TEN81 2009 PROJECTS

[EKADEK]

this post will attempt to collate all the past ten81 project infos. im going to edit this post with all that. and the extra stuff ive found and realised and what others have too. hopefully it will be helpful to everyone involved in the project parts group buys. it was  pretty expensive.  

with new infos that  correct the previous infos and add infos to the infos until there be enough infos compiled in a prodigy friendly way for it all to either make utter fantastic sense ... or completely fry your solder addled brains. for this is  a project to loose yourself in. the only way u can push this sweet pony across the finish line it is by being obsessed by its complexity. dive in... be the ten81.

after many mindfreakin battles of working thru the project material - having it not seem quite right and then noticing that not many folks have completed.  (aaaggghhh)   then going right back into the original designs and retracing layouts and ammending parts layouts and getting more and more familiar with how each part functions. and where all those little wires are really meant to go.


just today i finished final testing of this dual channel unit.  its been the most intense build ive ever undertaken. this baby is a labirinth within an alternate universe. her complexity is an extreme lesson.

and.. i can say without any reservation that it goes like CRAZY. every single switch and control works like it should and it sounds amazing. so powerful and precise. a surgical needle and a sledgehammer.  

http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten811.gif
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten812.gif
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten813.jpg

and here are some links to postings that i found that meant the business.
although not all the links pointed to within them work. dam. and there are errors. dam. we are close to sorting it all out tho. to make it ALOT easier to make these things. 

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=3309.msg40073#msg40073
http://www.audiomaintenance.com/acatalog/Transformers_and_Inductors.html
http://www.nrgrecording.de/html/neve1081.html
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=3309.msg40073#msg40073
http://www.diyfactory.com/projects/diy81/diy81.htm

so as we go im hoping that
frank will chime in and maybe make a brand new layout PDF/bomb.
and we can work on making  new 100% correct switch schematics.
i will host a "as much info as you need to know" abridged usefull jpg version of the original motherboard diagram.
and a list of the things i found to be definitely wrong with the diy schemes and plans. (i say that with the utmost respect for those whove been here before. they must have found the same faults i did we all and only want to crack this open.
and i guess if anyone is making one after getting their switches in the group buy a while back. chime in please.

 

[radiance]

Hats off!!   

 

[kazper]

Well done indeed!

I wish I was as far as you.

 

[crisotop]

Holy crap.... Awesome work - congrats!!

christoph

 

[solderspongebob]

Wow! That's a massive build and a massive pat on the back for pulling it off.

At least now knocking together a 2nd unit will be a breeze  ;D

 

[kazper]

What did you do for the Heat sink on the BA341(without looking the number up)?

 

[veermaster]

Your pics make me aware of the fact that I will never build this monster.
Respect!

 

[SIXTYNINER]

for anyone got rev 7
here now the rev 8 of x81 layout pcb
http://www.nrgrecording.de/html/neve1081.html

thanks to magic frank

 

[ChuckD]

EKADEK

Congrats and welcome to the elite 1081 builders club! Nice to see some more folks finishing this project.
I really like those switches they look very slick.

Chuck

 

[nrgrecording]

A turning lathe had been used to make the concentric part of the switch? Thats a really, really nice Idea!
Congratulations man!  8)

If you have your documents still there... you could probably give some feedback regarding the switch wiring and V8 pcb layout? Would be great!

http://www.nrgrecording.de/gainswitch_V4.pdf
http://www.nrgrecording.de/NEVE_1081_switchesV2.pdf

Frank.

 

[EKADEK]

yes. my dad made the outer concentrics and gain knob on his lathe. he used to make all sorts of items and tools and toys in the early 60s.  after finding that a brent averill marconi knob set was going to cost about 900 nz$ . no way. so my dad made those from 25mm alley bar. knurled around the outside and recessed front and back to accommodate the switch nut and inner knob. the inner knobs are from the ELMA 14.5 mm collet knob range at farnell. he'll make more too if anyone needs them. and he can make other ones too i guess.

i do have your documents frank - with notes and corrections. i do have good working schemes for the filter switch set (previous not working) and bass switch (found a missing wire and a misplaced one) and a huge printout of b312 notated with rev 7 part numbers and P points added.  i'll get them up asap. just got to tidy them a little. im going to pin them to my wall and photograph them tonite. its a bit agricultural i know.  

