Reboxing the T-Amp: As If I Needed More Ideas

I think this is why I'm a better software architect than system engineer...

As an architect, I'm given the requirements for the system, and I can bend my creativity toward solving the problem within those constraints...on this rebox project (and its sister, the Podzuma re-do), my only requirement seems to be "do something cool".

To catch y'all up, several things have happened in the past couple weeks. First, and perhaps most significantly, I found a T-Amp on eBay for about $40. There were actually several up for auction, and I bid on them, but only won one. There's a fellow selling them on eBay for $59.99 "or best offer", but I'll warn ya, if your best offer is lower than about $54, no dice. With shipping at that point, you're better off buying the 2nd gen T-Amp from Amazon for $59.99 (which is really coming from Parts Express anyway). He claims his cost is about $50 per unit, which I have no reason to doubt, but I can't see anyone making money on that deal. If there weren't an arguably improved 2nd gen unit on the market, I could see getting the $86 that Cyber Yazgan is getting on eBay (apparently also selling on Amazon as Cyber World), but the T-Amp's primary selling point was that it was great quality for a steal...and if you're just going to gut the box anyway for the sweet sweet ampage inside, either version will work, so it's stupid to pay a premium for the old one.

The second thing that happened was that I found a deal on eBay for basically a clone of my older stereo amp, the Pioneer VSX-2000. Since I'd basically decided that (if executed properly) the reboxed T-Amp would be too "nice" for resuming garage/woodshop duty, this worked out great, because the Pioneer is a good solid amp, which I already know will drive the speakers in the garage just fine, and I have actually less invested in the Pioneer than I do in the T-Amp. So, I was thinking (as I do) that with the extra available input ports, it'd be nice to have a CD player in addition to driving the amp with an MP3 player. And, knowing that virtually all CD-ROM drives have the abiltity to play audio CDs without having to use the IDE interface, and having a few old CD-ROM drives cluttering the shelves, I figured that with some simple electronics (really, just a couple cheap voltage regulators and some RCA output jacks) and a simple case, I could put an essentially free CD player in my garage (and if cold, or heat, or dust damage it, I'm out $3, and very minimal effort).

Y'all already know what's coming, dontcha?

"How hard would it be to ADD a built-in CD player to the reboxed T-Amp?" Of course, the answer is, "Not hard at all...particularly since the rebox design is still relatively fluid...just extend the width, tap the incoming power, repurpose the second RCA port to the dedicated CD player, add a couple front panel switches for the play/skip and stop/eject buttons, skin the front of the drive with the same wood as the case..." So, I think I'll probably at this point do two T-Amp reboxes...one with a built-in CD function, and the other more like the original vision.

Oh, and I decided to replace the D-battery array in the Cheapzuma with a pair of 6-volt sealed lead-acids in series. That should be a relatively easy re-fit, because the SLAs will fit easily in the space where the D-battery array is now...simple charge circuit, external power jack and charge LED, maybe (or maybe not) the 12v accessory port...

Coming next, photos of the Cheapzuma, the Podzuma-in-progress, and some concept drawings of the T-Amp rebox(es).

Pray for me. (Hmmm...I wonder if I could/should use that old Rio Volt MP3/CD player with the T-Amp rebox instead of a CD-ROM drive?)

Seriously. Pray for me.

Reboxing the T-Amp: Game On!

Okay...I can unclench now.

In my last rebox update, I mentioned I might have to sacrifice the remaining virgin 5066 in order to complete the Podzuma re-do. Here's the story...

In the original Podzuma build, I was a little less than careful desoldering the on-board headphone jack to wire an extension in. So, the whole thing was kinda dicey to start with, but I managed to get it working. In the early stages of the re-do, I was trying to add a 3-position screw terminal to the 5066 board, which meant even more creative engineering, which seemed to frag the solder pads even further. So, I figured I'd just wire the input directly to the 50k dual pot, and bypass the solder pads on the board altogether. When I did, it would work, but I got a lot of clipping at even moderate volumes. I managed to exonerate the custom crossovers, because they worked just fine with the still-factory 5066 destined for the rebox. Everything I tried with the Podzuma board left me stymied, so I gave up, gutted the virgin 5066, and started to wire it in for a bench test. Lo and behold, I had the same problem. Not being willing to admit that I'd fried the second one too (and knowing that it had worked while it was in its factory case), I finally figured out where the problem was. When I tested the crossovers, I was running the virgin 5066 on wall wart power, but I've been doing my bench testing with the sealed lead-acid battery (the target power supply). So, since I hadn't destroyed the on-board DC input jack, I tried running both boards off the wall wart, and lo and behold, they both work flawlessly. So, I figure I have a problem with my charging circuit or the battery itself, and the problem seems to stem from the amp wanting to pull more juice than the battery can provide. Now, in its original incarnation, the Podzuma worked just fine at high volume levels, so I have to think it's the charge circuit (which has always been in place during bench tests).

Anyway, this isn't a blog of the Podzuma re-do (at least, it wasn't meant to be), but the good news is that the last 5066 is still available for the rebox, and given shop-time, I can proceed.

Stay tuned!

Two Years & Resolutions

Almost exactly two years ago, I laid down in this blog a rambling rumination on love and whatnot. I was inspired by the sermon at my friend D's wedding. Well, in the intervening two years, D's gotten divorced and managed to impregnate his office manager (in that order, thank God, his divorce was acrimonious enough). Things with L are not only not improved, but apparently, her leaving her job was the impetus she needed to cut me off too (I'm not ruling out that something more serious has occurred with her that prevents her from talking to me, but at least I haven't found an obituary via Google.)

So, where am I at for 2008? I'm sitting here with a broken foot that I've had for the past three months, just back from a not-particularly restful visit home to MO, trying to figure out how I can credibly make resolutions when I can't seem to keep even the smallest commitments to myself. But hey, it's a yearly exercise in self-delusion and ultimately recrimination, and gosh darn it, it's fun.

See, there's #1 - reduce profanity. You can probably fill in the others...weight loss, learn German, learn guitar...well, let's list them:

1. Reduce or eliminate profanity, particularly involving the f-bomb.
2. Incorporate TKD-friendly exercise and stretching into daily schedule (at least 30 min/day)
3. Start and stick to modified fasting diet
4. Learn guitar using brother D's Esteban DVDs (assuming they're worth it)
5. Learn German
6. Improve relationships with family and friends (hey, there's a nice specific one)

Guess you've noticed these seem familiar. I'm turning 40 in 2008, in 79 days. It'd be nice to feel like I've used those 79 days to attain some goals before a milestone birthday. And of course, most of those are ongoing, even after the big Four-Oh, but establishing them as habits by then would be nice.

If there's anyone reading, wish me luck. Odd how blogging more regularly isn't a resolution...