GSSL HELP THREAD!!!

[Greg]

What you drew there will work, but I'm not sure what your numbers mean. The "D" part of the shaft is the flat size of shaft. Look at the switch from the top... notice that it looks like a "D" ... hence, "D" shaft.

Regarding your PSU question... hook the incoming AC at the top right with the 3 pin connector.

 

[Soeren_DK]

@Greg

Thanks for the pdf drawing about the Vca 2180 Lb... I was just thinking about that question today at work... hehe... great.. I ordered 12 stocks from Profusion 3 days ago and the arrived today, Thats quite fast I think...

Soeren

 

[ability]

i did ask this before but got no reactions, anyone???

Any one ever used a that 9180lc in the design?? i have four of them and three 2150a, but i cant find any specs on the 9180lc. They were shipped to me as a replacement of the 2150a, atleast thats what i remember since it was 2 years ago.

got more time now so i am really going to build it, alreay ordered the pcb's!!

Thanks

 

[kruz]

Hi ability,
I'm sorry i do not have any more info about those chips..
but i think you'd beeter send an email to that corp and ask papers about them.
I'm quite sure they would help you out easily.

 

[ability]

Thanks, but i did, :

i mailed that corp with this question :

I started 2 years ago with this project and collected the vca's then i ran out of time so i am starting really now on the project. The thing is i have that 2150a and that 9180vca but the design is for 2150a and then some company shipped me 9180lc. I cant find the specs on them and thinking back there was a story about them that they were not to be sold. can you tell me if they are interchangable with the 2150? Are they pretrimmed and what is the thd of it? I know its better to use them not in a new design (both) but they might make a difference in sound. and if the 9180 can be swapped easily then its worth to try and check out how that one sounds.

Thanks a lot for your time!

THE ANSWER WAS:

Thanks very much for your inquiry. The 2150-series of VCAs is being discontinued after over 20 years of production. We make a pin-for-pin equivalent line called the 2181-series (2181LA, 2181LB, 2181LC) which we recommend for new designs, and which we expect to continue making for many years to come. This series is available pre-trimmed -- called the 2180-series (2180LA, 2180LB, & 2180LC). The 2181-series is also available in surface mount (though the pre-trimmed 2180-series is not).

I recommend that you consider the following documents:

2180-series data sheet at http://www.thatcorp.com/datashts/2180data.pdf,
2181-series data sheet at http://www.thatcorp.com/datashts/2181data.pdf
Guide for substituting 2180/2181-series for 2150-series at http://www.thatcorp.com/datashts/dn137.pdf.

This should provide most of the information you need.



I would say thanks for telling me what i already knew, too bad they dont talk about the 9180....... Ques i will be using the 1250 instead!!!

 

[ability]

i mean 2150...

 

[mhelin]

[quote author="ability"] THE ANSWER WAS:

Guide for substituting 2180/2181-series for 2150-series at http://www.thatcorp.com/datashts/dn137.pdf

This should provide most of the information you need.

[/quote]

So is there also need for using a smaller capacitor in the I/V converter (the 100 p caps below the 15 k resistors in OUTPUT section on PCB)? The output capacitance of 2180 is 8 pf vs. 30 pf of 2150, and the GSSL uses 100 pf? It's on safe side but shouldn't have any effect on sound, right? The recommended values in datasheets are 22 pF for 2180 and 47 pF for 2150.
~Mikko

 

[tubemonkey35]

I'm starting mine this weekend with 2180LA's I have 2180B's and C's too.

 

[panda]

hey,
so monday when i get my power supply, i'm going to hook it up, and hopfully power up! i currently though do not have a meter. do i need to have a meter wired in for it work correctly? i emailed the guy about one of those behrigner VUs, but he never replied. probably cause of the holidays.
same problem with par-metal. damn holidays!

thanks

panda

 

[Greg]

You can power it up without the meter. It'll still work fine.

 

[tubemonkey35]

Here's a dumb question....

I understand there is a side chain circuit onthe PCB, but I see that almost everybody only has 2 XLRs in and 2 out? Where or what is used to input the sidechain signal? Or is that most have opted not to use the sidechain feature?

BTW I have a SMART C2 sitting here too! It has 6 xlrs; 2 for sidechain (in dual mono).

I can't wait to a/b the uints.

 

[gyraf]

A sidechain is an integral part of any compressor - it's the part that converts audio to control voltage. What you have on some compressors is sidechain ACCESS, allowing you to manipulate signal to the sidechain.

Don't confuse the two things.

Jakob E.

 

[tubemonkey35]

Ah... ok kewl Jakob thanks for setting me straight!

So have some of the others here added the input access to it? Just by adding a male XLR on the rear and attaching it to the correct spot on the PCB?

Also what is the latest Rev ofthe PCB? is it Rev 7? I have Rev 7.

 

[radiance]

[quote author="tubemonkey35"].................So have some of the others here added the input access to it? Just by adding a male XLR on the rear and attaching it to the correct spot on the PCB?
............[/quote]

Yes, some of us have. Here's how....

