Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Havin' a Blast
The next step in my experiment with currie temperature is the whole sandblasting aspect. I called all of the usual suspects to get things cleaned up and the best deal I could get was $100 and a 50 mile drive each way. Downhill with a tailwind the family truckster gets 20mpg so 200 miles and 8 hours of time to travel gave me a crazy thought.... Why not buy a sandblaster?
Craigslist and patience to the rescue. Within two days I found a local compressor for $100 that would do 7 cfm/minute @ 90psi which is on the bottom end of what you need so I snagged it. I immeditely dropped antother $30 at TSC for a blaster and some media. That got me close but it was tedious. A little more patience turned up a pressure pot for $50 and things were better. Airflow was still a bit low so I added in my other compressor to up the cfm/min by an additional 3 (every little bit helps) and things are working well.
Even though this is a work in progress, I'll leave you with a quick:
before
and after
Friday, September 10, 2010
New Found Land.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
30-50-80
About a month ago I needed some 49% nickel in a smallish size to do some prototypes for JC. I called my supplier and he only had a small amount in stock. He tried to sample it to me but alas I am barely a minnow in the nickel pond. He sensed my need and shipped the stock and everything was fine until the balance of the minimum order showed up a few weeks later. I now have an endless supply of something I don't really have a need for.
Yesterday the man in the big brown truck dropped a box of brass channels on my doorstep for this very size and my mind started wandering.
As some of you may know, I got into nickel by hearing a Nature Sound nickel PS choke many years ago and ever since I have been craving/using nickel as the last PS choke in my filters. I'll be 100% honest with you that I have no idea why nickel sounds so good in that position and I will not put forth any of my hairbrained possibilities and say you just have to hear it. This got me thinking about how these little buggers would fare as an economical solution in this position so I wound up and measured a few. Like all of my stuff the gaps are user adjustable and for the pictures below, the test conditions are 5vac@120hz.
If nothing else, the pics above show a nice relationship between DCR inductance and current for a given sized core. Make the core bigger (read more$$) and you can get lower DCR for a given L vs. I selection.
Yesterday the man in the big brown truck dropped a box of brass channels on my doorstep for this very size and my mind started wandering.
As some of you may know, I got into nickel by hearing a Nature Sound nickel PS choke many years ago and ever since I have been craving/using nickel as the last PS choke in my filters. I'll be 100% honest with you that I have no idea why nickel sounds so good in that position and I will not put forth any of my hairbrained possibilities and say you just have to hear it. This got me thinking about how these little buggers would fare as an economical solution in this position so I wound up and measured a few. Like all of my stuff the gaps are user adjustable and for the pictures below, the test conditions are 5vac@120hz.
If nothing else, the pics above show a nice relationship between DCR inductance and current for a given sized core. Make the core bigger (read more$$) and you can get lower DCR for a given L vs. I selection.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Metal on the Scene...
.
OK. I can't stand it. I have to share the chassis drawings that we have been working on. I am super, duper excited. I have not abandoned wood, as the components will be mounted on maple slabs placed inside. The steel will also help shield, but will not be close enough to components to interfere with magnetics. And then there is style. I am loving where we are headed. I hope you guys (and girls) agree.
Peace,
Me
OK. I can't stand it. I have to share the chassis drawings that we have been working on. I am super, duper excited. I have not abandoned wood, as the components will be mounted on maple slabs placed inside. The steel will also help shield, but will not be close enough to components to interfere with magnetics. And then there is style. I am loving where we are headed. I hope you guys (and girls) agree.
Peace,
Me
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Lowther Mania
We have neglected to let you guys know that official Lowther Field Coil production has moved to Memphis. After a few revisions based on listening and ergonomics, these thirty pound motor monsters are being built up. Measurements will follow, but I think Lowther proper (UK) should be the group that publishes them first.
.
.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Identify the mammals
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Santa Claus?
yep, good old Santa.. that is what the delivery man looks like to me. The internet has brought high quality HiFi bits to my door that I never would have been able to find back in the day. But after all these years, my favorite ones still come from Holmes, NY.
Check out these babies. LCR inductors. And, yes, that 80 on the side does mean 80% nickel. It also equals the best core for pulling detail from the noise floor. The stuff was designed for low level work - perfect for RIAA correctors. Oh, and it happens to also be quite yummy. Sorta like Sock It To Me Cake.... Think sugar and butter. Super yummy. When in the South, you have to enjoy the perks. The Neely family being local is definitely one of them.
I bet when you guys get boxes from Dave they have this nice, neat packaging. Not me. Look what he packed these things in! Do I blame the rabbit, the yellow dog, or Dave?
