Sorry for the delays, I've been super busy at work. Anyway here are a few pics. A while back I purchased 5 of these boards for $10 plus free shipping on E-Bay. They are a super nice adjustable 3-36 Vdc regulator boards, rated at 1.5 amps. My power transformer has a 12 Vac winding so I made this little sub-assembly that has a bridge rectifier and forementioned regulator board to power the internal muffin fan (salvaged from an old computer power supply).
The ClassDaudio CDA-250 amp module only has a 1" x 1/2" bar stock aluminum for a heat sink. Being class D that is probably good enough. Being DIY, meh, it's not enough for me...
I dug through my huge box of salvaged heat sinks. I found this one that was almost the perfect size. I just needed to mill out one of the fins for bolt clearance. This much heat sink surface area and the fan should keep the semiconductors nice and cool.
This is just a picture of parts sitting approximately where they will end up living. I need to machine that back aluminum plate and paint it black to match, drill a bunch of holes, insert some grommets, mount all the bits and pieces, then wiring everything. This sucka should rock!
Great idea to have the fan pull air over the heatsink. I love those little regulator boards - they come in handy in a variety of applications. Are you keeping the original faceplate?
I may use the front cover that the UPS came with but I would flip it 180. That way that protrusion will be on the left side. I could make an aluminum plate to fill in the space and that would hold a power switch and power on light. I'm also considering using a cool exotic piece of hardwood for the front, but I can't come up with a nice looking way to have ventilation (fresh air inlet) in front of the amp board.
You make me want to build one of these so bad! Is it difficult to add a simple preamp to this amp? Like 1 or 2 sets of rcas and a stereo volume potentiometer?
I may use the front cover that the UPS came with but I would flip it 180. That way that protrusion will be on the left side. I could make an aluminum plate to fill in the space and that would hold a power switch and power on light. I'm also considering using a cool exotic piece of hardwood for the front, but I can't come up with a nice looking way to have ventilation (fresh air inlet) in front of the amp board.
I don't think this amp will get very hot. Why not use the round hole on the front panel for ventilation?
But Chahly - Stahkist don't want speakers that look good, Stahkist wants speakers that sound good!
Craig, I can't find a picture. To make a vent in solid hardwood, cut multiple horizontal saw kerf cuts in the middle of the panel 1/4 to 3/8 inch deep. Use a router to cut a recess on the opposite side of the kerf cuts to make the vent.
I've tried this a couple of times and had issues with the wood warping and spilting
My thought was to plunge a series of parallel cuts with my table saw through the board from the backside. Then use the router to hog out some of the board's thickness from the back. So from the front there would only be a series of slits the thickness of the blade.
Or I could just router a round hole through the board, maybe give it a nice clean round over on the front and then attach some of this mesh (painted flat black) to the back side:
Yes like that but thinner slits. Maybe I should spend the time and effort to learn sketchup or something similar. Then I could get a better idea of how things might turn out looking before committing.
Years ago I was helping a guy with wheel vents. Using a piece of stainless steel screen he pressed out a grill with wood shapes. I think the car audio guys make similar grills...
I dug through my wood pile and found a nice piece of walnut that should look nice for a front. I also found a scrap piece of steel mesh at work that has much smaller holes with tighter spacing. So I cut out a 4" x 3" rectangle, sand blasted it, then micro-zinc phosphated it. It has a nice flat black finish now that should look really slick when mounted from the back. It's snowing again today so no wood working for me
Ok, pretty nice day today so here is what I got done after work tonight:
Lots more sanding to do, then a bunch of finishing steps. But overall I like how this is shaping up look-wise. The free hand router work on the back side is pretty crappy... luckily nobody will see that when it's all done.
Made a ton of progress today. It's family game night tonight... I'll take and post pictures tomorrow right after Danica hits the wall... by 1:00 for sure LOL
Nick, I painted it semi-gloss black. It is actually a little too shiny compared to the original case. I should have painted it satin black. Luckily it's on the rear panel where it doesn't show.
I totally forgot about taking pictures and posting them. This amp has been done for well over a month now. It is incredibly powerful and it sounds great.
Comments
I dug through my huge box of salvaged heat sinks. I found this one that was almost the perfect size. I just needed to mill out one of the fins for bolt clearance. This much heat sink surface area and the fan should keep the semiconductors nice and cool.
What'll the front look like?
InDIYana Event Website
I may use the front cover that the UPS came with but I would flip it 180. That way that protrusion will be on the left side. I could make an aluminum plate to fill in the space and that would hold a power switch and power on light. I'm also considering using a cool exotic piece of hardwood for the front, but I can't come up with a nice looking way to have ventilation (fresh air inlet) in front of the amp board.
Craig, I can't find a picture. To make a vent in solid hardwood, cut multiple horizontal saw kerf cuts in the middle of the panel 1/4 to 3/8 inch deep. Use a router to cut a recess on the opposite side of the kerf cuts to make the vent.
I've tried this a couple of times and had issues with the wood warping and spilting
here's a pic that's close.
https://www.floorstoyourhome.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/WoodenRadioIngrahamPCCase1.jpg
My thought was to plunge a series of parallel cuts with my table saw through the board from the backside. Then use the router to hog out some of the board's thickness from the back. So from the front there would only be a series of slits the thickness of the blade.
Does that make sense?
Or I could just router a round hole through the board, maybe give it a nice clean round over on the front and then attach some of this mesh (painted flat black) to the back side:
Thoughts?
I guess like this but thinner.
In my chipamp I just drilled holes <span>
Lots more sanding to do, then a bunch of finishing steps. But overall I like how this is shaping up look-wise. The free hand router work on the back side is pretty crappy... luckily nobody will see that when it's all done.
I totally forgot about taking pictures and posting them. This amp has been done for well over a month now. It is incredibly powerful and it sounds great.