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It might be a little premature but I think I now have a working T2 using a modified version of joamat's staxt2nc3fdh7 amp files and kgsshv dc supplies.... Initial startup looks good. Channels started up seperately. Heater transformer running at full voltage. High voltage transformer on a variac. virtual batteries within 100mV of 740V before any adjustment. DC balance between + and - sides of a channel <1V without any adjustment, all 3 leds lit on both channels. once my hands stop shaking I will take a few photos... I have been dreading switch on... in the meantime here's a few build photos of a finished amp channel top and bottom, the amp and psu I modified the delay circuit on one of the psu boards to use a relay instead of the now unavailable solid state relay. I modified the amp boards so that 1. they fit into a 400mm deep chassis, hifi 2000 dissipante chassis. 2. they have screw terminals for all connectors on the top.. (less neat but easier for testing and rebuilding) 3. all resistors of 1W or more go on the top of the pcb with a drill hole under for increased airflow 4. groundpane is between 1.1mm and 1.3mm from any solder point 5. pcb is cut in half so each channel can be built, tested and mounted independently, 6. solder points for pot and input jacks removed and replaced with screw terminals. 7. silkscreen has instructions for adjustment of pots 8. mpsw06 transistors replaced with mpsa06 9. small standalone heatsink for Q34 FJPF2145 in the 20mA current source darlington pair has drill holes in the pcb by the fins for enhanced airflow. 10 all components have schematic numbers included in the silkscreen 11 leds and adjustment pots mounted on top side of pcb like the original T2 12 removed the bias input and 5.1M resistor (since the kgsshv psu already has the resistor in the bias section) I will be happy to release the gerber files of my modification once I am certain the amp is reliable For the build: wima film capacitors, mixture of koa cm1/2 and xicon 273 series 1/2W resistors, for higher wattage vishay pr02 and pr03 All resistors, diodes, zeners raised from the pcb. pcb 2mm with 2oz traces. All 1/2W resistors matched to 0.1% or better at 1khz on a good LCR meter between + and - sections of an amp board AND between left and right channels. all non psu and psu decoupling caps matched to better than 1% at 1KHz on a LCR meter between + and - sections of an amp channel AND between left and right channels. (except for the pF caps which are just too small to measure accurately). all leds and mpsa06 transistors matched on a dca75 curve tracer between + and - sections of an amp board AND between left and right channels. all zener diodes matched to within 1% or better between + and - sections of an amp board AND between left and right channels. separate umbilical cords for AC heater power and DC voltages all internal wiring 1KV silicon all signal wires will be cardas chassis wire volume pot tkd 2500 series left to do install rca signal wiring, volume pot and stax output socket test with signal generator and measure distortion etc collapse from T2 build anxiety drill top of case for valve sockets clean up wiring pray to the god(s) of electronics sort out grounds on psu post moar pictures Here is the schematic for the staxt2nc3fdh7 NOTE this is my reverse engineer based on the pcb and the original T2 schematic and has not been checked by anyone. ( as far as possible component labels reflect the original T2 component labels. In the case of 2 components replacing a single component in the original T2 the components are now labeled Xpt1 and Xp2. In the case of additional components no present in the original T2 they start with the number 9XX. In addition both batteries are shown and the the components labeled with a Xp for the O+ side battery and Xn for the O- side battery. Note the 140K resistors in the virtual batteries dissipate 0.423W each and I found xicon 1/2W 273 series discoloured and drifted by about 1% after about 6 months heavy use when placed on the underside of the pcb. So you may want to think about 1W resistors or place the resistor on the top side of the pcb. psu low voltage, bias, +500V -500V and hv delay reverse engineered from pcb and original schematic. not checked by anyone. psu +250V, -260V and -560V reverse engineered from original schematic and pcb not checked Note psu schematics changed 22/08/2022. Thank you to Rinat for spotting an error on the current path around the 3900pF cap.

