huge n00b. please dont let me kill my x0x!

Discuss x0x construction and related issues

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zero01101
 
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huge n00b. please dont let me kill my x0x!

Post by zero01101 »

hi everyone.
let me start by saying i have about 40 minutes of soldering experience all together. but that won't stop me. this bad boy is on its way and i know im not interested in breaking it.

i have some questions however.

1... solid gauge wire? i bet that one's really simple but i couldnt make heads or tails of it. do i just ask someone for "solid gauge wire" and thats that?

2... power supply. radio shack is the most useless place ever, i have determined. i cant find one anywhere. any suggestions for aurora-area illinois? or what the frick an LM317 is and how to hook it up to a 9v battery? and why i cant just plug the kit into the wall wart it comes with? (dont worry, im not going to do that... if i could, it would have been recommended somewhere, i assume.)

3... is there ANY store in history that sells diy hobby kits that actually need to be soldered anymore? practice is what im after...

4... wow, i feel dumb. i got me a sweet multimeter with transistor hfe test today, so do i just test the transistors that i get with the kit for the high beta ones, or do i shop for those? i have a feeling that those are going to be the major element in getting this to sound the most like a 303.

5... ok, i think thats it.

thanks in advance. ive read the majority of the posts on this board and the majority of you post in terms that might as well be greek to me, so if my answer is elsewhere on here just point me in its direction :D

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controlvoltage
 
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Post by controlvoltage »

if you ordered your x0x with a wall wart from Limor (mine says "US Robotics" on it, yours probably does too) then this is the correct power supply to use with your completed x0xb0x. I recommend building the power supply section of the x0x output board, very carefully... then you can plug the wall wart into this and get all the power you will need. The 9V plus chip concept is as I understand it a way to create a "bench power supply" on the cheap, for testing purposes... this is not actually necessary in order to build a working x0x.

I have a lot more assembly experience, but what I did was to build the whole darn thing start to finish and then plug it in to see if it worked. :/
The only downside to this plan is that if something doesn't work you have a lot more troubleshooting on your hands... fortunately I had help from this forum which enabled me to track down the one backwards transistor I had, very quickly. Doublecheck everything and work slowly and you should be fine.

zero01101
 
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Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:01 pm

Post by zero01101 »

very cool to know.
so that wall power adaptor will be ok to do this dealy with after i get the power section built? i kind of have a penchant for making sure im doing stuff right... especially if im buliding it.

much obliged for your help! :D

kokoon
 
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:09 am

Post by kokoon »

check out the online fabrication manual - there is a step-by-step guide on how build the entire thing and starts with the power supply section.

zero01101
 
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Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:01 pm

Post by zero01101 »

heh, yeah, ive been reading that thing daily.
its a little bit beyond me.
im gonna try to enlist some local help actually, i think...
thanks though :)

zero01101
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:01 pm

Post by zero01101 »

so my big box of parts is here today.
im about to take off for a bit, but i got down with a bit of catalogging the parts.
it seems i am short one 50 k b linear pot and 3 of the 4 6-wire jumper ribbon cables.

are these parts easy to procure? i dont want to bug limor for stuff i can just run over to radio shack and pick up myself, but radioshack.com blows severely hard.

thanks everyone. seriously. #108 will not go under.

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

some people got 9 conductor instead of 6. if you think about, you have the right number overall...the instructions have been updated.
if you are sure you're missing a part, email me w/part and address for a replacement!

zero01101
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:01 pm

Post by zero01101 »

holy BANNED, youre totally right!

wow.

i tried doing that before looking at the parts, wondering if that what happened. (obviously curious about 2 9-wire jumpers and where they went.) somehow it didnt so much add up. i guess i was spazzing a bit about the fact that this box of magic is sitting there at all.

either way, dont sweat the potentiometer. seriously, if i can find it around here i'd kinda consider it a victory of sorts! :D

zero01101
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:01 pm

Post by zero01101 »

ok, well, for any who are interested, 108's power supply works brilliantly. i ordered 100 733s from mouser hoping for some high beta ones so its gonna stop there till i get those (and my 50k pot :D)

wish me luck!

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subatomic
 
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Post by subatomic »

zero01101 wrote: i ordered 100 733s from mouser hoping for some high beta ones so its gonna stop there till i get those
I just did that too. $6. cheap! :)

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