaha ;D
Anyway,measuring won't hurt....

Good luck to you Chad,

best regards,

Udo

 

[Volume11]

So I'm a bit confused here. I had the plastic washer on the outside of the regulators instead of the inside (between the VR and side panel). I unscrewed the two that weren't working, and Moved them away from the sides. it fixed the 16v rail, but the 48v rail is still dead. There is voltage going to the VR, but nothing coming out. I don't know which leg is the output, so I tested both, which had the same results.  I unscrewed all of them and placed the plastic washer in between the VRs and the heatsink. Now, only two LEDs come on....Frustrating! I think that I will just replace all of them and start over, unless someone can chime in with something.

Thanks

Chad

 

[jsteiger]

Did you use the sil-pads between the reg's and the heatsink sides? This is important not only for heat transfer but to insulate the metal body of the reg from the heatsink. If you don't use the sil-pads, the positive reg's will be shorted directly to ground.

 

[Volume11]

I used them, but I don't think that I had all of them inserted correctly. Somehow they wer shorting out. The plastic washer goes between the heatsink and vr as well right?

Edit: after looking at the photos from the first page, I realized that I had the plastic washers inserted correctly after all. So now, I believe that the screws are is shorting them out! Oops.  :-[

 

[jsteiger]

If the washers are inserted correctly, it will take some doing to get the screws crooked enough to short out the regs to the heatsinks. With the power off, you can easily beep this out with your DMM. The negative rails will beep when touching the reg's metal tab and the heatsink but the positives should not.

 

[Volume11]

If the washers are inserted correctly, it will take some doing to get the screws crooked enough to short out the regs to the heatsinks. With the power off, you can easily beep this out with your DMM. The negative rails will beep when touching the reg's metal tab and the heatsink but the positives should not.

Good point, I do believe the screws are crooked enough because I drilled my own holes in the heatsink, which didn't line up correctly. I just checked for continuity, and they are indeed shorting out. I'm going to just order some new ones and do it the right way. If only I would have followed the build docs thoroughly the first time. Thanks for your input.

Chad

 

[jsteiger]

Well sh!t does happen. Live and learn as they say. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[kante1603]

May I recommend to control your insulating washers and silicone pads too?
Under no circumstance should they be damaged.When mounting them wrong and got just a bit too much force it is easy to break them.To get save swap them out too.

Just a thought,good luck,

Udo.