Memories. When my oldest daughter was 3 I started the car to warm it. Put her in her car seat in the back. Walked around the car to leave. CLICK. As I rounded the back of the car she had managed to hit the electric lock. Have you ever tried to explain to a 3 yr old through the window how to unlock the car? Wife had the spare key and could not be reached. Called the dealership where I purchased the car. They sent someone out right away and were able to unlock it. Although it was the longest 45 minutes of my life my daughter was having the time of her life in the car.

When I was in high school, I went out on a very cold day to start my car and let it warm up while I got ready for school*. I started the car, but it was so cold that the door mechanism was frozen and the door wouldn't latch. I figured that if I locked it, it might latch upon closing. And since it was one of those locks where you had to hold the handle for it to stay locked upon closing, I didn't think it was a problem. Upon closing, it did stay closed, but it also stayed locked. Having a spare key, I went inside to finish getting ready. When I came out, I put the spare key in the door and promptly broke it off. So I was left with a locked, running car and no key (and a mother who was not going to let me stay home). I don't remember how I got to school, but I do remember that when I got home the car had run out of gas and the battery had died. * my car had a special feature that if it was really cold, the levers on the steering wheel would lose tension which turned on the wipers, turn signal, etc.

HS

“Pew pew pew!”

Roon gives me back a lot of the ritual, but I also think the world has changed and I've changed with it. I can force myself to sit with an iPad as controller and listen to full albums, but I'm not as comfortable doing it as I am listening with less of my attention. My preference for how to listen deliberately is to fullscreen Roon, lock everything into exclusive mode so I don't get system sounds, then occupy my restlessness by reading Roon's equivalents of liner notes like lyrics, reviews, associated artists, etc. If you've not tried Roon, it's not cheap but it's a great experience.

Ross (un)Common* Chocolate (embedded bar) Brownie * breezy, but with decent AQI

Today’s watch. The last couple days were the Santos. No Apple Watch, or caring about what I eat, until I leave Greensboro this coming weekend.

Well, that ended up being a lot less painful than I thought. I started the day thinking I was going to buy memory foam but I ended up hating them. I bought the Natural Mattress Stretch recommended. The latex just felt right immediately compared to the 7-8 different brands/types I tried. It was towards the reasonable end of what I had budgeted for too so that didn’t hurt either. Shout out to the tall man. I would never have heard of the company/brand if you hadn’t brought it up in this thread. I also decided to make the switch from queen to cal king. I’ve had a queen since I first started grad school 13 years ago and while that size is fine the extra foot of width in the Cal King will have plenty of space for a future Mrs. TMoney.

Same here, even though my gear has those 12 Vt. trigger inputs. I really should get some of those trigger cables. But I miss the "foreplay" to playing music. I'd happily clean my album, then use my anti static gun and so on, before the main event. It made playing music more of an event. I think I even listened better back then.

Being a real gear head, I do miss multiple sources though. At one point, back in the day I had my turntable, my 3 head Nakamichi cassette deck, my tuner, my Teac reel to reel, my Mission CD player and even a HiFi, high end Sony Betamax, that played at Beta 1 (rare, they usually only had speeds 2 and 3), that I used to play hours of music at parties, as to keep people from messing with my system.

My black cats who have been stepped on because I mistook them for puddles of shadow beg to differ.

I thought the kookaburra impersonation was impressive too!

I used tap magic (because I had it on hand, and it smells nice). Maybe there are better choices? I also tried a spade bit (not pictured) but it wasn’t nearly as good of a cut as the others.

Did the same thing. But wasn’t smart enough to think of the dealership, so called the Fire Department. Yeah, took some explaining.

Oh also, no difference in quality versus the Klein and EZ-ARC carbide circle hole bits. In fact, the EZ-ARC might be slightly better. Save money, go cheaper

I was able to get mostly round holes lined up. These two holes will have bolts and room in the larger hole to accommodate a 15/16” deep socket. I tested them out this weekend and they hold the heavy tandem kayak well. I am going to build a second level with another pair of hooks. Pretty pleased so far. Now just need to avoid mistakes for the smaller holes Also, this alloy seems to be considerably harder than what I have used in the past. This is 6063. All my previous circle hole cutting has been 6061. With this, is the carbide saw is the tool of choice. The wood-working bit was a bit... “scary” (though it did produce a cleaner hole) experiment on scrap: No luck with a Punch.... or I am just not strong enough. This is 1/8” wall.

