Raymond Koonce
July 28th 03, 03:37 AM
Hi RATs,
Mikkel Simonsen and I worked out a trade and I got one of his remote
volume control/power control kits as advertised here. Let me say that
it's a wonderful kit! I'm not the handiest person in the world when it
comes to PC board type kits. I have problems with the small components
and my bifocal eyes. I'm much more adept with octal tube-sized
components. I found that working with a magnifying lamp helped. I had
no problems with the assembly and the receiver worked the first time out.
Mikkel was very helpful in the design process, offering all kinds of
advice. In the end, we settled on a custom chip program which would use
the remote to give a power-on time delay of approximately 1 minute
between filament power and B+ power, as well a fail-safe power-off in
the event of a momentary loss of mains power (and of course with remote
volume control). The kit is very well packed and has a well written
manual that I could understand in spite of my limited knowledge of
digital devices. All of the components were easily identified and were
installed in the order shown on the parts list. The pot is a motorized
Alps 50K unit that appears to be of good quality. It took me about 3
hours to assemble everything and do the testing. Mikkel even included
the 100 ohm resistor required for testing the remote before the
microprocessor is installed. I powered the receiver with a 6.3V 1.5A
filament transformer I had lying around. The kit has a neat European
screw connector for the 6.3VAC wiring. I've seen them in European
lighting fixtures, but I don't know if they're available here (USA).
The universal remote transmitter I used came from Radio Shack. I got it
for free by listening to a 5 minute sales pitch for satellite TV :-)
The remote uses the Philips codes as well as many more. There was only
one Philips code provided with the transmitter I bought and it was easy
to program, just a few buttons to press.
The receiver can be programmed to provide a power on and a mute
function, but I used the mute function for the B+ time delay, which is
what I need for my current project, a stereo integrated 845 amp with
300B drivers. I want to heat up those tubes before I hit 'em with 1KV.
I sourced relays from All Electronics in Los Angeles
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=500&item=RLY-416&type=store.
All things considered, this kit is a really neat addition to any DIY
tube amp and the custom programming is something you can't get from the
mass manufacturers. In fact, I'm not aware of any other kit that does
what this one does.
If you want a kit that's easy to assemble and performs as advertised,
email Mikkel. He's one of the RAT good guys!!
Thanks Mikkel,
Best regards,
Raymond Koonce
Mikkel Simonsen and I worked out a trade and I got one of his remote
volume control/power control kits as advertised here. Let me say that
it's a wonderful kit! I'm not the handiest person in the world when it
comes to PC board type kits. I have problems with the small components
and my bifocal eyes. I'm much more adept with octal tube-sized
components. I found that working with a magnifying lamp helped. I had
no problems with the assembly and the receiver worked the first time out.
Mikkel was very helpful in the design process, offering all kinds of
advice. In the end, we settled on a custom chip program which would use
the remote to give a power-on time delay of approximately 1 minute
between filament power and B+ power, as well a fail-safe power-off in
the event of a momentary loss of mains power (and of course with remote
volume control). The kit is very well packed and has a well written
manual that I could understand in spite of my limited knowledge of
digital devices. All of the components were easily identified and were
installed in the order shown on the parts list. The pot is a motorized
Alps 50K unit that appears to be of good quality. It took me about 3
hours to assemble everything and do the testing. Mikkel even included
the 100 ohm resistor required for testing the remote before the
microprocessor is installed. I powered the receiver with a 6.3V 1.5A
filament transformer I had lying around. The kit has a neat European
screw connector for the 6.3VAC wiring. I've seen them in European
lighting fixtures, but I don't know if they're available here (USA).
The universal remote transmitter I used came from Radio Shack. I got it
for free by listening to a 5 minute sales pitch for satellite TV :-)
The remote uses the Philips codes as well as many more. There was only
one Philips code provided with the transmitter I bought and it was easy
to program, just a few buttons to press.
The receiver can be programmed to provide a power on and a mute
function, but I used the mute function for the B+ time delay, which is
what I need for my current project, a stereo integrated 845 amp with
300B drivers. I want to heat up those tubes before I hit 'em with 1KV.
I sourced relays from All Electronics in Los Angeles
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=500&item=RLY-416&type=store.
All things considered, this kit is a really neat addition to any DIY
tube amp and the custom programming is something you can't get from the
mass manufacturers. In fact, I'm not aware of any other kit that does
what this one does.
If you want a kit that's easy to assemble and performs as advertised,
email Mikkel. He's one of the RAT good guys!!
Thanks Mikkel,
Best regards,
Raymond Koonce