[Kevin Haskins]

I'm posting this just for general interest.   I'll be going and bringing along some freebie door prizes (my accumulated junk drivers that I need to unload).   


I'm certain that many of you have been wondering if there would be any DIY activity in the Puget Sound area this year. Well, fear not, we have a cure for your Audio Anxiety. Though the combined efforts of Lew Hardy, Doc Bottlehead and the Pacific Northwest Audio Society, I'm pleased to announce that "The Central Sound DIY Audio Meet" has been scheduled for Saturday, August 25th at the Vashon Island Eagles' Aerie. Start time is 10 am and will go to about 6 pm. We'll have the BBQ going and will have food, although if you wish to bring any potluck dishes it probably wouldn't be taken amiss. The bar will be open, but you have to buy your own drinks :^) 
 
This is meant to be an informal meet; however, there is a dress code that will be rigidly enforced, IOW, clothes are NOT an option, you must wear clothes! "Northwest Formal" is recommended; that is, jeans, T-shirts and shoes (if you have any).
Seriously though, this is going to be more of a show and tell meet, where you can exhibit and demonstrate your projects in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. We hope to have a couple of basic systems there, just in case. All of you that have built Preamps, Amps, Turntables, Dacs or Speakers will have the opportunity to show them off. These gatherings are also a chance to see what others are doing as well as talk to some of the most involved and informed Audio types.
 
There are bound to be updates, changes and additional information, so stay tuned. I hope to use the various forums for this, however if you need to contact me, my email address is CornyGuy---at---AOL dot Com.
 
Hope to see you in August.
 
Best Regards,
Terry Olson

[TerryO]

Hi to All (including Mr. Haskins),

Several people have already emailed me privately indicating that they're coming with some projects. I've extracted a blurb from the Pacific Northwest Audio Society newsletter that covers the main points about the ferry schedule, etc. So without further A-due here tis...........

August 25th we are cosponsoring
with the Bottleheads a
local DIY meet on Vashon Island. If
you consider yourself a serious designer/
builder, if you have never
built a kit in your life or your like me
and fall somewhere in the middle;
you should come out and spend a
few hours with your friends in audio.
If you have never been to a Do It
Yourself meet I strongly encourage
you to go. For those that have been
to DIY audio events in the past your
biggest question is when do I catch
the Ferry. This is an informal event;
people will be bringing equipment in
and out till 6PM when we all clean
up and head back to the ferry. Speakers,
amps, DACs and anything else
you can imagine may show up at
these events. I am amazed at the performance
of some of the equipment
that shows up, it is a long way from
what I was building in High School.
We will have multiple systems to
demonstrate several products at
once. Expect to see and hear some
one off designs along with several
kits. This is a chance to see and hear
some affordable and very high performance
systems.
Just show up and see all the cool
stuff, reservations are not required. If
you have something you want to sell
like records, equipment racks or
components bring them along as
well. We are having a Potluck and
will fire up the grill about 1PM; water,
hotdogs, plates and eating utensils
will be provided. The Bar will
also be open. Feel free to bring anything
you would like to throw on the
grill, eat or share with your audio
friends.
I am told this is about ¼ mile
south of town. Here are some Ferry
times;
From the West Seattle
Fauntleroy(by Lincoln Park)-Vashon
are;
7:35AM, 8:35, 8:55, 9:15,
10:10, 11:45, 12:20, 12:50
Ferries leave Vashon for
Fauntleroy in the afternoon;
3:50PM, 4:10, 4:45, 5:10, 5:35,
5:50, 6:10, 6:30 & 7:10
Vehicle & driver round trip is
$18.50, additional passenger $4.30,
save $$ carpool.

The meet is:
Saturday
August 25, 2007
10AM—6PM,
Vashon Island Eagles
Aerie,
18134 Vashon Hwy SW.
Vashon, WA. 98070

Best Regards,
TerryO

[Kevin Haskins]

Sounds like fun Terry.    I'll have a pair of UcD400HG monoblocks upgraded with the new HxR regulators to bring.   

[TerryO]

Sounds like fun Terry.    I'll have a pair of UcD400HG monoblocks upgraded with the new HxR regulators to bring.   

I was going to bring my Radio Shack Monoclocks (Modified Realistic Clock Radios) but they seemed to have developed a problem. For some odd reason they are malfunctioning. In the past they always displayed the same time as my VCR and digital display on the Microwave oven (exactly 12:00 !). Now, they are displaying two different times, which obvious means that they are out of phase in the time domain. I haven't determined if there is a problematic "time constant' involved, or if it's a slow time shift in the phase. I mention this for two reasons: First, this is a very subtle problem, at least at first. As your amplifiers don't have the "time indicators" they could start to drift and you might blissfully go on without noticing. Second, and I don't know if Global Warming is involved but the Monoclocks are very sensitive to any changes that take place. They have the keen sensitivity that all great artists or thoroughbreds display when encountering an unfavorable environment. You probably have heard Audiophiles discussing the sensitivity of their speakers. Ha, that's nothing compared to my Monoclocks. They not only sound alive, but THEY ARE!! Nobody in history has ever accomplished what I've done, and .....

Uh, I've got to go, my wife said that I've been skipping my medications again and she insists that I need to take them, or else.

Best Regards,
TerryO

[wildfire99]

That sounds like you're getting a voltage surge on startup... you should install a soft-start kit, otherwise the difference in inrush current between monoclocks may cause one to read a few seconds ahead of the other. Of course if that fails, you may try installing a cryo-treated power cord on the slow block, or failing that a flux capacitor to brute-force effect a temporal balance between the two. There's nothing worse that the sound of turbulent electron flow due to temporal jitter. It just destroys the harmonics at 30khz, which makes having super-tweeters rather pointless.

[Kevin Haskins]

You guys are both full of crap.   Phase is not audible OR visible... just set you clock forward 24 hours and with a complete phase rotation of a day, you will never notice.   

My VCR is a 254 days out of phase with the microwave, I think.   The clock radio is old... maybe five years or so its a good 1800+ days out of phase with my microwave.  Yet... I look at all my clocks, they give me the same time and I never notice that one is out of phase with the other.   I'd do some blind test but its difficult to read the time with a blindfold.    But... I've yet to detect a phase difference among them and nobody who has visited my house can tell that the clock radio is a good 1800+ days out of phase with the microwave. 

[TerryO]

You guys are both full of crap.   Phase is not audible OR visible... just set you clock forward 24 hours and with a complete phase rotation of a day, you will never notice.   

My VCR is a 254 days out of phase with the microwave, I think.   The clock radio is old... maybe five years or so its a good 1800+ days out of phase with my microwave.  Yet... I look at all my clocks, they give me the same time and I never notice that one is out of phase with the other.   I'd do some blind test but its difficult to read the time with a blindfold.    But... I've yet to detect a phase difference among them and nobody who has visited my house can tell that the clock radio is a good 1800+ days out of phase with the microwave. 

Mr. Haskins,

I'm not sure how you're able to cope with that situation. I can't imagine having to wait nearly 5 years to listen to the evening news with my microwaved TV dinner. Maybe on your side of the water the pace is less hurried and the "Breaking News" is about the winner of the Dairy Princess Crown or the new Log Rolling Champion.

Best Regards,
TerryO