 

[EKADEK]

this took ages. i hope it helps. like i said. i tested mine completely. every function was correct. frequency centres were really accurate. all the broad/peak switching was awesome. shelfs were all correct. and these are the plans.

i must mention that the boost and cut directions of pot travel should be your own choice in the end. the boosting cutting directions can easily be noticed and changed in the end ... after its going. you just have to swap outside connections of the pot itself. easy. anyway i made this one with 'normal' boost clockwise and defeat anticlockwise. and numbered them on the b312 accordingly. (the console channels used oppositely directioned pot directionality because sitting at a console you could see the pointer .. from your seat! great eh!)  anyway i really hope these are usefull to ten81 builders.
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten8141.jpg      the wall
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten815.jpg        gain switch
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten8161.jpg      ist amp
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten817.jpg        filta switch
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten818.jpg        filta amp
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten818filta2.jpg   filtering  extrapolised
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten819.jpg        treble switch
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten820.jpg        treble amp
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten821.jpg        upper mid switch
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten822.jpg        upper mid amp
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten823.jpg        lower mid switch
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten824.jpg        lower mid amp
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten825.jpg        bass switch
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten826.jpg        bass amp
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten827.jpg        output stage
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten828.jpg        eka-knob design
http://ekadek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ekten810.jpg        ekten81 front page

 

[kazper]

I' be up for some sets for all 4 of mine, depending on pricing. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

If we could only find the knobs... for a decent price..

 

[SIXTYNINER]

.......ekadek really a "wall" of  "cool" technology

this rotary switch can be right for x81?
http://it.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=0327787

also
some nice large pictures about
pcbs/brain of x81
will be a good thing...........



6T9R

 

[API]

Great thread.

I have several closeups of an original 1081 circuit plus all the original documentation.
Would it be good to post it in this thread?

API

 

[EKADEK]

yes api. yes. definitely post those. much tidier than mine.
and sixtyniner those switches look like the go. for the upper and lower frequency switches and the filters.
but not the bass and treble freq sel. those two are special switches. accumulating shorting and un shorting. i dont think r.s have that type of wafer in their stock. those special wafers must be available somewhere tho.

in regard to the small boards 338 340  306. well i had no trouble with those. they were kind of a separate job. i followed the rev 7 pdf document from frank and it was perfect!. although the component numbering present on the tommytones boards is not reflected in that pdf doc. i can certainly see a lot of confusion and frustration with that. but just filling in the holes seemed to work with those. of course once they are stuffed with parts you cant see those numbers anymore. the next person to stuff them should note the correct numbers. i did test the op amps before securing them in. a bug on the bench hotwired to external made up circuit. output cap. load. gain control whatever. variable input. 15 - 24v supply etc. it was good to be sure all the amps worked.. and good to hear them. really gutsy amps. all of them. flat from dc to 40khz. no instabilities. so clear. they need to be total fat quiet headroomy cos theres so many of them in series.

my dad can make knob sets for you.  he reckons he can make two or three per hour.  at a eng rate of say 60$hr thats 30$ per knob including material. (new zealand dollar is usually about 60c US.) to make it easy 300$nz buys set of 10 outer concentric 24mm dia knobs and that can include normal airmail postage anywhere in the world. email me about those. [email protected]  case by case basis. hes getting a new knee soon so he will be kind of stuck at home... and his workshop. he could easily  turn other designs as well.  

the next part of this is to make a new version 312 pdf . a number nine with pin numbers and all components back to original ones. and for some more builds to come along.  frank -- what do u think?

 

[EKADEK]

yes. i had noted those differences too 69er. when first starting 312 i decided to put the original values in and they work great.  i dont know why the alterations were made in 1997.  maybe it was modifications after a utterly wrong component went into the bass section . a 6m8 was put in place of a 15k as the resistor that the eq works around. that wrong resistor would have changed the way the whole channel sounded. drasticly. so maybe the mods were made at that time or after to try and compensate.  the original component values definitely work. that 15k resistor was r52 (apologies. it was actually R62. bad bad old diagram) in the original b312. it feeds out of the lo mid amp to the bass amp across the bass eq network. it is marked as r74 on the  rev7 layout (which we should stop referring too i guess) and corrected by frank on rev8. it would be good to see the other changes made on a rev9 document too. along with pin numbers related to tommytones boards. scratch the colourcoding i reckon . its confusing. go with the pin numbers. that will clarify the wiring much more effectively. the only switch where the colourcoding was really helpful was in any way was with the filters. that is a mindbender switch. seeminly random wires from 6 chains of resistors disappearing into a mess of caps and 4 voltage amps. ah ha.

 

[SIXTYNINER]

EKADEK
it is possible know (as an help to this project)
where you got
the rotary switches ?
also the electrolitic AUDIO , "styroflex" , "foil ",capacitors ?
and the male+female pins for ba 338/308/340?
thanks
6T9R

 

[EKADEK]

i sourced the caps mostly from farnell. and some i had in nos of mine.
the switch set came from the group buy handled (excellently) by kazper.
the pins and sockets came with boards which i got from siegfried.
so i guess i was lucky with those items.

 

[SIXTYNINER]

i sourced the caps mostly from farnell. and some i had in nos of mine.
the switch set came from the group buy handled (excellently) by kazper.
the pins and sockets came with boards which i got from siegfried.
so i guess i was lucky with those items.

thanks ekadek
asked you some large picture about "brain" of your x81
do you get my pm?
6T9R