Tim's Badger (Class A/B)

[Heli-Tim]

I guess I'll start this section out with my Badger build!

I'm building a modified, and mean "Honey Badger" (AKA DIYA AB). My original goal was 150WPC, but in reality it will be much more. It will have a touch sensitive OLED front panel, a custom wound toridioal power transformer as the heart of an 80,000uF PSU. A custom protection system, designed by Virtual Zero Distortion Audio, which is powered by Arduino, and really frickin' cool!

I started posting in my other thread (Tim's Anthogys Build), but will move all the Amplifier action over to here moving forward.

I'll dig up some pictures tomorrow.

I hope you all find this as cool as I do!

Cheers,
Tim

[theSven]

Amp building is something that I really want to take a stab at after I get a few more speakers built. This is very intriguing to me to have a solid amp that I can replace my Emotiva XPA-5 Gen1 with. Looking forward to seeing how this build goes!

[Heli-Tim]

I started out with a plan to buy an XPA-2, and build a pair of floor standers (Staments) to go with it (back in 2015). I really like the Emotiva gear.

Member Bob Ellis put me onto the Badger, and the one I'm building will out-perform the XPA in every way. Granted, it cost more too.

The options are endless, and the learning curve was steep. There are many newer Amplifier design options now, which are modular, and can be changed or upgraded. I think the Badger is still a really top notch choice!

[Heli-Tim]

I finished up another smaller PCB today! I'm still working on the protection side of things! Slowlying plugging away, in-between family life and renovations

[Heli-Tim]

Finished up 99% of the OLED PCB today. This guy will run my front display/ touch features.

[theSven]

Looking really good! I have to imagine trying to solder those really tiny pieces is difficult?

[Heli-Tim]

... trying to solder those really tiny pieces is difficult?

Disclaimer: I had a very experienced friend giving me advice along the way.

I used a solder mask(stencil) and wiped solder paste over the top. It puts solder where it needs to be. Then, I used Tweezers to place all of the components. I followed the recommendations for heat and times, by using a cheap toaster oven. The prep time was 20 mins or so, the bake time was approximately 3-4 minutes total. After it cooled off, I soldered the through hole Components with my iron.

Many SMD projects use bigger "small" pieces, that can be done with an iron. This was my first try with the oven, and honestly, it's way easier.

[JonMarsh]

Very clean work! I used to do a lot of SMD assembly for engineering projects in my day job- the tech was supposed to, but he had four or five thumbs and not much coordination! And we were always having budget problems, so my home lab has everything I bought for work, and I'm setup pretty well, including a microscope for assembly. I had a temperature controlled hot plate and Hakko hot air gear.

I like the toaster oven idea! How did you measure/check the temperature?

Let us know what you think of the finished project!

[Heli-Tim]

JonMarsh Thank you!

I used to do a lot of soldering at work (Avionics Engineer). I've never tried SMD before. Lately I've been mentoring more and more, and soldering less and less.

Hakko is my favorite gear hands down, but I use Weller for the cost factor. It's still really good stuff, but not quite as expensive.

Regarding the oven, I was going to modify the temperature control, and install a sensor probe, for accuracy. But after comparing required specs, datasheets, and real experience from others who have gone before me... I just used the toaster oven the way it was. You can try out a test piece of solder to see what happens, and how accurate the melt point compares with the toaster.

Perhaps not the most elegant solution, but it works perfectly! And it only cost me a $50 toaster oven.

[Absinthe]

I used a solder mask(stencil) and wiped solder paste over the top. It puts solder where it needs to be. Then, I used Tweezers to place all of the components. I followed the recommendations for heat and times, by using a cheap toaster oven. The prep time was 20 mins or so, the bake time was approximately 3-4 minutes total. After it cooled off, I soldered the through hole Components with my iron.

Curious to better understand your solder mask stencil. Did you have a stencil made based on the PCB layout or is your stencil just representative cutouts based on the IC types whereby you just lay the particular part of the stencil on the PCB and apply the paste piecemeal?

