S800 Support Thread

[Dr nEon]

Hey Stitch-o!

I'm also interested to know how to implement a "power on" indicator LED in the S800 .

I'm using one of peter's green psu's with the LM317 etc.. this psu doesn't include led indicator , but I'm wondering if one can be added , maybe by putting one before the input of the +ve reg , to ground via a resistor.  I don't know if this would upset the  LM317 tho..?

maybe someone knows a good place on the s800 pcb where a power led could be connected..

cheers

nEon.

 

[mrphotodude]

i just used a lighted switch...
easy enough. i dont know if there is room for one in the produced cases for the project though...i ghetto fashioned my own case.
i ended up taking the lighted switch out though...just didn't feel the need to use it, if i generally leave the in/out switches in...i get a led on.
i imagine anywhere after the regulators that wouldn't choke up alot of power would be okay- but dont quote me on that  :-X

 

[stitch-o]

i just used a lighted switch...

those are cool.

I went with a 5/8" white 120V lamp from mouser.
I hate drilling such a nice faceplate, but so far (I'm waiting on a few more PS caps and a 1/32" drill
to open up some too-small through holes) it looks very pilot-light-y.

Slap this sucker in series with the toroidial and the power switch and good to go.

 

[mrphotodude]

i had finally got mine in the rack over the weekend....
i had to make a faceplate a few times...i put my boards in normal, not upside down and i had kinda copied the prefab cases sold and realized....everything is backwards! Luckily i can make faceplates at work out of aluminum so it set me back a 5 minute drive and about half an hour of prep and output.
I did a few tweaks on mine...will post what i did and some pics soon. Still want to try out something with it. But overall...it sounds really "tight".

 

[Dr nEon]

Yeah , I dont want to use a lighted switch.. neon's are especially a bad idea in audio , anyway.

I fab my own cases so I can easily accommodate one , but simple though it may be , I still have never been able to figure out if it is ok to just hang an led off the positive (or neg) rail to ground via the right resistance .

What influence could it have on the stability of the supply?  I imagined it would be better to power the indicator from BEFORE the reg ??

Some of the psu circuits around here ,i.e.  green psu , and calrec minipsu , dont make provision for an led. I'm wondering if that's just to keep things simple , or if there's a reason not to add one...

cheers

nEon.

 

[matta]

Yeah , I dont want to use a lighted switch.. neon's are especially a bad idea in audio , anyway.

I fab my own cases so I can easily accommodate one , but simple though it may be , I still have never been able to figure out if it is ok to just hang an led off the positive (or neg) rail to ground via the right resistance .

What influence could it have on the stability of the supply?  I imagined it would be better to power the indicator from BEFORE the reg ??

Some of the psu circuits around here ,i.e.  green psu , and calrec minipsu , dont make provision for an led. I'm wondering if that's just to keep things simple , or if there's a reason not to add one...

cheers

nEon.

I just took it from the regulated + rail, got an over sized power trafo and some BIG filter caps, should not have any problems there...

Cheers

Matt

 

[Dr nEon]

Hey Matta thanks for jumping in..

and some BIG filter caps

In the green psu , do you think i'd need to go any bigger than the four 1000u/35v' s ?

Also , did you take your led from the +ve rail where it enters the S800 board , or right after the reg , on the psu board,before the second caps?

cheers

nEon

 

[Davo]

The 1000uf/35v's will do you just fine.... I've got a led hanging off the + rail of the psu after the reg.... no problemo.  Just pop a 1k to the + of the led, and connect the - to ground and your good... as long as you're tranny's got enough juice, you should be fine (10va or thereabouts.... tried a 7va, and it didn't work too well)

dave

 

[matta]

Hey Matta thanks for jumping in..

and some BIG filter caps

In the green psu , do you think i'd need to go any bigger than the four 1000u/35v' s ?

Also , did you take your led from the +ve rail where it enters the S800 board , or right after the reg , on the psu board,before the second caps?

cheers

nEon

After the regs, before it entered the S800, follow Davo's instructions RE the resistor and you will be good. I have a 15VA trano for my 2 channels, more than enough juice and 1000uF is AMPLE.

