Graduation Day - The Tubelab Simple SE project begins...

[Salt Peanuts]

Wow, you've been busy.

How are the Cicadas coming along?

[n_maher]

How are the Cicadas coming along?

Now that's just mean Salty.

[tyrion]

Now that's just mean Salty.

Didn't I sell you those Cicada drivers like a year ago?

[Salt Peanuts]

Now that's just mean Salty.

Wasn't really trying to be mean, but I guess it did come out that way.

Speaking of Cicadas, I wish I was into speakers when they were still available for $700/pair so I could've given them a try (or equivalent single-driver speakers for that matter).

[n_maher]

Didn't I sell you those Cicada drivers like a year ago?

Maybe longer. What can I say, I'm slow.

Wasn't really trying to be mean, but I guess it did come out that way.

Nah, I knew you weren't being really mean.

And so I can catch more flack for the speed at which I work I did make a bit more progress today.

Those two are big filter caps for the PS (run in parallel) and they should match the menace aesthetic quite nicely. And before someone laments the lack of blue racing stripes on this chassis I am planning to paint this one prior to finishing the project so it seemed like a waste of time to protect a finish that was just going to get sanded down and replaced anyway.

[swt61]

Lookin' really good Nate!

I love the way you are so exact with your mounting blueprint. It makes everything look so much cleaner and neater in the finished product.

[n_maher]

Thanks Steve. Hopefully with some of the heavy fabrication work done (specifically those 2-1/2" holes) I'll be able to do more at night after Lily and Mom go to bed. Up next is getting the remaining power supply caps mounted (they go under the chassis) and laying out the 9 holes that I have to make for the pcb to mount. Maybe I'll get to throw the power switch on this sucker before Christmas.

[N1ESE]

Nice start Nate. I'm ordering a PCB from George on Monday so I can try and build one. Couple questions:

What size Hammond chassis is that? I'm going with a Hammond as well but yours does indeed look a little small. I'll likely go up one size on mine.

I love the blue isolation grommets. I first saw you mention these on diyaudio. I know they are from McMaster, could you share the part number with me please?

BTW, I'm in Manchester. Good to see another native building a Simple SE.

[n_maher]

Thanks, I'd have to double check since I didn't buy the chassis (it came with the parts that I bought) but I'd guess it's 17x12x2. The height is going to be tight and clearly real estate is at a premium. The Electraprint iron isn't exactly small though.

I'm pretty sure that the grommet is part number 9311K139 and yes they are from McMaster Carr. If you search for Vibration Control Grommet you'll find a range of sizes and styles. I picked these on a recommendation from a friend who had used them in several projects.

One of these days I'll get back to chassis fab, but runny noses have been hurting my efficiency.

And of course, welcome to Head-case. There's a few other NH/New England folks around here although the DIY contingent is a little on the light side.

[N1ESE]

Thanks, I'd have to double check since I didn't buy the chassis (it came with the parts that I bought) but I'd guess it's 17x12x2.

Roger that. I was going to go with the 17x10x2 aluminum chassis as I really hate working with steel and they don't make any larger footprints in aluminum. I might be able to cram everything into 17x10 but maybe I should go with the 3" height instead.

I'm going to be running the following on mine:

Hammond 374BX Power

Hammond 193D 8 H, 150 mA Choke

Edcore XSE15-8-5K Outputs

Genalex KT88's

JJ ECC81

JJ 5AR4

[n_maher]

Ok, ok, ok, so I should be working on other stuff but I made an interesting discovery this weekend. When the power is off, you can still use a battery powered drill and hand operated tools like chassis punches and such. So, with that in mind I figured the chassis fab on the simpleSE was about the only thing that I could actually get some work done on. You should have seen the look on Lily's face when she found out I was working on it again, oh wait, I got it on film...

Anyway, so I got 99% of the chassis fab done this weekend and decided tonight, as the lights started to go on and off again that I'd install everything and see what the results looked like. I'm pretty happy with how things came out, there are a few things I'd love to have done better but with the tubes installed you'll never see them.

Shot From Front

Shot From Back

And just a couple quick shots of the capacitors that I got in today, which literally dwarf the caps that I'm using on the Simple. The caps on the simple are roughly the size of a can of Coke for real world scale.

Simple Cap on Left, Big Dog Cap on Right.

Oh That's Right, they have built in mounting hardware!

Not sure when I'll get to temp wire the Simple and test it out since I still plan on painting the chassis to cover at least some of my sins of fabrication. Maybe this weekend if mother nature doesn't decide to stick it to me again.

[luvdunhill]

dude, this is extreme DIY!

[n_maher]

I actually did a bit of assembly last night by flashlight during one of the outages.

[tyrion]

I actually did a bit of assembly last night by flashlight during one of the outages.

Forget the amp, what a great pic of Lilly!

[n_maher]

Forget the amp, what a great pic of Lilly!

Thanks Mike, that was the runner-up for the Xmas card.

[tyrion]

Thanks Mike, that was the runner-up for the Xmas card.

I better be on that list because I want to see the pic that beat that one out.

[Sherwood]

Forget the amp, what a great pic of Lilly!

I'll second that. Beautiful kid, Nate.

[Pars]

Forget the amp, what a great pic of Lilly!

x n+1! What a great pic!

And do I spot a couple of pairs of Music Posts on the back of that thing?

[n_maher]

x n+1! What a great pic!

And do I spot a couple of pairs of Music Posts on the back of that thing?

Thanks, she is a cutie. And yes, those are bling Music Posts. I had them and figured I might as well use them.

[Voltron]

Lily for the win! Oh, and the amp looks the business, Nate. Nice work.

[thrice]

[cetoole]

Ok, ok, ok, so I should be working on other stuff but I made an interesting discovery this weekend. When the power is off, you can still use a battery powered drill and hand operated tools like chassis punches and such. So, with that in mind I figured the chassis fab on the simpleSE was about the only thing that I could actually get some work done on. You should have seen the look on Lily's face when she found out I was working on it again, oh wait, I got it on film...

Anyway, so I got 99% of the chassis fab done this weekend and decided tonight, as the lights started to go on and off again that I'd install everything and see what the results looked like. I'm pretty happy with how things came out, there are a few things I'd love to have done better but with the tubes installed you'll never see them.

And just a couple quick shots of the capacitors that I got in today, which literally dwarf the caps that I'm using on the Simple. The caps on the simple are roughly the size of a can of Coke for real world scale.

Not sure when I'll get to temp wire the Simple and test it out since I still plan on painting the chassis to cover at least some of my sins of fabrication. Maybe this weekend if mother nature doesn't decide to stick it to me again.

Awesome Nate, definitely your best DIY project yet!

[Dreadhead]

cute kid Cool amp

[n_maher]

Awesome Nate, definitely your best DIY project yet!

You're definitely not wrong there Colin.

[crappyjones123]

AND she doesnt look angry like some of his other projects. exact opposite of the menace id say. lovely picture nate.