Check out these babies. LCR inductors. And, yes, that 80 on the side does mean 80% nickel. It also equals the best core for pulling detail from the noise floor. The stuff was designed for low level work - perfect for RIAA correctors. Oh, and it happens to also be quite yummy. Sorta like Sock It To Me Cake.... Think sugar and butter. Super yummy. When in the South, you have to enjoy the perks. The Neely family being local is definitely one of them.
I bet when you guys get boxes from Dave they have this nice, neat packaging. Not me. Look what he packed these things in! Do I blame the rabbit, the yellow dog, or Dave?
Friday, August 27, 2010
Garbage Sales
I have become addicted to Craigslist and whenever I am headed out in a specific direction I peruse the local Craigslist ads to see if anything of interest is available. Most of the time as the title suggest there is a lot of Garbage in these so-called "Garage Sales". Yesterday I was headed out and saw a listing that had three things of interest to me. Tools, Old Records and a turntable.
With the hopes of a huge score of a 301, as I approached the table it appeared to be a SL1200 but alas it was a clone. I looked through the 50 or so records and these 4 jumped out at me
I asked the woman running the sale "How much" and she said $5 each. I made a face and quickly put them back. She asked what are they worth and I replied that Garage Sale / Flea Market records are worth about $1 a piece. She then said how about 4 for $5 and I quickly picked them back up to inspect the condition. They were in good shape so under my arm they went.
The tools were old and rusted and all jumbled together. In one pile I saw this box.
wondering what was inside i popped it open to find a dial indicator set complete with mounting accessories.
Since I had recently picked up a few of these I wasn't really interested until I noticed that it had a hole attachment. Robert suggested one of these would be helpful and since it also had an attachent for my tool post I figured it was worth a question as to price.
Fully expecting to hear $20 for the set, I was shocked by the price. How could I be off by a factor of 10. I wasn't going to argue this one and simply handed over $7 and took my new purchases home. Today, I listened to those Rekkerds while I wound some LCR chokes and I'm awaiting a response on an ad Listing 100 Jazz and Blues records that included this picture... wish me luck.
With the hopes of a huge score of a 301, as I approached the table it appeared to be a SL1200 but alas it was a clone. I looked through the 50 or so records and these 4 jumped out at me
I asked the woman running the sale "How much" and she said $5 each. I made a face and quickly put them back. She asked what are they worth and I replied that Garage Sale / Flea Market records are worth about $1 a piece. She then said how about 4 for $5 and I quickly picked them back up to inspect the condition. They were in good shape so under my arm they went.
The tools were old and rusted and all jumbled together. In one pile I saw this box.
wondering what was inside i popped it open to find a dial indicator set complete with mounting accessories.
Since I had recently picked up a few of these I wasn't really interested until I noticed that it had a hole attachment. Robert suggested one of these would be helpful and since it also had an attachent for my tool post I figured it was worth a question as to price.
Fully expecting to hear $20 for the set, I was shocked by the price. How could I be off by a factor of 10. I wasn't going to argue this one and simply handed over $7 and took my new purchases home. Today, I listened to those Rekkerds while I wound some LCR chokes and I'm awaiting a response on an ad Listing 100 Jazz and Blues records that included this picture... wish me luck.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Rastas & Hippies.
Sure, a lot of things are common to these two cultures.... Peace, love, respect and... well... you know... that other thing. Last night I experienced an interesting mix of the two at the Woodstock Reggae Festival.
My brother Leith who turned my oldest onto Dancehall was DJ for the event. I swung by his house prior to the show as he was cutting out and he told me to come down to the show with the rest of the people at his house. I got to hang out with Sister Nancy and some of the other dancehall DJ's eating Jamaican food. When asked if it was too spicy I just chuckled and said white boy dave likes the spice. (somehow that actually is my name among many of my friends). When it was time for them to get ready for the show, I sifted through a bunch of vinyl but the tables were at the show so all i could do is drool at the stuff I wanted to hear.
The show was truly surreal. It was like a Phish concert and the only people I knew were Rastas. Understanding the patwa on the other hand is no small task. So when 5am rolled around and I was chilling trying to understand a full out conversation between a group of Jamaicans, I heard something really familiar... It was Jerimiah saying "dave.... Dave.... DAVE..." and in perfect English asked if I understood a word of what was being said. I said a bit but for the most part no. The conversations (i think) eventually turned to the large population of dread locks in the area. I could sense some surprise from many in the conversation at the large local "rasta" population when from my trance I uttered the word BUT. I believe the next words out of brother moses's mouth were something like ya all 'dem local rasta's white. This was quickly followed by a "no offence" to Token me.
