BillFitzmaurice.info

fitzwaddle wrote:^^^ that

Then as far as # of tweeters, the choice was driven by balancing desired length of the tweeter line, impedence matching, and sensitivity matching. More info in my Q&A thread before I nailed down the parts list:

http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16761

I seeeeeeee. I've not really looked at the plans for these yet but they're on the list for some point this summer. Thanks.

fitzwaddle wrote:I think I need to break down and get a better soldering iron - the one I have is never hot enough - any recommendations?

If it's in your budget, I use a Weller WES-51. Hot in one minute, variable temperature, digitally controlled. About $90-100 most places. L-O-V-E it, having just upgraded from a Radio Shack $10 pencil iron.

fitzwaddle wrote: ...
I think I need to break down and get a better soldering iron - the one I have is never hot enough - any recommendations?

A little pricey, but I'm a big fan of this Weller kit.

shawn_g wrote:A little pricey,..

Not when you consider how long they last.
I have a small Weller iron that I've had for decades, and a largest Weller ( for the really big stuff ) that is even older.

shawn_g wrote:

fitzwaddle wrote: ...
I think I need to break down and get a better soldering iron - the one I have is never hot enough - any recommendations?

A little pricey, but I'm a big fan of this Weller kit.

I have exactly the same one and I love it. I tried a cheaper one from another company....took it back the next day as it wouldn't get hot enough to solder a 12ga. wire. Hell, it wouldn't hardly melt solder at all.

Spend the forty bucks - you'll be glad you did.

Bruce Weldy wrote:

shawn_g wrote:

fitzwaddle wrote: ...
I think I need to break down and get a better soldering iron - the one I have is never hot enough - any recommendations?

A little pricey, but I'm a big fan of this Weller kit.

I have exactly the same one and I love it. I tried a cheaper one from another company....took it back the next day as it wouldn't get hot enough to solder a 12ga. wire. Hell, it wouldn't hardly melt solder at all.

Spend the forty bucks - you'll be glad you did.

Buy once, cry once. Never seems to get old!

It has been a while - too many projects and other todos - and the weather is getting nicer, so of course need to mix in some outdoor activities on the weekends. I made some more progress and getting close. I have both crossovers built, all the finishing is done, one is wired up and tested, just need to wire the other one up, test, and do the fill.

Here's a few pics. I decided to go with "claret wine red" for the face instead of black, to give some contrast with the black drivers - the lighting / camera seems to make the front more pink than in reality:







here's one of the crossovers, used 1/8" masonite for the board:



My initial test setup - iPhone running Pandora to $20 Lepai amp, in a garage - only have one channel wired so far, but I like what I hear initially, even with the improvised test setup, looking forward to hearing both running on a proper AVR with EQ and a sub, and in a better room.

Mmmmm....me likey!

That red looks gorgeous.

Sweet.

88h88 wrote:That red looks gorgeous.

Absolutely! Drop dead gorgeous

The bar is re-established! Well done!

Thanks a bunch guys! Not quite up to the level of those Jatoba grill ones I saw in the authorized builders' showcase, but I like them.

I covered the little "hat" grills I made with speaker cloth; stuffed the cabinets with poly fill, and screwed the backs on. Then sat in the driveway listening to them for a while. Hmm, I guess I'm done. :p

Tomorrow I'll bring them inside and wire to the AVR in the living room, and see if I can find the calibration mic for the AVR that I must have tossed in one of my many boxes of electronic doo dads. (&(*(@!#

Then I guess I have to see if I can fix my old Velodyne VA-1215 sub that died a while back, since these need low end help (as expected).

Nice contrast from wood to red. Well done.

Thanks Scott.

fitzwaddle wrote:Tomorrow I'll bring them inside and wire to the AVR in the living room, and see if I can find the calibration mic for the AVR that I must have tossed in one of my many boxes of electronic doo dads. (&(*(@!#

Hmm scratch that - I talked to WAF about putting them in the living room, she was OK with it, then I brought them in, and she changed her mind. Oh well, so they are either going into my home office which will become part listening room, or in the HT - I'm thinking the former, since I'm already planning SEOS based LCR build for the HT. And I kind of like the "no visible speakers" look I have in the HT, and it would be a shame to hide these behind a screen after putting work into a presentable finish. Office it is!