[EchiDna]

Hi Hugh et al,
I know I've asked this before but can you give us a peek behind the curtain and let us all know when we can expect an offical unveiling of the stages 2 and 3 for the GK-1 kit?

I'm looking forward to 'remotifying' my GK-1 to increase the WAF and....

I got some preamps to shoot down at a DIY event  

the GK-1 is the best preamp I've heard in my own system, which may or may not say much - depending on who you ask! I love it and I just wanna add the next level of convenience for the missus... say while I'm sort of on the subject, any schematics for doing a 12 volt trigger from the GK-1 for the AKSA?

[AKSA]

Hi Glen,

Bloody good question!!

Curtain raise............

There has been much frenetic activity, and I've been exasperated with delays with parts.  It's a bummer being at the bottom of the SE Asian supply chain    Parts are scarce and difficult, but I've kept hammering away and things have recently improved.

Stage II was complete today, in fact.  Yesterday I took delivery of the extender bars,  I had 200 made, they are silver plated (this has no impact on the sound, I can promise you!!) and very nice indeed.  They will give you from 255mm to 275mm of extension, and fit like a glove.  They come complete with 2 x M3 5mm screws for securing the boss to the switch shaft, and are made from steel for extra strengrh over the usual aluminium.  The shaft, 6.25mm, screws tight into the boss (interference fit), and the boss fits snugly over the switch shaft.  I will include the extender bar in any Stage II (which I'll shortly re-christen Option II) but people wanting to buy one can do so for around $US13.50.  It's a great accessory and I think back at all the times in the past I wanted one and they weren't available, or too expensive.

The instructions are now done, redrafted once, and now undergoing second redraft after comments from a very supportive Sydney customer (thanks Philip!!).  Stage II will be formally released on Monday 17th March.

Stage III (cf. Option III) is proceeding well.  This weekend the code will be tested;  Ben and I lunched together only yesterday.  The initial microprocessor circuit is built and the receiver works very well from more than 15 metres!!  It was checked by Sonny Andersen in Copenhagen;  my sincere thanks to Sonny, who does all this for a living.  We have used several tricks in the design, which is VERY compact and clean.  We will personally burn the microprocessors here in Melbourne before kit despatch.  The first pcb design pass is done on the relay switching board, but it's going to take until mid April to complete this option, I'd say.

Meanwhile I'm almost done gathering together all the parts for the phono option.  With recent purchase of the chip, transistors and all resistors, I will have all the caps on Wednesday next (19th) and by then should have the instructions written as well.  This will be released the week following.

I hope this brings people up to date, and apologize for the poor reporting on progress.  I won't say how many projects are taking place at Aspen concurrently, but right now I would say this has been the most creative and productive period of my life.   I wish it could go on forever......

Thanks for asking, Glen.  I hope the answer is satisfactory!

Cheers,

Hugh

[AKSA]

Folks,

The previous post on this very topic was 14th March;  it's now 23rd June....  My God, I'm sorry.    

This has been bigger than Ben Hur, and has taken almost as long.  However, it's REAL close now, and I'm starting to feel some relief  

The GK-1R is nigh upon us.  Over the last three months I have completed the documentation, and in the last three days I have completed all the photography and graphics editing/Word insertions.  Ben has spent about three months tidying up the assembler code for the remote functions, and things look pretty damn good.  Today I progressively built up the relay and keypad pcbs, cleaned and lacquered them, photographing as I went in the cool winter air of southern Australia (it hit 11C, around 52F today!).

Tomorrow Ben and I will road test the first production prototype, on the new pcbs, to verify correct operation.  (I should add we have already done this on the proto boards, we just needed to check it on the production boards.)  Once that is done, I will do a little scanning for the overlay appendices, source a couple more bits, small stuff, and finalize admin/inventory/kit packaging lists.  Michael comes in tomorrow to assist with that part as well.

So far, just for the remote supplement to the GK-1EL, that is the GK-1R documentation, we have just under 9,000 words, and 34 pictures and diagrams.  There are five appendices;  it's all very comprehensive and has consumed hundreds of hours.  Nonetheless I know better than to say it's all straightforward and no one will have difficulties;  of course they will, we are all human......

Anyway, the long wait is nearly over.

Now, a few strategy comments.

