Dact Remote Control

John Chapman · « **on:** 27 Mar 2003, 06:31 pm »

Hello!

There has been a fair interest from the Dact folks (resistor based stepper attenuators) about a remote control for these units. Even though they use resistors they are still good guys and the Dact is the best bet for resistor attenuators that I have seen. I spent some time this week testing some stuff and I am doing pretty good with getting it going. So good that I am sure at this point I can make it work.

I wanted to post an update here - please don't e-mail for more info! I will post a new update with pics as soon as I have some 'real' prototypes together. I am hoping a 2 deck switch will be able to use the same motor we use in the kits but the 6 deck switch I have here for testing needs a bigger one. I have a bigger one here and it looks like it'll work so all should be well.

Next week I'll have some custom hardware to mount and couple the motor to the switch made up and will hopefully have a full report with pictures and pricing info within 2 weeks or so.

Many Thanks!

John Chapman
www.bentaudio.com

Nikko · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Mar 2003, 11:46 pm »

That is fabulous news! Looks like I'll be holding on to my Melos preamp after all. Thanks for the update, John.

John Chapman · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Mar 2003, 12:11 am »

Hello!

Good to hear you are still hanging in there! I am sorry it's taken so long but I should have it ready in the next few weeks. Just so you know - I am directly connecting the motor to the back end of the Dact unit so you will need a couple inches space behind it for the motor assembly. The 2 deck motor is larger than the Dact in diam and the 6 deck motor is quite a bit larger (not too many 6 deck Dacts around though I'd guess).

Is the unit you have in the melos 2 deck or 4 deck (ballanced)?

Thanks!

John Chapman
www.bentaudio.com

Nikko · « **Reply #3 on:** 30 Mar 2003, 05:41 am »

Hey John,

The DACT in my Melos is 2 deck and it's not balanced. I have more than 2" between the DACT and the PCB so that's no problem. I'd like to add a DACT balance control to my Melos too and I was wondering if I could motorize that as well?

Regards,
Jeff

John Chapman · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Mar 2003, 05:18 pm »

Hello!

The Dact Ballanced (4 deck) switch could be motorized but I'll need to try the motors to see if it needs to be the large motor - which is a bit of a monster. It's about 3-1/4"W x 2-1/4"H x 1" deep. Using a stepper instead of a gear motor to get the step size and free weeling (so the knob can be turned still) has a down side of not having the torque bonus of the gear motor. As a result the motors are larger than I would have hoped. I laughed the other day when I looked at the first motors I bought to test - really really tiny compared to the 2 sizes being used now and nice to mount but no where near the power needed.

Many Thanks!

John