Leaderboard

Got the amp assembled After cutting some leads and removing the IEC screws, everything fit fine. There's some small gaps here and there, but at this price point I think it's acceptable and you wouldn't really notice unless you look really closely. After running it for a couple hours the case can get pretty warm. Even the potentiometer starts feeling warm. I'll try it without the top cover to see what i get. Either way, the next revision is getting a lot more holes.

Enclosure has arrived! Its a raw brushed metal which actually isn't that bad. Good news is the front and rear panel layout is fine. Except for a slight issue with the power switch. And that's only a problem because the way I soldered it makes it tilt slightly up. Because of this the cap rubs a bit with the panel. I can easily fix this by making the diameter 1mm wider or just using a smaller button cap. (Or just solder better) The bad news is that the side panels don't quite fit. Partly because I did not receive a good CAD drawing for the side panel, so I did not take the stud for the top and bottom screws into account. It doesn't touch the PCB, however it does interfere with a screw I use to secure the IEC to the PCB, as well as some pins under the source switch. But this can easily be resolved by making the case wider. I can also use the 3.5" tall case they offer, however that will increase the cost quite a bit and will have a lot of empty space. I'll take the screw off the IEC and cut some pins to post pics of it completely enclosed. Drawings will be updated by this weekend and hopefully we can put a final order in by next week. We could also get another proto but that's an additional 3 weeks and $3 per case. I don't think we will need another proto.

Power supply boards showed up! I haven’t placed the order for the AC/DC modules, but had these EI transformers around and they fit just fine.

Nothing (short of AC) can make up for standing directly over a motor, wearing long pants and a long-sleeve something, in the hot sun.

Very nice case. I love the fact that it keeps the footprint of the mini very small.

Maybe that’s why he breaks blades with awesomeness.

That's quite a slogan...

Probably, but with Heinz, it seems to depend upon day/mood I'll give him a shout. How many TKD/Alpha?

welcome back zefrank

Ok, I'll take it easy on you. No one but you knows which three amps you're trying to compare. Naming manufacturers is not specific and technically, Pete's not a manufacturer. He has, at times, produced commercial products under at least two names (Wheatfield and Apex) and has also published numerous DIY designs. At least a couple use 6080 (or pin-similar) tubes on the output. Woo has made so many amps I couldn't begin to guess which you're talking about but I don't have schematics for any of them. I'm not going to give any thought to Darkvoice.\ Second point - if you want DIY advice that's fine. Asking us to compare commercial designs isn't a great start.