As you all know, I love DIY and this is where my heart lies.  But making it pay is very, very difficult.  At a price which would pay me a salary and keep me comfortably in business, no one would ever buy my products because the benchmarks for cost are very tough in the DIY market.  That's fine, no problem - I will compromise as far as I am able.  My plan is to sell properly composed and documented GK-1R kitsets for about 6-9 months, until there are a few out there and lots of people have had a good listen.  Then I will withdraw the kits from sale, and offer only the fully built product, in a custom built stainless steel case with tubes visible.  This will be quite expensive, probably around $US2,500 to $US3K, but as you probably realize, it will still embarass products costing two and three times as much.

I'd like to thank all of you patient people for your incredible forbearance throughout all this!  You've all been fantastic, and I'm incredibly grateful.  I mean this very sincerely;  this has been an epic, but Ben and I were both determined we'd do it right, and as far as we can tell at this point, we have finally achieved it!  

Cheers,

Hugh

[fred]

NOW will you accept orders???!

[EchiDna]

congrats Hugh, a job well and fully done is a rare thing these days!

Thanks for the hard work, the care and dedication to the task and thanks for the extra time to save my pennies  

[AKSA]

Hi Fred,

Thanks for your confidence and patience - of course, Sire, you are close to the top of my list......  

Yes, I'll take orders now, but NO MONEY UNTIL I SHIP!!  Is that OK (in small voice, with great diffidence.... )??

Glen, thank you for your bouquets.  I've always enjoyed sniffing the roses, very nice!  

Test went very well this morning, all clear, all AOK!

Cheers,

Hugh

[terryw]

Hugh

I guess you would be the first to realise the importance of marketing your products to the masses.  Although many of your customers have given rave reviews I would suggest that a favourable review of the GK-1 by a reputable Hi Fi site such as TNT-Audio.com (or others?) would be worth its weight in gold.  
Have you considered sending an assembled GK-1 unit to them for a review?  

Terry

[AKSA]

Hi Terry,

Thank you for your post, Terry.  Yes, I've often thought about reviews.

But do you realize that they all insist on keeping the product after the review?  And that this represents more than I can presently afford for advertising, which is probably better spent in AudioXpress?

Truth is, there's plenty of altruism and goodwill amongst audiophiles, but absolutely none in the magazines and amongst the reviewers......

Unless of course you can suggest someone?

Cheers,

Hugh

[JohnR]

But do you realize that they all insist on keeping the product after the review?

They do??!!! Or are they just bloody slack about returning it?

[Cylon]

Bet ya anything if your name was Krell, Halcro, Wlison Benesch, hell even Bose(snigger) that the product would be returned, albeit covered in drool... well maybe no drool on the bose

[U4EA]

I for one am glad there are no reviews on Hugh's stuff.  I am glad he currently stays out of that game.   IMHO a true "listener" would not let a review influence them anyway.  All of our ears are different.  I have had reviews peak my curiosity but that is as far as it goes.

Also, if you ever see a terrible review, of a full page advertisers equipment, I would love to frame it.  So once bias is injected into the equation most magazine reviews are worthless.

Rather than donating units to reviewers I think it might be better for Hugh just to send his stuff to potential buyers on a loan basis.  Sort of a permanent traveling AKSA.  Might be money better spent.

Just my opinion and thoughts...

[AKSA]

I should explain my reviewer situation.

I once sent a 100W AKSA to a magazine editor for review.  No names, of course.  He intimated strongly I should allow the mag to keep it on 'permanent loan', unless of course there were some advertising dollars.

I politely declined, suddenly (and naively!) realizing how it all worked.  Since that time I've been reticent about reviews, but I'll not abandon them entirely, any more than I'll not advertize.  These things are necessary.  

This did not, of course, apply to TNT, which is an ezine, not a magazine.  They were most helpful and courteous throughout, and gave the 55W a lovely review, for which I am grateful.

Cheers,

Hugh

[AKSA]

Hi Folks,

Finally - gasp! - it's done.

The GK-1 goes out on Monday next, three days time.     I have five orders, so I'd respectfully ask all concerned to email me with their confirmation before I ship!  You guys know who you are;  I'm just trying to be absolutely sure I don't ship an unwanted package!  

I have spent the last week finessing the instructions (with a lot of input from Phil, thanks Phil!), revising the photography (which is the best yet!), and torture testing the digital control system at Ben's request.  This is the most tested and checked AKSA product yet, but it's also the most complex.     The source selection even mutes each input during the entire operation, so absolutely no switching noise is evident.  It's just great, and all kudos to Ben for a great piece of digital engineering.  I'm pretty happy with it......

