From 38ca6ae0a63f2eb73f300c759f73557b0cbbff2c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: rekado Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:16:33 +0800 Subject: new blog post --- posts/2013-01-27-preamp-board-arrived.markdown | 40 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+) create mode 100644 posts/2013-01-27-preamp-board-arrived.markdown (limited to 'posts/2013-01-27-preamp-board-arrived.markdown') diff --git a/posts/2013-01-27-preamp-board-arrived.markdown b/posts/2013-01-27-preamp-board-arrived.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e03105 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/2013-01-27-preamp-board-arrived.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +--- +title: Stick preamp PCB arrived +tags: audio,pcb,DIY,preamp,chapman stick,free software +--- + +![One of the boards](/images/posts/pcb-1.jpg) + +Today I received a package from Shenzhen containing ten printed circuit boards. +I ordered a single board through [a taobao store](http://taobao.com) for only +100 RMB (about USD 16), but I suppose there is not much of a +difference between the production costs of ten boards and that of one. + +The board is the heart of my two-channel Chapman Stick preamp / signal router. +It includes a cross-over circuit for the bass side, so that I can partition the +bass signal into two frequency ranges that can be routed and processed +independently. It has three very simple effect inserts (high bass, low bass, +and melody), two buffered outputs (both signals mixed down to mono or dual +mono), and a tuner output (which could be used for an on-stage monitor). + +The circuit and the board were designed using the +[free](http://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software) programs `gschem` and +`pcb` of the excellent [gEDA suite](http://www.geda-project.org). (For some odd +reason `pcb` is not available through the official Archlinux repositories; I +installed it through the Arch User Repository.) You can get my circuit +diagrams, the PCB layout, and custom footprints through the [git +repository](https://github.com/rekado/stick-preamp) I set up for this project. + +![Oops.](/images/posts/pcb-2.jpg) + +The manufacturer only received the exported Gerber files that I checked with +`gerbv`. Sadly, I didn't realise that the silk screen layer would be printed on +the bottom side of the single-layer board, so the text on all ten boards is +mirrored. (I suppose I could get used to saying "TЯƎƧИI", but "YᗡO⅃ƎM" just +sounds weird.) Now I will have to carefully check the orientation of the +transistors before soldering them onto the board because I'm not sure whether +they have been mirrored when I designed the board. + +I'm still missing two or three parts (different component packages and power +line filtering), but I'll start soldering the first components to one of the +boards tonight. -- cgit v1.2.3