| Posted by Ken Parsons | February 22, 2013 - 01:56 pm |
| Hi Dave, I have just come up to speed re the discontinuation of AR and while oddly saddened, am very pleased that things will move forward through Tronola. I and am interested in SCA35 and ST35 boards for both new projects and a current repair. Per emails with George at AR I understand that they may well be in the works. Two Qs; 1) do you have any time frame? 2) is there an argument to be made to slightly modify the board designs to incorporate current production signal tubes vs the 7199 and 7247 used in the SCA35 and ST35 respectively, given this new direction for replacement board production? (I appreciate that the 7247 can be bought new, but only from JJ - perhaps all fine - but a wider set of alternative might be useful, tbd) Thanks a bunch Ken ken_parsons@hotmail.com |
| Posted by Dave | February 08, 2013 - 07:24 pm |
| For the many who have contacted me privately, as well as those who have publicly inquired, I would like to give an update as to the future availability of boards containing the EFB(tm) modification. With the recent closure of Pacific Audio Regenesis, not only did that event bring to a halt the availability of high quality power supply boards that included on-board EFB for the small Dynaco amplifiers, it also terminated a source for all the other high quality replacement boards that company offered for many popular pieces of Dynaco equipment. The proprietor there, George Ronnenkamp, was a fanatic about every detail of his boards from their basic design and manufacture, to the components used, to a board's ultimate assembly for sale. He personally built and tested each board sold, allowing AR to achieve a level of quality and value that were second to none in the diy and restoration audio community. AR will truly be missed by a great many of us. Out of the ashes however, new possibilities always exist. To that end, D Gillespie Designs has been granted exclusive rights to produce AR products going forward. These will not be assembled boards, but bare boards as originally developed at AR, virtually identical to the original, and manufactured to the same exacting detail and quality levels as produced for AR. A BOM will also be provided, allowing the purchaser to then obtain the exact parts required, with parts available from dual sources for completion. Some skill will obviously be required to assemble the boards, but with reasonable attention to detail, the vast majority of solder slingers out there should have no trouble producing a working copy of an original board. While this approach does not offer the AR convenience of fully assembled boards, it does allow for the basic boards to be available once again, such that when populated with parts from the BOM, can result in a very economical and workable solution for most folks. The ultimate goal is to -- over time -- make available all the audio and EFB power supply boards for the SCA and ST35 amplifiers. Also in the works, are two new universal EFB boards that would have a very small footprint, which will allow the installation of EFB in virtually any vacuum tube amplifier or receiver out there that can benefit from its operation. Pricing has not been set yet, but when available, will be offered and sold here on the Tronola website. The first board to be offered will be the SCA35 EFB power supply board, a production order for this board having already been placed. I should receive these by the first of March, to be offered for sale sometime later that month. A huge tip of the hat to AR for creating such high quality products, and allowing their production to be carried on in streamlined form. Stay tuned as more information becomes available! Dave |
| Posted by André Bancsó | January 25, 2013 - 07:13 am |
| Hi Dave, When are your sca 35 pc kits ready? Best regards, André Bancsó |
| Posted by Joseph | July 23, 2012 - 10:28 pm |
| Okay, my mistake - and what a doozy! I was looking at the SCA-35 Cap/EFB boards only. Just eye-balling it versus the ST-35 Cap/EFB board makes it look like the SCA-35 board is way too wide - I was thinking about removing the cap on the "right" side of the ST-35, then installing two SCA-35 boards bilaterally. It looks like a no-go unless I nudge the output transformers back to the rear edge of the chassis, and the SCA Cap/EFB boards still may not fit. And I'm NOT a fan of boards hanging off the edge of the chassis. On to Plan B. Starting to write Plan B... |
| Posted by Dave | July 22, 2012 - 11:28 pm |
| Joseph -- While I do not have any "official" dimensions of the PAC board, I do have my own copy of the board, which measures 8 13/32" long, by 1 19/32" wide, and 2 5/16" tall, from the top of the heatsink to the bottom of the standoffs underneath the board. Other than literally stacking these boards (which would certainly preclude mounting the cover in place), I cannot see how two of these boards could be mounted on the ST-35 chassis. The PAC board mounts on top of the chassis along side the transformers on the can cap side (with a cut out to accommodate the power transformer), in between the two amplifier boards. Of course, the PAC board also replaces the can cap with new components, and uses the hole where the can cap was to accommodate the leads to the new board. You could certainly use one PAC board for one channel, and then hand wire the second EFB regulator and power supply components underneath the chassis for the other. You can reference Art's article on this site to see an excellent example of how this can be done. It sounds like a great project you are undertaking. I'd enjoy seeing how it turns out! Thanks again. Dave |
| Posted by Joseph | July 22, 2012 - 09:07 pm |
| Dave; First, thank you for the reply. My plan is to have one power transformer, two sets of diodes - one for each channel - a separate power supply for each channel, with everything that follows kept separate, including the EFB(TM) controls for the output tube bias. I want to avoid spurious coupling/cross talk between the channels. Do you know if two Pacifica Audio Regenesis cap board/EFB modules would fit on the ST-35 chassis? I didn't see any measurements for the dimensions. Thanks again! |