heady 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2007 mouz, the only thing I can say is that everyone goes through the lessons of making mistakes. Unfortunately that's how we learn. I appreciate your sharing your mistakes with us so that we are aware of the issue and try not to repeat them. But we will. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ezzo 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2007 tats probably me, I'm using arctic silver 5 for PCs, but the funny thing is that when i measured the resistance of the compound, it reads as 0 with the lowest resistance setting. I guess that shouldn't be it... Not too sure if I'm measuring the right way though, I dipped the probes into the compound itself. Oh no no! I dipped the probes into the compound too (mine was a analog MM), it should not read anything! If it reads 0ohms means it is conducting! Changing the op-amp when everything is on the PCB is very frustrating. I almost felt like throwing the whole PCB away. Its my first DIY you see The thing is to be VERY careful and not rush through things. My mistake was so stupid probably no one else will make it, unless you are rushing to get it all cased up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouz 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2007 Yah i agree with what both of you say, humans learn thru their mistakes, proven many times in history oredi. Anyway, I'm gonna read up on the headwize mini3 thread, maybe I can find clues on what's actually faulty thru there. I have a verly strong feeling it's gona be U3, TLE2426.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouz 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2007 Hi all, I don't think I can find any matt black acrylic on the market on the moment. Are you guys ok with clear coated acrylic? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iewgnail 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2007 hey i just build my mini3. working fine. hehehehe. its fantastic for such a small amp and comparable or even better than icute imho. not yet burned in. and lacking the batteries. btw, i help you look out for the matt black acrylic today. i'm going to my friend place to make my alien dac panels. hopefully it work out well. i help you check with my friend if it is possible to get matt black anywhere. maybe there might be some lying around. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iewgnail 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2007 (edited) i check with my friend and he refered me to this ship ying kwang. they have matt frosted black acrylic. http://www.yingkwang.com/colorCode/mattAcrylic.htm btw, i did my front panels for my alien dac today and the engraving words didnt appear white. it was grayish instead. Looks cool. How i wish it could be pure white. Edited October 15, 2007 by iewgnail Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ezzo 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2007 Hey. Has anyone heard noises when you turn your pot slowly? Its like some "brushing" noise. I suspect my pot is kinda "spoiled". Or could it be a cold joint? I hope thats the case Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouz 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 hey i just build my mini3. working fine. hehehehe. its fantastic for such a small amp and comparable or even better than icute imho. not yet burned in. and lacking the batteries. btw, i help you look out for the matt black acrylic today. i'm going to my friend place to make my alien dac panels. hopefully it work out well. i help you check with my friend if it is possible to get matt black anywhere. maybe there might be some lying around. Thanks iewgmail! Really appreciate it! my Mini3's dead, btw, when u did ur initial check, how was the reading on opa690 on pin 4 n 7, 4 n ground, 7 n ground? I'm getting shorts all over but no solder bridge... Would appreciate if anyone can advise. Faulty opamps? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 mouz, you did clean the pcb thoroughly before power up? Flux can be electrically conductive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouz 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 mouz, you did clean the pcb thoroughly before power up? Flux can be electrically conductive. not really, haha! first time doing this stuff. I'll try cleaning it up tonight, best way to clean is to use alcohol, brush and cotton bud i suppose? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 not really, haha! first time doing this stuff. I'll try cleaning it up tonight, best way to clean is to use alcohol, brush and cotton bud i suppose? I prefer to use a small dish to immerse the pcb into the alcohol and then scrub with toothbrush. Then will dry with paper towel and cotton bud and use an air blower to dry it. The air blower is the bulb type used to clean camera lens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iewgnail 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 i use the multimter sound function to check for shortage. as long as shorted, it gives a beep. very useful. so far, i'm not getting any shorts. didnt use any flux and used non-conducting thermal compound. btw, mouz, you going to get the acrylic? Wanna ask, if engrave on black acrylic, how white can the text go? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 didnt use any flux There's flux in most solder and it is conductive. So even if no extra flux is used, cleaning is still required. BTW I use tiny dabs of flux paste in most situations, makes soldering easier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iewgnail 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 (edited) cool. learning something new everyday! btw, i'm still stucked at the battery part. Which one should i get? anyone has any successful battery fitment? Edited October 16, 2007 by iewgnail Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ezzo 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2007 (edited) mouz, if you are still using the same thermal compound, I suspect it could be shorting the pins. My 2cents. Well, I was a newbie and did not really bother about removing the flux before turning it on. It still worked fine and continued to work. Haha. Guess I am lucky or something. The flux is gone now of course. iewgnail, I am using a MAHA 230mAh 9.6V battery, same as mouz ( thanks to mouz for telling me the price ) I had to file away ~0.5mm of plastic in order to fit that in though. Anyone had noises with pots before??? Edited October 16, 2007 by ezzo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
