[Oborous]

Hi all,

I asked John about the horizontal mounting of the TVC's, he kinda indicated that the steel brackets were annoying to work with.

"The best mounting solution is to apply the same type of mounting clamp used for large size electrolytic capacitors (available from any good electronics supplier)." Quote taken from the S&B website

This Bracket might work, ordered some (they are cheap and I had to order some sacrifical parts from them anyways).

What have other people done?  I've also read that sometimes too much attachment pressure is a bad thing, that almost floating in foam is a better option.

Oh, and polishing... Peter Daniel over at Diyaudio (how to build a pre using S&B TX-102 transformers Thread, in the Electronics & Parts forum... always dislike cross linking forums) polished his TVC's with Scotch Brite pads... I think they look great; wonder what other people have done here?  Did anyone ever let the polishing get a little too intense and heat the can and have you noticed any effects? (Since it's EMI nickel protection can, and EMI Nickel is best we heat annealed, it should be possible to mess that up)

[John Chapman]

Hello!

I'll do my best to answer your questions but maybe some other folks will have idea's too.

>steel brackets were annoying to work with.
Yes they were..... They were o.k. but not without problems.

>"The best mounting solution is to apply the same type of mounting >clamp used for large size electrolytic capacitors (available from any >good electronics supplier)." Quote taken from the S&B website

Cap clamps can be used. I have some here but the size is just a bit big. When I send them out I send along some rubber strips to take up the space so they fit snug.

>This Bracket might work, ordered some (they are cheap and I had to >order some sacrifical parts from them anyways).

That might work really good if the size is right.

>What have other people done? I've also read that sometimes too much >attachment pressure is a bad thing, that almost floating in foam is a >better option.

I would not worry about holding them too tight - unless you start to crush the can!

In the NOH I used a cutout in the bottom of the chassis that was the same height as the can but a bit narrower(2-3/4" x 1-3/8"). This cutout makes a nice cradle for the tx102 then I put 2 copper straps (plumbing strapping from HW stores) over to hold the tx102 tightly in place. This worked out really well and was way easier than the old style brackets from the original tx102 kits. Wire ties could be used in place of the copper strap if it was just for your own use (and UPS did not have to ever touch it!) .



>Oh, and polishing... Peter Daniel over at Diyaudio (how to build a pre >using S&B TX-102 transformers Thread, in the Electronics & Parts >forum... always dislike cross linking forums) polished his TVC's with >Scotch Brite pads...

I love the look of Peter's pre-amps! Really nicely done. I have never tried to polish one here so I can't suggest how that might work out though.... S&B has done a few polished can's for OEM's.

>I think they look great; wonder what other people have done here?
>Did anyone ever let the polishing get a little too intense and heat the >can and have you noticed any effects? (Since it's EMI nickel protection >can, and EMI Nickel is best we heat annealed, it should be possible to >mess that up)

I can't imagine if doing it by hand you'd get remotely close to hot enough to mess with anything. The wax inside would melt and leak out before you got the can hot enough to hurt anything I'd expect.


Thansk!

John

[tom1356]

I used maple to hold the transformers. They are suspended from the top of the pre.
The picture shows the pre upside down with the bottom removed during assembly.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=211119&stamp=1059020989

[Oborous]

I used maple to hold the transformers. They are suspended from the top of the pre.
The picture shows the pre upside down with the bottom removed during assembly.

Now that is one sweet pre-amp.

Purpleheart wood for the chassis?  Looks like 1mm copper, for RFI I assume; did you ground that to anything, or figured it was lossy enough? Did you coat the copper to prevent tarnish?  Has the wood oxidized to a brown?  Have you noticed any difficulty with the pupleheart in contact with copper?

How did you hold the TVC's in the maple & what size hole did you use?  How was the maple attached to the chassis?  What have you learned from this mounting and would you do anything different next time?

(That pre looks close to something I was thinking of doing, until I decided to go integrated; hence all the questions about your success)

[tom1356]

Now that is one sweet pre-amp.

Purpleheart wood for the chassis?  Looks like 1mm copper, for RFI I assume; did you ground that to anything, or figured it was lossy enough? Did you coat the copper to prevent tarnish?  Has the wood oxidized to a brown?  Have you noticed any difficulty with the pupleheart in contact with copper?

How did you hold the TVC's in the maple & what size hole did you use?  How was the maple attached to the chassis?  What have you learned from this mounting and would you do a ...

Yes Purpleheart.
Yes on the copper, ungrounded.
The entire interior including the transformers are coated in dammar lacqure
The wood is still purple.
The Purpleheart never comes in contact with the copper. There is a constrained layer of dynamat type product between them.
The transformers press fit in perfectly with sanding. I think I used a 2 1/4" hole saw.  
I think I would do it again exactly the way i did it.

[scottw]

What have other people done?

For a cheap and easy solution, you can use the plastic "U"shaped brackets made to secure 2 inch plastic conduit. Just the right size and about a buck for a bag of 5.  But I like the wood idea also.



scottw