In my working life, I was a telephone company frameman, and central office tech. I've soldered hundreds of thousands of connections in my life. Your work is superb. Your layout is well-ordered and first-rate, your attention to detail sublime. You use a tad bit more solder than I would sometimes, but I find the overall quality of your projects to be excellent. As to the caliber of your videos, they are mesmerizing, and a joy to watch, for people who love circuit design and building.

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks NDL! Really appreciate your kind and words. My father was an EE (TV and radio) all his life and drilled some good solder practice into from a young kid. I'm still not half as good as him but I'm getting there slowly ha ha, thanks and all the best!

Beautiful workmanship! When soldering heat-sensitive components such as film caps (especially polystyrene) or diodes I will clamp a small hemostat on the lead between the part and the joint being soldered. This is an effective hands-free heat sink. Since hemostats are made of stainless steel they won’t stick to solder either.

@monto39

5 ай бұрын

I never thought of using a hemostat as a heat sink, but that's a great idea. They're pointy enough to get into tight spaces much more easily than my usual choice of an alligator clip would be. Thanks for the tip

Your video production skill has increased nicely over the years but there is still that almost hypnotic quality, I like it a lot

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks heaps flurb! Hope you doing good over there, take care!

Wow one of the best soldering videos I have seen

This videos makes me less anxious. Thanks! Your work is a masterpiece.

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Diego! Too kind!

I love the detail.

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Greg! Much appreciated!

Super Military point to point wiring !!! 💯👍

Appreciate your time and expertise you share with us all.

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris, glad you found the vid helpful!

@DannyDKNYC

Ай бұрын

@@elams1894 hello from NY. Love your videos What temperature Celsius do you recommend? Thanks

@elams1894

Ай бұрын

@@DannyDKNYC Hi Chris! Somewhere between 600-800F is fine. My Weller TC201 is 48watts and gets to about 690F and that does me for 60/40 leaded, and also the lead free Germanium doped solder. If I need more omph, which is once in a blue moon for non amp work mostly, I go to a 60watt iron.

This video and the one on heater filaments wiring have been so useful to me. I'm one of the many that do simple builds, treating them more like a puzzle (following the layouts) than in understanding the components of the circuit. One thing that really improved my soldered connections was...getting a decent soldering iron. Sounds ridiculously obvious - but when you're in a situation where you're buying all the parts and equipment at once you're tempted to save money. Live and learn...

while I watch these videos I feel like i would watch national geographic program about life of wild animals somewhere in Africa. Similar feeling. Calm voice, scene cuts, a lot of background sounds and work itself - pure masterpiece. Thank you

I absolutely love watching you work. The attention to detail is simply sublime. I am also fully triggered by 9:09 with PTSD I never knew I had...

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Kley! Ha ha, yes PTSD is a good way to put it, cheers!

what a work of art, educative as it is satisfying

Awsome as always, You works realy are in their own class!

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

love the vids ....so detailed

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rob!

Sunday morning, having a bit of a lay in. New Elams video, lovely.

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Pro, hope you had a great day!! Cheers

@ProSimex84

3 жыл бұрын

@@elams1894 it was a good one yeah, thank you

I really like the way you work. Very nice insight. I'm excited about my next build because of watching this video.

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chad, all the best

Awesome 😎 video Thanks Scotty

I really enjoy this video this and soldering is wonderful like military style

Turrets are my preferred method of construction. I love your "super turrets" great solution for those busy ground connections etc. Im gonna try it with my next build. Thanks for the idea!!

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

Awesome! It's a great way to get a bit of extra vertical space, especially to isolate hot resistors. Helps keep things neat too. Good stuff.

Another Epic video! I always learn something from you that Im eager to implement. The washer trick inparticular I think is great. As well as preventing burning components in close proximity to the Iron, it could also help stop the molten flux spatter getting all over the nice new shiny components and inside the chassis when soldering. I will definitely try this on my next work! Thank you! Keep it up! 🙌

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks heaps Harry, glad there were few things that were helpful. All the best with your projects, cheers!

Thanks for these vids, really clean build, nicely slow process and detailed. Goergeous build, I want to do the same good work and these vids are gold!

@elams1894

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for kind words, best of luck with your future builds.

