my7of9 wrote:
What gauge of wire do you recomend for some of the different parts of the preamp. For example Tube Sockets - To and from transformer.
Everything on the input power side up to the transformer (J1, F1, SW1, T1) should be a decent size, say 18AWG. Notice that the fuse is only 630mA, so you're really not pulling all that much current, but at 110VAC, you should still err on the side of caution and make sure you have some thicker gauge wire there. On the secondary of the transformer it's only 12VAC, but you might as well keep it thick there, too. As for the rest of the board, 22AWG (or whatever gauge you use for pedals) will do just fine.
my7of9 wrote:
Anecdote: I had a friend of 17 years who was a Master Electrician. A bit full of himself but a friend nonetheless! When he found out I was building pedals he just laughed! Then other friends started telling him that I build really good pedals! (Thanks to this forum and the 98% of excellent personalities) He called me shortly after that and started giving me a quiz over the phone. His first question was what is the purpose of a Diode? I told him to make current flow in one direction but in pedal building we also use diodes for...etc...etc. He then proceded to ask more questions and I stopped him and said "John, WTF? I know you are a Master Electrician and we both already know I am not an electrician so WTF is your problem?? From day one he never offered me one piece of advice ever! I have not talked to him since! Quite honestly not too many people like him at all and he is a rather lonely fu#*er.
I hope that wasn't directed at me because this guy sounds like a piece of shit and I would never talk like that to someone, let alone a friend, who is just learning about this stuff.
synner88tc wrote:
the only question that has been bouncing around in my head with this project is do the locations of the transformer and tubes and even the wiring have to be laid out in any specific way to avoid any potential noise or other issues?
Chris or someone else will have to chime in on this issue for this project specifically as I haven't built the Top Drive. However, given that we're dealing with an audio circuit, transformers can be noisy and tubes can pick up noise pretty easily, I would keep the tubes a good distance from the transformer, make sure I have good ground connections everywhere and maybe even shield the tubes. From Chris' build you can see he didn't really put too much distance between the transformer and the tubes...
http://www.pdfelectronics.com/TD%20Bare ... 20Shot.JPGChris' website has the prototype build up. The design has changed slightly from this but maybe seeing some of these pictures will give you guys ideas...
http://www.pdfelectronics.com/top_drive.htm