Hints For Novo Kit Assembly

here is how i got on. i'm no expert in this field so please bare this in mind. it's my first "proper" kit and this isn't meant to be a my how to/hints, but a summary of my experience in a bit of detail. i echo alan's comments about the excellent kit and instructions. i think a "what you need" section in the manual would be useful. i had most of what i needed but had to borrow the hacksaw and file from a neighbour.

i took my time building this kit and feel that it paid off in the end. it worked first time which was a surprise to me and meant i didn't have to do any fault finding! i started with soldering the resistors in place as outlined in the manual. i don't know one resistor from the next so i used the table in the manual to work out the value of the resistor and then the circuit diagram to show me which resistor went where. i then doubled checked this with the photo of the pcb in the manual to make sure it "looked" right. i nearly got caught out putting the wrong resistor in the wrong place as some look very similar. (maybe i should have measured them with a multi-meter?!). with lots of double checking i spotted my mistake before soldering them in place. once they were all in i soldered in the diodes. it was clear from the picture what way round they go. with all of them in place and checking again they were correct, i checked for any dry joints and moved on to the next stage, transistors and capacitors.

the tip in the manual for soldering transistor pins, (so that heat builds up towards the collector terminal) was useful as i didn't know this. however i did have to check which pin is what in my beginner electronics book! the printing on the pcb and the photo make it clear what way round they go. with the capacitors i knew from my maplins kit the short leg on a capacitor is negative (correct me if i'm wrong) so it was easy to follow the polarity on the pcb. i think it is also labelled on the capacitor body (i told you i'm a novice!). i chose to solder all the capacitors in place before moving onto the next stage, although i think the manual takes you through it in a slightly different order. one thing i was worried about was heating up components too much and damaging them or the board-fortunately this didn't happen. i was constantly blowing on joints and the components once they were soldered to cool them down! i'm sure this isn't necessary but it made me feel better!

the next stage was quite simple, soldering the dc socket and phones jack on to the board. the manual takes you through what you need to watch out for. the potentiometer/volume pot went on next and again i followed the instructions as to how to prepare it and make sure it goes on right. alan's tip in the previous post regarding the LED and volume pot makes a lot of sense now i have completed the kit but i didn't think of it at the time! the manual does give you details on the length to cut the spindle if fitting the case supplied by graham slee, and also where to bend the LED so it fits correctly. i think alan's tip if a good way of getting it exact without too much hassle.

the next step is simple although i was a little worried about it-soldering a length of tinned copper wire (supplied in kit) between a tag on the pot and the pcb. i found this to be no problem. i think as it was different from soldering components to the board i worried myself unnecessarily.

i then fitted on the phono block and soldered this in place, nice and easy. after that there are only a few things left to do before completing the "electronic" side of the assembly. i was a little worried about having to run a flying lead between a resistor and capacitor across the back of the pcb (it sounds more complicated than it is) but again this proved ok, just make sure you don't cut the insulated wire (also provided in the kit) too short!

i then slotted the finished board into the case, which is simple, and made the ground connections. i powered her up and tested the various voltages around the circuit using a multimeter as outlined in the manual. i have hardly used a multi-meter before but i found it straight forward.

all the voltage readings were good so i excitedly hooked it up to my system to have a listen! it sounded great and i felt very pleased with myself!

overall i probably spent around 7 hours on the whole thing from start to finish. i took it at a nice leisurely pace. soldering all the resistors probably took the most time due to the amount of them (around 36 i think) and making sure i had the correct ones in the right place. there wasn't any point where i felt i didn't have any of the necessary skills. i took my time over it and felt very satisfied once i had completed it, especially as it worked a treat!

so that was how i found it and i'm a very happy customer

Go on, Miguel!!

Pfft... I think it'd be good for you Miguel ;)

Jon are you in Miami Beach Florida?