I cannot wait until next year.
My brother Leith who turned my oldest onto Dancehall was DJ for the event. I swung by his house prior to the show as he was cutting out and he told me to come down to the show with the rest of the people at his house. I got to hang out with Sister Nancy and some of the other dancehall DJ's eating Jamaican food. When asked if it was too spicy I just chuckled and said white boy dave likes the spice. (somehow that actually is my name among many of my friends). When it was time for them to get ready for the show, I sifted through a bunch of vinyl but the tables were at the show so all i could do is drool at the stuff I wanted to hear.
The show was truly surreal. It was like a Phish concert and the only people I knew were Rastas. Understanding the patwa on the other hand is no small task. So when 5am rolled around and I was chilling trying to understand a full out conversation between a group of Jamaicans, I heard something really familiar... It was Jerimiah saying "dave.... Dave.... DAVE..." and in perfect English asked if I understood a word of what was being said. I said a bit but for the most part no. The conversations (i think) eventually turned to the large population of dread locks in the area. I could sense some surprise from many in the conversation at the large local "rasta" population when from my trance I uttered the word BUT. I believe the next words out of brother moses's mouth were something like ya all 'dem local rasta's white. This was quickly followed by a "no offence" to Token me.
I cannot wait until next year.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
and more vintage chassis....
Here are some others from the masters of black, Western Electric.
On this one I just love the way the access door also recesses the meter.
Simple lines as on the RCA transmitter, but what caught my eye was how the relief around the edges and screws comes across as ornamental.
and here is a photo from someone who really "sees" and respects the beauty.
Peace,
me
On this one I just love the way the access door also recesses the meter.
Simple lines as on the RCA transmitter, but what caught my eye was how the relief around the edges and screws comes across as ornamental.
and here is a photo from someone who really "sees" and respects the beauty.
Peace,
me
$115 for standing in NYC
The actual standing part that cost the coin is down a bit in this entry since I want to take the day chronologically. I was on a quest and the stars all aligned so I started out last Thursday with a serious audio plan and it worked out very well.
The day started with me picking up my good friend Win who was in town with his wife Kelly and taking them along on my travels for the day. First stop was Canarsie (that's Brooklyn) to an old prosound guy who had a number of dead altec speakers. In his back yard underneath a tarp were a few different units like the one pictured above which I gladly carted away for free. Inside he also said he had a pair of working units and he went to fetch them. He came out with a working 421A and said "gimme $10 for it". I gave him $20 and told him to give me a call if he turned up the other.
The entire goal of that stop was to come up with some dead drivers to look at the internals of and these were perfect for what was needed. The next stop was the Brooklyn Navy Yard which is where our friend Jeff Kahn has a humble shop. Like us, Jeff is an audio junkie and while Win drooled over the 5-axis waterjet the size of most NYC apartments, Jeff looked at the drivers and wondered about what info they held. Time was tight, so I pried Win from the waterjet, left Jeff the carcasses and across the Manhattan Bridge we went.
On the Manhattan side of the bridge is Chinatown and grumbling stomachs required we stop for a snack. Parking is impossible and the crowds insane. I slid over into a "No Standing Except for Commercial Vehicles" spot while Win and Kelly Jumped out to get some pork buns (sorry Jeffrey). About 2 minutes into the 3 minutes it took them I glanced to my right and the traffic officer busted me. I asked if it was too late and he said yes. I was watching and I commented what a great sideler he was and offered him some tic-tacs.
So it was $115 for standing. As we all loaded back up into the truckster, the officer said you paid for this spot, why not use it? Being skeptical I questioned him and he said you can keep this car here for 24 hours, just leave the ticket under the wiper. We took advantage of the loophole and toured Canal Street and the rest of the journey was somewhat pedestrian. Listening to a great system at a friends, a nice northern Italian dinner and a trip home.
This morning, upon unpacking the 421A that I had in the trunk it became very clear why we became lost several times in our travels when I saw what was attached to the box. That damn speaker was throwing of the male internal navigation device.
As a footnote, I could have honestly titled this post $115 for sticky buns with Win and his wife in NYC but I suspect that might have sent the wrong message.
The day started with me picking up my good friend Win who was in town with his wife Kelly and taking them along on my travels for the day. First stop was Canarsie (that's Brooklyn) to an old prosound guy who had a number of dead altec speakers. In his back yard underneath a tarp were a few different units like the one pictured above which I gladly carted away for free. Inside he also said he had a pair of working units and he went to fetch them. He came out with a working 421A and said "gimme $10 for it". I gave him $20 and told him to give me a call if he turned up the other.