In other related news... look what showed up from Japan: Its friends are still stranded in Japan, waiting on EMS service to resume...

Didn't peg you for a Chris Isaak fan, Doug. I bought Silvertone when it was released, and have been a fan every since.

Thanks and they look good. For others searching, although it’s a little out of date, Wirecutter has a breakdown of models capabilities. So many do nots. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-usb-c-cables/

Saab?

Does Jeff Know? He needs to collect and review this unique tech.

Unholy carp!

Really like the omega factory nato straps.

I've driven through Greensboro several times for car stuff...cool town. HS

Huh?

Love!

current version, front end at +/-35v power supplies, output section +/-24v from switcher, twice as many output transistors still need bass filter on the front end poweramp3a - CADCAM.ZIP poweramp3a.PDF

There is definitely something to the ritual of getting ready to listen... music on the computer is much more casual and I am usually multi-tasking while listening. It's a really bad sign that I have wished that I could listen to multiple streams of audio at once. Theoretically, I could turn on captions on YouTube, for example, but it clearly means the quality of the experience will be diminished by orders of magnitude.

Bel Canto – Renée Fleming

A new DAC would certainly make sense, but you'd think that the smart move would be streamers over disc spinners. Interesting indeed.

When I lived in South Texas, I'd just set it outside for a minute.

Randomness saves us from tedium yet again, a trio on the podium that no one would have bet on! Perhaps Bernies sprinkler idea wasn't so daft!

Simple Minds

doesn’t suck.

It's Friday. It's Five.

The current crew. Rufus (black)runs things. Hugo Z Hackenbush (Maine Coon) is the baby and gets into just about everything. Molly (brown tabby) stays out their way

It's funny though. The Parsons Russell is said to play fetch until your arm falls off, and they're prone to chewing household items if not kept entertained. Suzy has 0 interest in fetching or even playing with a ball or stick. She prefers to tear the sqeakers out of plush toys. She has never chewed anything in my house, other than her own before mentioned plush toys. She does have the intelligence of the Parsons and the Border Collie. And the sweet disposition of the Bulldog.

In the sidebar this just looked like one very ambitious dish.

Mango Crab Salad Bacon Cheeseburger & Garlic Fries

Just got Suzy's DNA results. She is 0% Jack Russel. However she is between 37-74% Parsons Russell. I tend to think it's closer to 74%, as she looks exactly like many of the photos. She's also between 10-20% Border Collie and between 10-20% Bulldog. Who knew? She's a Border Bull Russell.

the feelies | good earth

This is a good looking and versatile watch IMO albeit a bit large for me. I prefer 40mm. Arguably more money than it would be without the Fratello connection, but they are likely part of why it's as handsome as it is. https://www.fratellowatches.com/hamilton-khaki-field-murph-auto-joins-the-fratello-shop-catalog/ HS

RIP Gary Peacock, another jazz great lost. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/07/910054995/gary-peacock-a-jazz-bassist-always-ahead-of-his-time-dies-at-85

Oof. Headed out the door to go "off to the shops" as my EU friend say. I turned the key in the lock and ...pulled back the head and nothing else: I was now locked outside my house, with a broken key shaft embedded in my door. Using some kind of Jedi mind powers, I pulled the broken bit out with my fingertips. I then went trudging to the far end of my 3.75 acres, to check the farthest building to see if I had left a spare key hidden in it. I had not. Half an hour later, many curses and the death of one window screen later, I got back inside. I now have located all the spare keys to the front door I had in the house. I did manage to eventually get to a few stores, but at lest one had closed by the time I did. Also, Webcams are sold out literally everywhere. It's like there's some reason everyone needs one right now. I can't for the life of me figure out what it is.

RIP Lou Brock. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/09/06/us/lou-brock-obit-spt-trnd/index.html

Delicious stroke-inspired weirdness: