DIY Mic Pre Kits, Lunchbox Mic Preamp Kits, Power Supply Kits

Assembled the case (VERY nice looking, btw) and have finished my first SC-1. Haven't done the PSU and I/O wiring yet, but I'm fairly certain that it should power right up. (crosses fingers and knocks on wood)

My soldering wasn't nearly as bad as I was afraid it was going to be...a temperature-controlled soldering station is a wonderful thing...even if it's a cheap Radio Shack model.

This is fun...in a cramped-muscle, bent-neck, eyestrain stressful kind of way.



Scott

Congrats Scott.

I haven't finished writing the instructions for the case. But here's a couple of quick pointers.

1. The bottom panel of the case has a "lip" in front, that gives it structural rigidity. This lip is about 3/8" high. I highly recommend sticking an electrical tape around the lip's edge just as protection.... so when you mount the SC-1 board to the front panel, the front edge of the lip doesn't make contact with the LED terminals on the bottom side of the PCB.

2. The Grayhill switch has a big lock washer... remove it, and instead move that washer to the blue potentiometer. This will even out the 2 devices when you mount them behind the front panel.

3. Take care to solder the Grayhill switch and trim pot perpendicular, straight and even on the PCB. This will make it easier to align the shafts to the pre-drilled holes on the case.



TIP:

Be careful tightening the bolts of the selector switch and volume pot so you don't scratch the anodized finish on the front panel.

What I do is wrap masking tape around a long nose pliers, keeping about 1/16" extra in front of the pliers. This way, the metal part of the pliers don't make direct contact with the front panel and it avoids scratching the finish.



I bought a big lamp with diopter lens (almost as big as my face) that I use when working. Makes everything look big and actually prevents me from using too much solder. Also acts as a "safety shield" when working.

http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T073/P2105.pdf

Item # 243-1027-ND

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