I finally got the amp to work, well sort of. The JFET buffer circuit is still not working and I have not received the new JFETs I ordered from Mouser.

My impression of all this is that it reminds me of making jewelry. Everything is tiny and there are different requirements for soldering skills. Solid state does not lend itself to being built on eyelet boards or turret boards or even perf boards for that matter.

Discrete components can be used without much issue but op-amps and ICs need PCBs.

You need some cost effective way to build one off PCBs. One would also need some design skills to prevent unwanted coupling and other things involved with PCB design. As far as I know one off boards are pretty pricy.

The first mistake I made was not to really studying the op-amp data sheet and really understand it. Looking at a 1/4 inch square piece of black material with some tiny legs tells you nothing. This is really different from looking at a tube amp.

Anyone could solder a DIY solid state amp together on a PCB. If it worked fine, but if it did not and you are forced to trouble shoot you would not understand how to do that without understanding what is going on at each pin and why. You need more or less the same info with tubes but it is very visual. To me tube electronics is a less trouble to understand.

I am transitioning from a builder to a designer and it is a huge leap.

Fun stuff...I think...lol



Billy

Last edited by Planobilly; 04/29/21 09:56 AM.
New location, new environment, new music coming soon

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