Hi,
Finally finished my DIY Shure Level Loc.
I had this project for a while in my drawer and I finally was able to take the time to build it and test it.
The unit sounds great, I compared it to an original one an couldn't find any relevant diferences.
Sound is like you expect from this unit, dirty , raw and pumping.
I used the original transformers that were in these units as I had a Shure m67 or m68 mixer that had no use so I took the transformers out to use on this project.
The pcb board was from a project that was on the net some years ago called "Sherlock" , although it's long gone.
I only had 1 PCB so to do the stereo unit I etched an home board.
The only modification I did was to add a 40dbs PAD at the input so I could use Balanced Line Level signals, the original circuit is for a Mic input only.
Let me say that the transformer outputs are completely useless and the Mic output volume is really low (even for the gain of a 70dbs Mic pre) and it's really noisy, everyone that uses the Level Loc unit or that build the sherlock got to the same conclusion, you need to skip the Balanced Mic out and use the unbalanced Aux Out, then you have a good level and lower noise.
So if anyone is interested in building this unit I advise you to not spend any money in Output transformers you just need the input iron.
here are the pictures of my finished unit:
Finally finished my DIY Shure Level Loc.
I had this project for a while in my drawer and I finally was able to take the time to build it and test it.
The unit sounds great, I compared it to an original one an couldn't find any relevant diferences.
Sound is like you expect from this unit, dirty , raw and pumping.
I used the original transformers that were in these units as I had a Shure m67 or m68 mixer that had no use so I took the transformers out to use on this project.
The pcb board was from a project that was on the net some years ago called "Sherlock" , although it's long gone.
I only had 1 PCB so to do the stereo unit I etched an home board.
The only modification I did was to add a 40dbs PAD at the input so I could use Balanced Line Level signals, the original circuit is for a Mic input only.
Let me say that the transformer outputs are completely useless and the Mic output volume is really low (even for the gain of a 70dbs Mic pre) and it's really noisy, everyone that uses the Level Loc unit or that build the sherlock got to the same conclusion, you need to skip the Balanced Mic out and use the unbalanced Aux Out, then you have a good level and lower noise.
So if anyone is interested in building this unit I advise you to not spend any money in Output transformers you just need the input iron.
here are the pictures of my finished unit:
