The AI-1 Dreadnought Project Pt.2 - Upgrade to 1000VA Transformer

[Toolfan66]

Sal,

I know you wanted me to build you another case for the NL4's but how bout I send you another face plate for the back end of yours and you modify it to fit the back of the case you have and drill the holes you need for the NL4's..



Let me know!!

[Lasareath]

That'll be awesome, Trey is not going to be done with my crossovers for at least 6 to 8 weeks because we are waiting for special order parts to come in so I have time.

It'll be cool if you can make a plate that has square cut-outs just like you did for your binding post cover plates on the back of your 1.2tl's

Then I can screw this new plate to the back of your box and the NL4 will be nice and flush mounted on the back.

Can you make the rear cover plate to match the front one?, same material, thickness and color?

Let me know what that'll cost, I may want a couple.

Thanks!

Sal,

I know you wanted me to build you another case for the NL4's but how bout I send you another face plate for the back end of yours and you modify it to fit the back of the case you have and drill the holes you need for the NL4's..



Let me know!!

[nspindel]

because we are waiting for special order parts to come in so I have time....

Let me guess.... Jantzen inductors?

[Toolfan66]

Let me guess.... Jantzen inductors?

Or Clarity MR's 12uf

[Toolfan66]

Sal I have an extra one here. I think your front plate was 1/8" thick..

[Lasareath]

Or Clarity MR's 12uf

Let me guess.... Jantzen inductors?

Or Both!

Sal I have an extra one here. I think your front plate was 1/8" thick..

Is it 1/8" or a little thicker?, it seems thicker.

Does that plate have two square cut-outs like this:

[VR3]

We are waiting on Jantzen inductors... :-P

[F1nut]

Sal, you don't want a square cut out for the Neutrik, you want a one inch round hole. Then you need to drill two small holes for the M3 screws used to attach the connector to the plate.

[F1nut]

Is there a chart here or one that you can post that tells me which wires I should soldered to each numbered tab?

Red/Yellow (right pin) to 1+
Black/Orange (right blade) to 1-
Grey/Brown (left pin) to 1+
Blue/Violet (left blade) to 1-

[Lasareath]

Sal, you don't want a square cut out for the Neutrik, you want a one inch round hole. Then you need to drill two small holes for the M3 screws used to attach the connector to the plate.

Jesse, If I want the NL4 to be flush mounted on the back panel just like Larry did with binding cup replacement panel he made then I will need a square hole.

Right now I have an enclosure with 4 3/8" holes on the back meant for binding posts. My plan is to drill the two top holes out to 1" and then mount the two NL4's with the 4 little screws (I bought little screws today) then I will take this new panel that Larry is making with square (or slightly rectangular cut-outs) and place that right over the back panel and it will fit precisely over the NL4's and when you look at the back of my AI-1 enclosure it will be nice and smooth with no extra holes from left-over 3/8" binding post holes that I am not using.

Red/Yellow (right pin) to 1+
Black/Orange (right blade) to 1-
Grey/Brown (left pin) to 1+
Blue/Violet (left blade) to 1-

Jesse, The NL4's have 4 Blades each. Trey tells me that he is making an Interconnect cable with 4 Wires, so he will be soldering one wire to each blade.

The Avel Transformer has 8 wires, so I guess each wire will have its own Blade?

The Neutrik has 4 blades marked 1+, 1-, 2+ & 2-

[F1nut]

If I want the NL4 to be flush mounted on the back panel just like Larry did with binding cup replacement panel he made then I will need a square hole.

Larry made the recess for the Neutrik in the Derlin backing plate, not in the metal faceplate and if I'm reading him right he's not making a recess in the back of the new metal plate you want. In fact, the metal isn't thick enough to do that. The metal plate is a hair under 5mm thick, call it 4.9mm. The flange on the Neutrik connector is 4.5mm thick....ain't gonna work.

The NL4's have 4 Blades each. Trey tells me that he is making an Interconnect cable with 4 Wires, so he will be soldering one wire to each blade.

The Avel Transformer has 8 wires, so I guess each wire will have its own Blade?

The Neutrik has 4 blades marked 1+, 1-, 2+ & 2-

I'm familiar with the NL4, I was the first to use it here. What you are purposing makes no sense. You have to wire the transformer as stated and you only use two of the four connection tabs on the Neutriks.

[F1nut]

Sal, here's a pic to help you see how it's wired.

[Lasareath]

The metal plate is a hair under 5mm thick, call it 4.9mm. The flange on the Neutrik connector is 4.5mm thick.

To me that sounds perfect. I want a punch-out square hole the entire way through all the material. Then I will take that plate and put it over the back panel and I will have a flush rear panel with the NL4's rescessed.

I'm sorry if you can't picture that. I'll post pics when it's finished.

[F1nut]

Ok, that's not exactly what Larry did, but I get what you're saying now. Mind you it still won't be completely flush as the round flange will stand 2.5mm proud.