I adopted the toaster oven approach as well as a cheap and capable solution but over the years as the "Tool Guy" for my field service groups, I "acquired" the Hakko hot air equipment like Jon did. I do wish I had one of the SMD microscopes though😶

[Heli-Tim]

Absinthe

The desiger of my protection boards had some stainless mats made, which I borrowed to apply the paste. It was really slick! Couldn't have been easier. They covered the whole board.

I'm jealous of the tools you guys have, lol.

As a line Avionics engineer, and now, also an aircraft maintenance supervisor, 99% of my soldering type work is done on systems, and on live aircraft. I don't work in PCBs much (outside of hobbies and fixing my own stuff).

I wish I could buy up someone's old bench gear. So far I have a sweet Sencore oscilloscope, and my Weller WES51 station with a ton of tips.

[Absinthe]

Heli-Tim Sweet!

That sounds a helluva lot better/easier than drilling holes in Al sheets and squeezing the paste through the holes with a Bondo spreader

For gear, I usually keep in touch with the local mom & pop shops as they replace/upgrade their gear. I've also been known to take over some damaged equipment and making the repairs myself. Most companies replace rather than repair given the costs of repair techs. This is how I came by my Tektronix PS280 Power Supply. The Tektronix TDS3052 was an outright coup from a manufacturing/prototyping lab in the Bay Area. A little outdated but more than adequate for my use. The Hakko gear from a rebuild/repair facility in the Sacramento region that was moving to larger PCB assemblies for use with their newer customers. All the remaining crimpers, cutters, pliers, tweezers and what not was just collected over 20 years of having to support field techs with tools.

I'm envious of Jon's workspace!!!

[theSven]

I'm learning more about solder than I ever have before... You have pictures to share of the process?

[Heli-Tim]

theSven Sorry I didn't take any!

I took a video of one board in the oven , and ripped it down to 25MB. You can zoom in, and watch the solder kick(melt), and see the pieces self allign with the pads if you focus on one piece at a time.

I'm not sure if the site allows for videos?

[theSven]

theSven
I'm not sure if the site allows for videos?

Try and attach the video, If anything happens it may get blocked by the webserver for size... I haven't tried to use any files that big.

[Heli-Tim]

theSven

It got blocked. No big deal, it was more so just cool to watch, as opposed to being educational.

I have all my SMD baking done, so I'm just doing the through hole parts now. Otherwise, I'd post the entire process .

[theSven]

Thanks for trying. Something I can look into as the site stabilizes.

[Heli-Tim]

For anybody following along, I'm away for a month working. I will resume the projects when I get back!

[Heli-Tim]

I made a little more progress while I was home. I meant to upload pics, but got busy with chores!

The blue torodial transfer is the power for the system protection boards, and the red/pink relays offer disconnect capabilities.

It's starting to look good! (in my humble opinion)

[Chancellor]

A very clean looking construction at this point…

[Heli-Tim]

A very clean looking construction at this point…

Thank you!

[Heli-Tim]

Just a quick update today. I've been having a few part supply issues, and am working on some alternate parts to order. Nothing major, but slowing me down a little...

The good news, is that a friend has been working on the chassis design/layout for me in CAD, and that is coming along really nice! It's gonna be a tight fit with all of the different circuits!

Hopefully I will be making sawdust for the speakers this spring/summer!!

[theSven]

Excellent! Looking forward to seeing what you're putting together.

[Heli-Tim]

I got a new PCB vise for Christmas, which I'll use to help document a simple SMD bake, using the stencil, toaster oven, and complete the board assembly in vise. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow or the next day to complete. The lighting is not very good.

[JonMarsh]

Your vise looks familiar... you didn't borrow one of mine, did you?


😉

[Heli-Tim]

... you didn't borrow one of mine, did you?

I suspect you have other things I'd rather borrow if I was gonna loot your shop .

[Heli-Tim]

I think the pictures explain the process well...
*Note: Pictures didn't post in order.

Basically,

1) Line up the solder mask, tape into place
2) Spread solder, the mask meters the solder
3) Place pieces, keeping in mind they will self- align once baking - no need to be perfect
4) Bake for 3 minutes according to the solder spec sheet & temperature and cooling times (6 min total)
5) Solder the through hole parts
6) Enjoy

[theSven]

I think the pictures explain the process well...
*Note: Pictures didn't post in order.