Cheers

Matt

 

[Dr nEon]

Davo, Matta...

Many many thanks, guys ...my tx is 18VA so no worries!

cheers

nEon.

 

[stitch-o]

Yeah , I dont want to use a lighted switch.. neon's are especially a bad idea in audio , anyway.

how bad might I ask?

 

[Dr nEon]

stitch-o , check the comments from prr and owel , near the bottom of this thread:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=2260.0

There are schools of thought that suggest rfi and induced ripple are nasty side effects of neon .

That said , I would still like to know myself , just how big a deal this is ,in the case of those little SCI neon switches..

cheers

nEon

 

[stitch-o]

stitch-o , check the comments from prr and owel , near the bottom of this thread:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=2260.0

There are schools of thought that suggest rfi and induced ripple are nasty side effects of neon .

That said , I would still like to know myself , just how big a deal this is ,in the case of those little SCI neon switches..

cheers

nEon

That is a very good read.
It sounds like tho if you wire in parallel series with the switch and keep far from chassis/ground AND the gear is not an amplifier circuit, a small neon should not cause problems.

I will wire mine and report back.

thanks and cheers!

 

[Siegfried Meier]

Hey guys,

I too am using the PSU that came with the boards, the green pre PSU.  Why am I seeing these massive honkin' heat sinks?  What are they attached too, and do they really need to be that big?

Thanks,
Sig

 

[substitute]

i had to make a faceplate a few times...i put my boards in normal, not upside down and i had kinda copied the prefab cases sold and realized....everything is backwards! Luckily i can make faceplates at work out of aluminum so it set me

I missed the boat on puruscha's cases so I need to drill my own.  Do you have a layout, or any advice?

 

[matta]

i had to make a faceplate a few times...i put my boards in normal, not upside down and i had kinda copied the prefab cases sold and realized....everything is backwards! Luckily i can make faceplates at work out of aluminum so it set me

I missed the boat on puruscha's cases so I need to drill my own.  Do you have a layout, or any advice?

Purusha has a bunch of the 2 channel racks in stock... not sure if that is what you were looking for?

Matt

 

[substitute]

Thanks, stitch-o mentioned that as well.  Now I'm not sure whether I want to stick with the cases I've already got or go with the prefabs. 

 

[Siegfried Meier]

Got 2 channels done yesterday with the 8 channel case - VERY slow going, but I'm being pretty meticulous with the wiring, which there is a lot of, and heat shrinking all the wires.  I've been temporarily powering with a JLM for testing purposes, as I'm awaiting parts for the PeterC PSU, but again, I'm seeing these large heat sinks on the regulators in pics.  Are these necessary?  Do they get that hot?  The JLM seems to do just fine the way it is.

Thanks,
Sig

 

[Brolik]

the large heatsinks are on Peter's suggestion

Brolik

I did an 8 chan Green  with a single PSU & I used a lump of aluminium about 50 x 25 x 5mm & it got HOT! Worked fine for a good few months but I then mounted the regs on the chassis for longevity's sake.

Bear in mind that the current draw for the S800 should be less per channel than the Green

Peter

 

[matta]

Got 2 channels done yesterday with the 8 channel case - VERY slow going, but I'm being pretty meticulous with the wiring, which there is a lot of, and heat shrinking all the wires.  I've been temporarily powering with a JLM for testing purposes, as I'm awaiting parts for the PeterC PSU, but again, I'm seeing these large heat sinks on the regulators in pics.  Are these necessary?  Do they get that hot?  The JLM seems to do just fine the way it is.

Thanks,
Sig

Good luck with the 8 channel! I am almost done with the wiring for my first 8 (have to do a 2nd rack of 8... going to be putting it off for a while!). If you plan on using only ONE psu for 8 channels, then yes, BIG heatsinks will be needed. On a pair racked up in the 1U cases, with all the LEDS and opamps drawing current they were warm to touch, so I put on some small TO-220 sinks for longevity... for my 8 channels I'll be using @ supplies, one for 4 channels, the other for the other 4, and heatsinks on both... less heat build up, regs take less strain and if a PSU ever fails you are only down 4 channels... something t think about.

Cheers

Matt