The entire goal of that stop was to come up with some dead drivers to look at the internals of and these were perfect for what was needed. The next stop was the Brooklyn Navy Yard which is where our friend Jeff Kahn has a humble shop. Like us, Jeff is an audio junkie and while Win drooled over the 5-axis waterjet the size of most NYC apartments, Jeff looked at the drivers and wondered about what info they held. Time was tight, so I pried Win from the waterjet, left Jeff the carcasses and across the Manhattan Bridge we went.
On the Manhattan side of the bridge is Chinatown and grumbling stomachs required we stop for a snack. Parking is impossible and the crowds insane. I slid over into a "No Standing Except for Commercial Vehicles" spot while Win and Kelly Jumped out to get some pork buns (sorry Jeffrey). About 2 minutes into the 3 minutes it took them I glanced to my right and the traffic officer busted me. I asked if it was too late and he said yes. I was watching and I commented what a great sideler he was and offered him some tic-tacs.
So it was $115 for standing. As we all loaded back up into the truckster, the officer said you paid for this spot, why not use it? Being skeptical I questioned him and he said you can keep this car here for 24 hours, just leave the ticket under the wiper. We took advantage of the loophole and toured Canal Street and the rest of the journey was somewhat pedestrian. Listening to a great system at a friends, a nice northern Italian dinner and a trip home.
This morning, upon unpacking the 421A that I had in the trunk it became very clear why we became lost several times in our travels when I saw what was attached to the box. That damn speaker was throwing of the male internal navigation device.
As a footnote, I could have honestly titled this post $115 for sticky buns with Win and his wife in NYC but I suspect that might have sent the wrong message.
Looking for bargains in all the wrong places.
What I needed was pretty simple, a 2" X 4" piece of 1/8" aluminum to mount a choke to. Since I didn't have any stock on hand and the need was now, I contemplated a trip to the local hardware to overpay for a piece. The above picture is the finished piece and you may wonder why the brushing. Artistic attempt? Better bond for JBweld?? Nah, it was the quickest way to remove the numbers.
Jeffrey mentioned to me some time ago how for him, buying a 4' aluminum ruler was cheaper than buying a 4' piece of the same size bar stock. A few months ago when I needed some of the similar stock, indeed a 4' ruler was $9.99 and the plain stock was $11.99. since I only needed 24" I opted for the ruler and ended up saving $2 and had a 24" ruler as a bonus.
Rather than jumping in the family truckster and heading out, I decided a 20" ruler would still be almost as useful as a 24". I'm sure at some point in the not to near future, I'll have a 2" ruler so next time a see another 48" one at a good price I should snag a few.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Chassis styles.... RCA BTA-250L
I have spent a lot of admiring and then drawing chassis of late. It is time to really make the line level gear look the part. No more aluminum front and rear panels and flat slab with tubes sticking up. The old chassis was good in that it allowed me to build custom circuits underneath and still deliver for a reasonable price, but the new phono is sounding so good that I think it is time to give it a permanent home. You will see more on that in the next few days, but what I want to show you today is this fabulous RCA transmitter. Not my style exactly, but wow, what a beauty. Simple lines give it style. You just don't see this at all in modern enclosures.
Friday, August 13, 2010
My Curie is way hotter than your Curry.
Lately Jeffrey has been bragging about all the curries he has been enjoying and I just have to one-up him now that I have experienced a curie that makes all others pale by comparison. The traditional method of rating hotness is by the use of the scoville scale. For my curie, I needed a whole different scale and while it only goes to 2500, I assure you it packs far more punch than anything served in a Thai place.
The true test of this curie is to subject something to it and look at the results. With good reason I chose something British in the form of a Lowther PM2A magnet whose gap had closed during shipping. Below is the good magnet from the pair and the damaged magnet after the curie had hit 1700.
Well our British friend doesn't look like he handled the curie very well bat a slight tap with a hammer proved the experiment to be a success.
The one thing seemingly missing from the above image are the rods that hold the magnet structure together while the glue holding it together sets. Since they cannot be magnetic, I always thought they were bronze. Well since they disappeared while imbibing in the curie I guess they were of some other alloy. Below is a picture with a magnet-less Lowther structure showing the missing rods.
Next step is to sandblast things to clean them up. At some point down the road there will surely be a post about how my amps are so much larger than your pesky mili-amps when it comes time to recharge these babies.
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