Hi mate, bloody grouse! as they would say over where your "sodderer" is made. 👍

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rob! Indeed some very colourful dialogue from our friends across the Tazzy. As they would say.. I tried to give it a fair suck of the sav, or in NZ speak.. I gave it a square kick in the guts. Cheers!

@gp85hkg

3 жыл бұрын

Bonza mate...

This tutorial is just wonderful (as is the filament wiring video)! I have built 35+ amps and they are doing well reliability wise but I'm always looking for places to improve. I certainly will use these techniques (some I already do) ! Thank you for sharing your skills!

@elams1894

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it helped! Thanks again Ken!!

@user-eg8dz4ls2l

Жыл бұрын

Здравствуйте а в Россию возможно отправить схемы и схему сборки

Love it!

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ron!!

New tasty video )))) Thank you!

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for tuning in, and for sticking around for the latest vid, much appreciated!

Nice details and soldering tips. Finaly feel comfortabel to order a diy amp Kit (dynaco vta st70) thank you

good...

Changed something in the lighting? Looks unusually bright. Still cool. Please tell me that in the next vids we're gonna see a super cool crazy wooden/cf housing build for that

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Yo G, yeah when I watched it through my phone I thought, gee whizz, thats a little bit bright, however when I watched it on my Mac, it was not so bad. All the exposure settings, LUT, and editing was the same as previous vids, however I didnt diffuse the light on this vid, as I was mainly doing extreme closeups and that was a mistake I think. Way too much highlights on the metal turrets and turret board. I'll have to sort out a proper diffuse mount for my lamp. Good eyes, thanks for feedback. Unfortunately no carbon fibre in this build, but in the future there will be a CF chassis ha ha.

i am a Hako tech great video

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Great irons those Hako's, cheers!

Merci

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Please, build one with PCB and then do blind test... Just "gold ears" will heard difference 😅. Its not high frequency circuit ... BTW - Congratulation - very nice work.

I guess you have never heard of heats sinks, plumber's torch fire guard rags, or woven fiberglass heat resistant tubing. The plumbers fire rags are rather thick now that they don't use asbestos anymore, but you can point a torch at wood and not burn down the house as long as that fire rag is between the torch and the rag.. Fiberglass tubing is great stuff. slip a little around your soldering iron's shank, and use some bits and pieces to protect whatever might get melted.

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

That fibreglass tube is a good tip. I just nicked a very nice capacitor with the solder shank. Thanks for that Seth!

It's always refreshing to come across a good Kiwi channel on YT, keep up the good work! Where is the best place to source these resisters from? I'm in Auckland and planning my second tube headphone amp build, keen to try Kiwame, PRP or maybe Takman. Cheers, Jeremy.

@elams1894

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jeremy! Probably the easiest place at present to source the good japanese stuff and PRP resistors is partsconnexion dot com. That's where I source mine from. You'll have to wrestle with international shipping however, that can be fun. Cheers.

@JeremyYoungDesign

2 жыл бұрын

@@elams1894 Thanks! Yeah shipping is always a challenge down here. Just ordered some iron from Edcor for my next build, they quoted $192 USD for shipping alone! Hopefully Youshop comes through a lot cheaper.

Great camera work. I didn’t happen to see your wire strippers in the useful tools portion in the description. I’ve never seen a car like that where did you get those thank you for your time Jack Matthews

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jack. I use a few wire stripper tools. I use the large strip and hold type Chicago made strippers, some smaller pliers type 'v' groove units and i also use a knife blade for wires that are too delicate for chunky tools. If you could clarify 'car' in your comment,that would be great as I'm not too sure what that refers too. Many thanks Jack!

@jackmatthews2840

3 жыл бұрын

@@elams1894 it was supposed to be ive never seen a pair like that. Do you use something for a heat soak.i mean it takes the brunt of the heat instead of the component that you are soldering? sorry bout the 3 week delay. Thanks JM

Zen moment...

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Antonio!

Kiwame resistors is just a distribution brand name. They really are KOA Speer. The SPR series. Available cheaper at Mouser's etc.

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

Good call. I've noticed something weird about Kiwami when trying to find manufacturer. I use Vishay AC series now for high wattage HT resistors, Czech made, very nice.