I have included sections on testing and given a suggested layout.  A schematic is largely unnecessary since all the wiring is rigidly prescribed by the pcb layouts and it's all very straightforward.  The clever bit is the software, which we burn in just prior to shipping....

This notification is duplicated on the website....

Thanks guys for all your patience.  This work almost closes the loop on what I hope will become a world famous preamplifier.  I have enclosure design to focus on now, and it will be something rather special!

Cheers,

Hugh

[andyr]

Absoloootely, Hugh!  I hope you already have me down in the queue for a GK-1R!

Regards,

Andy

[Grumpy_Git]

hugh, any chance of this case being an option with your self build???  

[EchiDna]

Congrats Hugh, the end of a long road which at times must have felt like it  had more U-Turns than forward progress...

May I come and pay you another visit next month when I'm back in Melbourne for a week or so?

 


maybe you should post about the GK-1R in the marketplace circle?
a litttle self promotion never hurts

[EchiDna]

Hugh, can you let us know the remote stage board dimentions?

I had it somewhere but it's gone missing.... I'm thinking about my final chassis for the GK-1 and need to know how tall to make it as I remember something about the remote board being mounted vertically at the front of the chassis.

A pic would be nice too

cheers,

[AKSA]

Hi Glen,

Sure!

There are three additional boards and a pre-assembled power supply over the
analog pcb.

1. The Digital Control pcb (DCpcb) – 3 15/32” (88mm) long and 2 1/4” (57mm)
deep.  This is the main pcb, incorporating the Atmel microprocessor, 4MHz
Crystal and Darlington switching array.  It is fitted on stand-offs to the
base of the enclosure and is attached to both the Relay pcb and the Keypad
pcb with ribbon cable, and to the 5V 1A digital power supply via twisted
pair CAT5 cable.

2.  The Relay pcb (RLpcb) – 3 1/8” (232mm) long by 2 5/8” (67mm) deep. This
pcb is fitted to the rear panel of the enclosure via the RCA blocks, and is
attached to the GK-1 analogue pcb with twisted pair CAT5E signal wires (and
the DCpcb with ribbon cable).  The RLpcb incorporates all source selector
relays, all the input and output stereo RCA sockets, a Home Theater bypass
relay  and a Mute relay.

3.  The Keypad pcb (KPpcb) - Just over 5” (127mm) long by 2 3/8” (61mm)
deep. The KPpcb is fitted to the front panel of the enclosure for push
button control of source selection, mute and HT bypass.  The IR Remote
Sensor unit is mounted on this pcb, which is attached to the RLpcb and DCpcb
with ribbon cable.  The KPpcb incorporates six push button membrane switches
(seven with the phonograph option) and all indicator LEDs.

4.  The Power Supply module (PSM) – 83mm x 108mm.  Fitted to the base of the
enclosure, this is a fully built and tested module configurable for 110-120V
and 220-240V operation.  It generates the 5V 1A supply for all digital
control circuitry.  This is a linear supply with full regulation and short
circuit protection designed and built to hospital, high-reliability
standards.  It is separated from the audio supplies so as to prevent the
intrusion of sharp digital control pulses into the audio chain.

Here's a picture.  I find it tricky putting in an image, but here goes:



Cheers,

Hugh

[EchiDna]

cor! 80% built kitset by the looks of it...

ok another question Hugh, How does one actuate the push buttons? my face plate is intended to be a thick slab of aluminium (10mm) to match my AKSA 100. Can the buttons on the board reach that far?

thanks in advance,

[AKSA]

Hi Glen,

Hmmm.  The push buttons can accommodate only 4mm thick front panels.

This is because the p/b fits over a short actuating stalk on the switch (supplied of course) and the switch is soldered direct to the keypad pcb.

There is a limit to the thickness of the panel since the pushbutton has a tiny flange at its base with prevents it from falling through the panel.

The keypad pcb is attached to the back of the front panel via five adhesive standoffs which hold it around 1/4" off the rear.  The whole assembly is certainly quite robust, but it does mean that unless you want to place the push buttons down right at the end of a 10mm hole, you are limited to around 4mm thick, which is a little over 1/8", sufficient for a strong, industrial look.  I don't recommend exceeding this thickness.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Hugh