Do you understand the wiring now?

[VR3]

I wanted to elaborate that we are doing shotgun wiring to increase the gauge so you would wire 1plus and 2plus together and the negatives together...

[Lasareath]

Ok, that's not exactly what Larry did, but I get what you're saying now. Mind you it still won't be completely flush as the round flange will stand 2.5mm proud.

Do you understand the wiring now?

Today I bought a 1" drill bit and tomorrow I'll drill out the holes. Maybe I will just leave it that way,

Since we are doing shot-gun wiring I guess I will be wiring the wires like this?:

Right Speaker
Yellow (right pin) to 1+
Red (right pin) to 2+

Orange (right blade) to 1-
Black (right blade) to 2-


Left Speaker
Brown (left pin) to 1+
Grey (left pin) to 2+

Violet (left blade) to 1-
Blue (left blade) to 2-

I wanted to elaborate that we are doing shotgun wiring to increase the gauge so you would wire 1plus and 2plus together and the negatives together...

[F1nut]

I see no advantage to that, nor is increasing the gauge always a good idea. Anyway, in order for that wiring scheme to work you will have to sum the + and - wires at the speaker end into one each anyway, so why not just twist up a double run and connect as standard. Certainly save some bother and soldering time that way.

[Lasareath]

What gauge is your Interconnect cable?

I thought the more conductors you have the better?, To eliminate skin effect?

[Speedskater]

With interconnects and wire gage, the only consideration is mechanical robustness. This is a voltage signal not a power signal so the current flow is minimal.

[F1nut]

What gauge is your Interconnect cable?

No idea.

I thought the more conductors you have the better?, To eliminate skin effect?

There's more to it than the number of conductors and the final gauge, but speaking to gauge alone you wouldn't want to use 24 gauge, but you wouldn't want 2 gauge welding cable either.

[Lasareath]

For all you future NL4 users out there, You should use a 15/16" drill bit, the 1" Drill bit left way too much space. With the 15/16" the NL4 slides in nice and snug.

Can you tell which one I used the 1" Bit on?

[F1nut]

I'll bet if you measured that hole you used the 1" bit on it's going to be larger than 1". The holes on my enclosures are exactly one inch and the connector covers the hole with no problem. The difference is these were laser cut verses drilled. However, I can save the day for you Sal. Order part #092-094 from Parts Express. It's a sealing gasket for D-sized Neutrik connectors and will completely cover the oops.

[Lasareath]

Thanks those look nice. Too bad they are not a little longer then I can cover up the other binding post hole.

I'll bet if you measured that hole you used the 1" bit on it's going to be larger than 1". The holes on my enclosures are exactly one inch and the connector covers the hole with no problem. The difference is these were laser cut verses drilled. However, I can save the day for you Sal. Order part #092-094 from Parts Express. It's a sealing gasket for D-sized Neutrik connectors and will completely cover the oops.

[treitz3]

Sal, why not have someone make a custom plate for this, drill and tap new threads for said plate and either paint it black or leave it the color of the plate? Add some sealant/gasket material and call it a day. Just a thought. It's your project.

Tom

[Lasareath]

Can you recommend somebody?, I'm not a machinist.

Sal, why not have someone make a custom plate for this, drill and tap new threads for said plate and either paint it black or leave it the color of the plate? Add some sealant/gasket material and call it a day. Just a thought. It's your project.

Tom

[treitz3]

Pm me your number and give me a good time to call tomorrow to discuss. I have a long overdue date with the pillow right now.

Tom

[F1nut]

Hmmmm.....look around on Neutrik's site as they may have something larger. Or another idea, if you enlarge the big hole going downward a bit (try to center the Neutrik between the top and bottom), then add the sealing gasket it might just cover everything. The gasket spreads out slightly as you tighten the screws, which will help. Best to measure things first. The compressed gasket will measure 1 5/8" top to bottom.

[Lasareath]

If I can get Larry or someone else to make a rear panel with square holes then I won't need the gaskets.

Hmmmm.....look around on Neutrik's site as they may have something larger. Or another idea, if you enlarge the big hole going downward a bit (try to center the Neutrik between the top and bottom), then add the sealing gasket it might just cover everything. The gasket spreads out slightly as you tighten the screws, which will help. Best to measure things first. The compressed gasket will measure 1 5/8" top to bottom.

[Lasareath]

Here's a place I've used for my test crossover cover plates:

http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/index.html

I drew up really quick with just approximate dimensions the the rear plate with two square cut-outs would be $58.00



I also drew up a front cover plate that I want to make that will say AI-1, but I want the AI-1 to be completely cut out so that you can see through the plate.

the background of the AI-1 can either be black or I can install some colored lights behind of the AI-1 cut-outs :)

[F1nut]

There ya go, Sal and it will be your own unique enclosure.