What are you using to magnify and light when you work,my eyesight turns to fog when soldering components to Amps and Guitars etc so much so that I am working by instinct and then checking with lens and a Voltmeter for continuity. Any advice would be usefull. Thanks, beautiful work BTW the mechanical joins are so solid I bet the circuit would function without any solder!!

@elams1894

6 ай бұрын

I have 3 vintage Infratherm lamps, with 2400 lumens bulbs which I use as light source. They have the old cast iron base, very solid, and the neck can be bent right over/into the chassis. My eyes have deteriorated, hence I where 3 x magnifying glasses (regular reading glasses) to solder. Otherwise my prescription glasses work for general chassis work. Indeed, its a constant battle, I feel your frustration. It is not easy. It gets more tricky for me when I film. It takes a considerable amount of time to get the camera and lighting in position and also accomodating enough room to solder. Thanks for question, and all the best my friend.

Nice clean work, I wouldn’t be ashamed to put that under a glass top, kinda a shame to hide it in a wooden box.

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks TDHW! Really appreciate it!

What solder type do you use?

At what temp are you running your iron?

A newbie question: What temp do you run your soldering iron at, I've seen all sorts of temps recommended, but a few seem to say 280-300° as the rosin flux gets nasty if too hot, but then I see people saying 375-400 for guitar amps! Any advice appreciated!

@freakbeatagogo1208

5 ай бұрын

Sorry, meant to say, superb video, it's really helped me see what needs to be done and how, so thanks for such quality instruction 👍

😮

What happens if you need ti replace a component soldered like this?

@elams1894

2 жыл бұрын

It's fairly easily replaced. Care needs to be taken in layout design to ensure that components can be accessible to replace.

Which solder wire do you use?🤠

Nice! What is the wooden tool you're using to hold component? A clothes pin or something?

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

I made that out of icecream sticks. Very handy also as a soft clamp for soldering components in a vice. cheers

@claussoegaard

Жыл бұрын

@@elams1894 Thank you! Just saw how you put it together in one of your other videos. Neat little tool.

Please tell me the brand and model of the solder, thank you very much.

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

I use Stannol Kristall 60/40 1.0mm and sometimes 0.7mm. Cheers

Beautiful workmanship its like the meditative craftsmanship of the Japanese...but do you have a video on how you put your construction jig together?

@sheep1ewe

3 жыл бұрын

I think he even hawe a detailed instruction actualy if You check back on the older videos.

@92ilyas

3 жыл бұрын

Cool thanx i found the video

@sheep1ewe

3 жыл бұрын

@@92ilyas As You probably saw he started by printing out the layout, or drawing it by hand on a piece of paper so You hawe a bit more substance to make the wooden pattern from later when You are done with the wisual design.

@92ilyas

3 жыл бұрын

@@sheep1ewe Yes I can see how it works and has inspired me as to how I can set up a rig to experiment with without dealing with the confines of a proper enclosure just have to be patient im just in process of opening an electronic repair shop... but soon very soon

@elams1894

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks 92! And thanks for the direction Vamp, much appreciated, have a good one!

Great video, thoroughly enjoyed it. I am surprised you used raw copper wire and even more surprised that the so called top quality capacitors also used raw copper for their hook up wire. This is poor quality as in stock over time that copper could oxidise badly and the inexperienced could end up with a cold soler joint. I wouldn't used any components or wire which was not tin plated to begin with. Also in my training (many years ago) no component could be fitted across terminals without a loop to provide stress relief. How things have changed. I must say that your layout is superb though and makes the average amp look positively crude.

@elams1894

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for kind words. These are mid quality caps, about 3 to 6 bucks a piece. Not sure high end caps would be worth it for a guitar amp. Guitar amps are a very different beast to HiFi amps, but I hear what you are saying, all good, cheers.

Do you ever use flux?

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

Sometimes. There is flux in the solder so I don't need flux often.

A 60 watt iron would be fine for an amp build ! I'm always thinking that a 30 watt iron takes to long in getting job done ! 30 watt iron maybe okay for guitar electronics, but not adequate for amp build !

@elams1894

Жыл бұрын

My Weller is 60watts.

I've seen some builds made without turrets and board. Everything is mounted on terminals. Some people believe it's the best way.