Valve Wizard MM valve PCB build

[Bigman80]

Hi all,

I recently decided that being mentally deficient in regard to electronics was really starting to get on my Tits.

I bought a phonostage which had many documented mods and set about changing a few bits but it really didn't "educate" me, rather just refined my ability to solder (and desolder)

After some research it seemed the logical choice was to build something easy. I bought a DC filtering PCB and built that. Very good, all works and I now know what a diode is. Again I felt I needed more.

I decided a MM phonostage would probably be beneficial In a number of ways. So a long search of the internet brought me to

theValveWizard.co.uk.

I bought a MM PCB and got a very easy to follow component flow chart and an instruction PDF. An abunce of emails between Alan and myself followed and eventually I started to order some parts.

I won't bore with the details but it's going to have two PCC88 valves and a single ECC83. All the square capacitors are Polypropylene and all but two resistors are metal film. Ceramic valve holders and I used silver solder because I had it left over.

I now have a suitable donor case (Thanks Phonomac!) case to put the board and power supply in and a very nice transformer for which I still have to pay Alan 🤣

Here's the pics of the board in its current state

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[Firebottle]

Can I nitpick already?

Looks like C11 is a 5% tolerance whereas the blue capacitors fitted in C1 position are the 1% caps I gave you for C11 position I think.

It's a good looking pcb.

[Bigman80]

Can I nitpick already?

Looks like C11 is a 5% tolerance whereas the blue capacitors fitted in C1 position are the 1% caps I gave you for C11 position I think.

It's a good looking pcb.

You can!

Doh! A Mistake already.

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[walpurgis]

Good to see you having a go Oliver.

A diode was the first component I learned about, along with a variable capacitor and coil when I built a crystral set radio at about the age of eight. Dad was an electronics 'wiz', so I started early.

Have you looked at a diode rectifier? It still tickles me that it's such an elegant and simple idea.

You'll have to figure out a triode now!

[Bigman80]

Good to see you having a go Oliver.

A diode was the first component I learned about, along with a variable capacitor and coil when I built a crystral set radio at about the age of eight. Dad was an electronics 'wiz', so I started early.

Have you looked at a diode rectifier? It still tickles me that it's such an elegant and simple idea.

You'll have to figure out a triode now!

Cheers Geoff, my old man was a plumber and worked on the railway. I learned electrical installation and now work on the Railway lol. I can rewire your house, fit you a bathroom or manage the customer information of a fleet of 104 rolling stock (train sets) during disruption, but soldering a Valve holder onto a PCB was another matter lol.

Onwards to knowledge!

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[walpurgis]

Cheers Geoff, my old man was a plumber

Ah. So you understand a tap then, A triode is the electrical equivalent, the grid doing the job of a tap washer!

[Bigman80]

Ah. So you understand a tap then, A triode is the electrical equivalent, the grid doing the job of a tap washer!

Indeed. It was a breakthrough when I understood Ohms Law. Alan tried to explain it but it didn't sink in, a YouTube video however cemented in my brain. Gotta love YouTube!

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[Primalsea]

Really curious to see how this turns out.

[Ali Tait]

Looks good Oli, soldering looks tidy.

[Bigman80]

Looks good Oli, soldering looks tidy.

Thanks Ali,

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