Basically,

1) Line up the solder mask, tape into place
2) Spread solder, the mask meters the solder
3) Place pieces, keeping in mind they will self- align once baking - no need to be perfect
4) Bake for 3 minutes according to the solder spec sheet & temperature and cooling times (6 min total)
5) Solder the through hole parts
6) Enjoy

Building up my aspirations to build an amp!!! Thanks for posting and sharing this Heli-Tim.

[Heli-Tim]

Building up my aspirations to build an amp!!! Thanks for posting and sharing this Heli-Tim.

It's a really fun project. I went all out for this one, it can be done much cheaper/ faster. I figure with the cost of speakers and stereo equipment, it was worth the extra moeny and effort to have a full protection system for the types of things that damage speakers and amplifiers. Some others prefer to live dangerously, which is also OK

[JonMarsh]

It's a really fun project. I went all out for this one, it can be done much cheaper/ faster. I figure with the cost of speakers and stereo equipment, it was worth the extra moeny and effort to have a full protection system for the types of things that damage speakers and amplifiers. Some others prefer to live dangerously, which is also OK

These days "living dangerously" can be something as simple as going out to a restaurant! I prefer to do that more consciously, and carefully, like when riding motorcycles. Protection systems on electronics are highly recommended!

[Heli-Tim]

Protection systems on electronics are highly recommended!

I agree. I'm actually very excited about this one . It is monitored with a microprocessor for all the essentials(current, voltage, short, temperature, imbalance, slow start up if required, etc. ).

It also has a processor for the touch screen display, capacitive touch power button(which changes color depending on amplifier state (sleep, on, off). It keeps a log of fault codes for TS as well. It uses SS relays, and optical coupling to avoid signal degrading(not that I'm worried about that personally). The guys that designed this done a phenomenal job with it, and I'm very excited to implement it! It was a blast to assemble so far, and as a result I've learned a ton about how amplifiers work(and fail).

[Heli-Tim]

Just a small update to keep the interest alive!

I have my face plate sent out of province, to a friend with a good Computerized CNC mill. We are working on a simple, and clean design , that will complement the the inset touch screen.

I haven't been getting much done on this lately, as I've been busy getting my shop insulated and heated!

[JonMarsh]

Slow work takes time...

But some steady progress gets you there eventually!

And insulated and heated shops are VERY desirable- I have some insulation kits on my Christmas list for that...

[Steve Manning]

Just a small update to keep the interest alive!

I have my face plate sent out of province, to a friend with a good Computerized CNC mill. We are working on a simple, and clean design , that will complement the the inset touch screen.

I haven't been getting much done on this lately, as I've been busy getting my shop insulated and heated!

You've holding out .... where are the shop pictures?

[Heli-Tim]

It's my basement shop, excuse the stroge/ mess for now, lol. It used to have 10 inch concrete walls, and no insulation. We also had an oil furnace. We tore the house down, we cut a doorway in the concrete, added the new shop area, built a new house, and the pictures tell the rest of the story...

[Steve Manning]

Nice .... I'm all to familiar with the concept of clutter with the move we did last year. Should be a nice space when your done.

[Heli-Tim]

I think so! It's 1000 Sq feet. 450 sq feet will be electronic shop/ test bench area(the area with the turret and stepped out wall). The 550 sq feet area with the power panel and such will be for assembling wood projectsband storage.

I have a 18x 24 garage out back that will be converted into a wood shop for cutting and such, but it's currently housing my S2000 for winter storage, lol. I am putting up a new 24x30 garage in the spring, so I can reclaim the wood shop.

[theSven]

I think so! It's 1000 Sq feet. 450 sq feet will be electronic shop/ test bench area(the area with the turret and stepped out wall). The 550 sq feet area with the power panel and such will be for assembling wood projectsband storage.

I have a 18x 24 garage out back that will be converted into a wood shop for cutting and such, but it's currently housing my S2000 for winter storage, lol. I am putting up a new 24x30 garage in the spring, so I can reclaim the wood shop.

I'm getting garage envy reading this post 😂. It will be great to have the wood working shop all setup to build more speakers and share with the forum 😉.

[Heli-Tim]

Building speakers will be a lot more exciting than insulation and drywall too . Although to be honest, it's good to have it almost done!