Home » Audio » Group Build » The "Evil" Dr. Brown
The "Evil" Dr. Brown [message #32069] Sun, 15 October 2006 06:00 Go to next message
Bill Epstein is currently offline  Bill Epstein
Messages: 1088
Registered: May 2009
Location: Smoky Mts. USA
Illuminati (2nd Degree)

I got to watch Steve at his la-bor-a-tory bench for a 6 hour long session yesterday. The same amount of work could have been done in half the time but he insisted on having me do some of the wiring. I'm so slow he commented that 'now he understands why Bottlehead kit-builders say it took them 12 hours to build the Foreplay'. He did it in an an hour! Me? I spent 2 weeks on that first kit working a couple of hours a night.

When the 'Simple 45' project began we intended to each build one, sde-by-side, but other obligations kept him from acquiring the parts. Instead, he generously helped me with parts selection and offered his time to my end of the project.

Steve started building electronics, like so many of today's expert hobbyists when he was a teenager, with Heathkits. Soon, he was repairing the neighbors TV's. Remind you of anyone?

Having built a total of nine kits, now, If I have detailed "place tab A in slot B" instructions, the end result will be a decent looking, working piece. These experiences have given me a third-grade understanding of the circuits but the ability to wire from a schematic still eludes. When our first session together began, that was what I was expecting Steve to do. Surprisingly, he never referred to the schematic at all, just began wiring up the power supply. His familiarity with circuitry is mind-boggling!

Missing parts? He goes into the resistor drawer and cobbles together a series that yields the correct value. Are the output transformer taps hidden from view? Get out the flashlight and peer through an RCA jack hole. Nothing breaks his calm patience. Not even my sometimes comical efforts at wiring some of the easy parts. Then he intuitively sees that the design is under-rated somewhere and does the Ohms Law math in his head, substituting a value that satisfies him. The H-P calculator is only used to verify that he's right. He is.

Finally, the work is done. With an obvious delight, un-jaded by having done this countless times before, he goes about powering up the device with the Variac and measuring the output on the oscilloscope. Some problems crop up and a few changes are needed to get the desired result. It appears as though, having worked right through lunch, that the amp won't be working today. Steve just begins talking about how we can get together again to finish.

It's now past 5 o'clock, I can see he's tired, and I begin the hour-long drive back home. I feed the cat, pour a drink and switch on the computer. There's an e-mail from Steve announcing that he's got the amp working and describing how it sounds. No quit in the man!

Why am I not surprised?

Re: The "Evil" Dr. Brown [message #32070 is a reply to message #32069] Sun, 15 October 2006 18:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
SteveBrown is currently offline  SteveBrown
Messages: 330
Registered: May 2009
Grand Master
Shucks. Seriously, Bill should take a great deal of pride in his own work on this. Despite my kidding him, he held in there and wired like a pro. A slow pro, but a pro none the less. And half the fun of a project like this is the chance to build friends, maybe that's the reason the amp sounds so good? I'll add that Bill has surprisingly fast reflexes when a 45 is heading toward the floor!

"45's" plummet to the ground? [message #32075 is a reply to message #32070] Tue, 17 October 2006 10:56 Go to previous message
spkrman57
Messages: 522
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (1st Degree)
Steve,

Sounds like you and Bill are a good team together!

Ron

Previous Topic: A little help posting a schematic
Next Topic: If your thinking about an aluminum top plate and using a nibbler.....
Goto Forum:
  


Current Time: Thu Mar 28 23:42:24 CDT 2024

Sponsoring Organizations

DIY Audio Projects
DIY Audio Projects
OddWatt Audio
OddWatt Audio
Pi Speakers
Pi Speakers
Prosound Shootout
Prosound Shootout
Smith & Larson Audio
Smith & Larson Audio
Tubes For Amps
TubesForAmps.com

Lone Star Audiofest