BillFitzmaurice.info

MisterB wrote: I have to take care of some of my 'domestic obligations' (cleaning the kitchen, doing some laundry, etc...)

A sensitive new age Texan???

MisterB wrote:My eventual plan is to have a pair of OT 12s and 4 Tuba 30s for mostly throwing smaller outdoor dance music events.

EXCELLENT CHOICE my good sir. I have the same rig and I'm using it for the same purpose and it really pumps. The V-plate is well worth making as well - I DO notice a difference with it on. It certainly looks different to the line/stacks of subs you see with other rigs... Personally, I don't think it quite looks as good as a line of subs but I know the difference that it makes in the sound department, so I stick with it. It will certainly make sure that your rig stands out though... everyone will know it just from looking at how your subs are stacked

Your crossovers are looking good... mine look way worse than that, but the Otops they are connected to sound sweet, so job done! One think I saw AFTER building my crossovers was that some people stick the components on the 'top' of the crossover board, and then drill a holes for the wires from the components through to the 'bottom'. They then do all the soldering on the bottom of the crossover, which results in it looking very neat, with only the components visible from the top AND as a bonus, the components are held in place slightly tighter (not that the wires should really be load bearing!!)

You are at the start of a beautiful journey - which will turn into a dirty nasty PL addiction!... well worth it loosing family, friends and health for!!

Grant Bunter wrote:

MisterB wrote: I have to take care of some of my 'domestic obligations' (cleaning the kitchen, doing some laundry, etc...)

A sensitive new age Texan???

Not at all.....it's just that Texas women are even tougher than the men!

Grant Bunter wrote: A sensitive new age Texan???

Bruce Weldy wrote: Not at all.....it's just that Texas women are even tougher than the men!

You guys crack me up... I guess the truth is 'somewhere in the middle'. My wife, who is a tough Texan, is putting in overtime this week while I have the whole week off. Though I'm a teacher with a student population above my cap this year, thus having a well deserved break, I have learned the art and science of a little give and take.

If I'm on break and don't put in some effort with helping out around the house while my wife busts ass in OT, my building efforts might have to shift to "adaptations for humanoid occupation of canine domicile"

escapemcp wrote: EXCELLENT CHOICE my good sir. I have the same rig and I'm using it for the same purpose and it really pumps.

Yes! Thanks for the encouragement.

escapemcp wrote: It will certainly make sure that your rig stands out though... everyone will know it just from looking at how your subs are stacked

I'm kind of looking forward to that part... I wouldn't be surprised if I get some doubtful looks from some of my compadres 'in the scene' the first time they see me setting it up... and then, based on the specs and all the good things I've read in the forum, the doubt should be converted to some slack jaw when the system is cranked.

IIRC you already have the DSP (DR PA). As long as you feed your rig some honest watts, you'll have no problem "satisfying the critics." And by that, I mean "deafening them."

And, fellow Texan, I got this: "adaptations for humanoid occupation of canine domicile" AKA The Dog House.

You're lucky to have a wife that's semi-understanding of your "hobby." When I build anything, my wife looks at it and asks "So, on what exact day will this thing make us some money? And it looks loud. Is it loud? Will you play it loud?"

I've implemented Grant and Bruce's recommendations and I present to you: High Pass Crossover 2.0!

It sure isn't going to win any beauty pageants but connections are solid and components aren't budging. I'm hoping I did good this time

I WILL certainly take my time to make sure the outside of the cabs look good. It's too much time, effort, and money to end up with something that doesn't look as good as it sounds.

miked, I'm really getting what you mean about 8,000 lb elephants....

If all goes well in the morning, I'm off to the lumber supply to get some BB!

Loving the quick-disconnects. Just use a needle nose plier to "squish down" the female parts a bit, so that that you have to "force" the male sides in a bit. It's a PITA, but it ensures that they will not come apart from vibration during normal use. I really like using male/female disconnects, b/c it allows you the convenience of serviceability later on, should something blow up/act funky/etc.
My tweeter arrays are wired to the crossovers with M/F disconnects for that very reason. Should something go wrong, I take out a few screws to release the array from the cab, unplug two quick disconnects and the array is free to be worked on.

Solder is permanent, but you can always desolder or just cut/paste later, but that's a PITA and requires "big tools" vs. just disconnecting something and fixing it "away from the cab."

You're doing great, with the right outlook on things. Keep going.

Just realized I set this crossover up to do the opposite of what Grant said. I have two leads coming off the jack end so that wires can be continued from HF board to woofer board...

Grant Bunter wrote:Bill always recommends the filters to be on separate boards, one for the woofer and one for the tweets.

So yeah, run a wire in parallel from the jack to the woofer board, keeping your + & - sorted, and then continue those wires to the HF board.

Those two leads off the jack should be used to chain another jack parallel to the first jack. That's so you can run two 8-ohm cabs per channel. Like this.

d/p sorry.

MisterB wrote:Just realized I set this crossover up to do the opposite of what Grant said. I have two leads coming off the jack end so that wires can be continued from HF board to woofer board...

Grant Bunter wrote:Bill always recommends the filters to be on separate boards, one for the woofer and one for the tweets.

So yeah, run a wire in parallel from the jack to the woofer board, keeping your + & - sorted, and then continue those wires to the HF board.

Don't panic lol

Just go jack --> HF board ---> LF board with those wires instead.
The HF filter will still reduce the power to the HF array and all is good.

Mark your + and - on the input sides as well. You'll see why later...

miked wrote:Those two leads off the jack should be used to chain another jack parallel to the first jack. That's so you can run two 8-ohm cabs per channel. Like this.

The picture of your wiring work has improved the look of this thread

In seriousness, it helps to see it.

Grant Bunter wrote:
Don't panic lol

Just go jack --> HF board ---> LF board with those wires instead.
The HF filter will still reduce the power to the HF array and all is good.

Mark your + and - on the input sides as well. You'll see why later...

This is a relief... and I think the best thing I can do tonight for making good speakers is to call it quits and get some sleep!

No further progress on the build, but I experienced a very motivating confidence builder yesterday. I bought my electronics used off ebay. I tested out the amps right away with a voltmeter and both achieved voltage in line with their specs and my Driverack powered up but since my BFM cabs will actually be the first PA cabs I own, I've had no speakers to try them out on...

But yesterday some friends and I did a park party and I brought out the CE 1000 and the Driverack. I hooked up the amp to a couple of Yorkville passive tops and we ran a small sub, with the Driverack running crossover, limiting, and EQ. I was very pleased that both of my pieces of electronic gear ran like champs all day... and I got lots of positive feedback about how good the system sounded and how hard those tops were punching on that amp... and all the while I'm thinking, "They ain't heard nothing yet... those OTops are going to sound reaaaaallllly good on that amp!"

And now that I think of it, I did make some important progress. I got 3 sheets of Baltic Birch last Wednesday. 5 by 5 won't fit in the back of my wife's SUV and there's no way it's going in a sedan. I had to roof rack it and gusts were pretty strong that day. I strapped em down really good and had an epically slow drive home, taking about 40 minutes to go 15 miles

I think I passed you . . . You bought a mower as well?