 

[panda]

hi,
so i hunted through everything i could on this, here. and my questions may be of sorts that they don't even so much apply to the GSSL. but, if you know someplace else for me to look up the info. that would be great.

i don't know how to hook up my power supply. "."
all my parts are from greg's part list. [US].

what i think i know is. the red and brown wires go togeather into the center hole of the PCB [where the power goes in] and the blue on the "outside" of that. [towards the edge of the board] and the green to the inside. then the red and yellow wires [on the other side of the power supply] go to the jack for my power cable. [and where the fuse is kept]
soo. how do / where do these wires hook up to the jack? and there are 3 places to hook up wires. feel like i missing something.

then the purple and black wire go to the switch? its a rotary switch. where do the wires [witch lugs] connect on that? and do i need to run a wire from the switch to the jack? maybe for the 3rd connection.

maybe if someone has a close up picture. i've been doing alot of monkey see monkey do. but no one has close ups of this part of their builds.

thanks. :guinness:

panda

 

[Greg]

Panda:

Before reading this post, get two things:
1. Schematic
2. Toroid Datasheet - look at diagram
http://rocky.digikey.com/WebLib/Amveco-Talema/Web%20Data/62000%20Series%20Low%20Profile%20Miniature%20Transformers.pdf

First the primaries need to be wired in parallel for 115VAC.
1. tie Yellow and Red together and this goes to the tab label "N" (for neutral) on the fused IEC.
2. tie Black and Violet together and this goes to the 115VAC on the IEC. I think it's the tab just below, or above, the one labeled "N". It's not the tab in middle seperated from the other two. Look at the datasheet for the IEC connector and it should explain it. And don't worry about the switch right now if you're just testing. You can add that later when you put it in a chassis.

Second the secondaries need to wire in series with a center tap:
1. tie Red and Brown together and this goes to the middle pin... this is the "center tap"
2. connect Green to one outside pin and Blue to the other (it doesn't matter which)... remember we're still dealing with AC here so the voltage across the center tap to Green and the center to tap to Blue will be the same, about 15-18VAC. The voltage from Green to Blue will be twice that, somewhere in the range of 30-35VAC.

Presto, that should do it !!! :thumb:

 

[panda]

greg is a hero!
anyways. so i hooked up my power supply. i think. plugged it in.. no smoke [or smells]. so i unplugged it, and i put in all the ICs. and plugged in some cables. [mic outs of my mixer, [balanced TRS i think] into the GSSL. then a mic cable out to the mixer. and plugged it back in. needless to say i got no sound. other then i popping sound when in moved a switch.
the VCA don't really seems to be to much, what i would call, "locked down". they are really wobbly. i could make it pop and click some if i wobbled one. if i hit the XLR connectors it made a cool sound. but then some of the ICs started to get pretty hot. so i unplugged it. have to figure out how to check my power, and then look for solder bridges. i'm sure there is atleast one. but probably more. so, it didn't work. but there are a tons of things i can try. just didn't fire up on the first go. the hot ICs is my first concern, then wobbly VCA, then solder bridges, then was i feeding it a real signal! [i'm pretty much all unbalanced in my studio].. luckly i like trouble shooting. so sleep, work, and back to it!!
thanks everyone so far. more soon.. pictures of my failure tomorrow night on my blog.

panda
ps. not so much looking for a reply, just a here's what happened report. i know most of these issue's are addressed in this thread already. now for the fun, but not as fun part. well, maybe a, whats up with the wobbley VCA. do i need to trim down the connectors?

 

[matta]

Panda,

If you read through this LONG list of posts you will fine you are not the
only one who has trouble. I do feel maybe you were a little hasty in your
power up.

Did you check your Voltages out of your secondaries of the power transformer
before connecting it to the SSL?

Also bear in mind that just because you don't see sparks and flames that you
didn't damage a component or 2, often they short out and die and don't
smoke.

I would go back and check your secondary voltages before you plug into the
board then check the voltages on your regulators, and then also the voltages
on your IC pins, without the IC's. If all checks out well, go back and check
all your wringing, to the board and switches.

All the information on how to do all of the above and what typical reading
are in this thread, you just have to read up some more.

Just work slowly and carefully, double/triple check everything. Odds are it
is small mistake that can be rectified.

Welcome to you first troubleshoot, now the real fun begins and you will
learn a heck of a lot as you go along. Hopefully it ends witha big 'Ah!' as
you figure out the problem.

Cheers

Matt

 

[Soeren_DK]

:?:

How is the SSL connected to your setup?

 

[Greg]

As matta said, check the secondary voltage on your toroid (this is AC). If that's fine, connect it to the 3-pin and measure the voltages at the IC sockets with the chips removed (this is DC). Look at the data sheet for pin numbers, you can get that from the Digikey site.

Also, the VCAs fit into the sockets nice and tight... if the VCA is wobbly, make sure it's mounted in the socket properly... that is of course, after you know your power supply is working fine.