Related Manuals for Decware ZKIT-1
Summary of Contents for Decware ZKIT-1
- Page 1 DECWARE / HIGH FIDELITY ENGINEERING CO. ZKIT-1 Single-Ended Triode Amplifier Instructions Model: SE84DIY March 3, 2019 Website support can be found at: www.decware.com...
- Page 2 DECWARE / HIGH FIDELITY ENGINEERING CO. MOUNTING THE CIRCUIT BOARD Objective The circuit board has been designed to be used in 2 ways; A) Mounted on stand-offs to a piece of wood and B) Mounted on stand-offs inside a metal chassis.
- Page 3 DECWARE / HIGH FIDELITY ENGINEERING CO. The silk screen is printed on the bottom side of the board. The tube sockets mount to the top side of the board only. Parts can placed on either side of the board depending on how the board...
- Page 4 PRECAUTIONS: If you build this amp on a piece of wood make sure you strain relief the power cord by connecting it to the wood in some fashion. Do not rely on the transformer itself to hold the weight and constant tugging of a power cord. The output transformers as part of their design have very fragile lead terminations.
- Page 5 Getting started: Start by using the circuit board as a template to mark the wood or chassis for mounting. Install the parts in the circuit board and solder them using a low residue solder such as Kester # 245 or similar. If you can’t find a low residue solder then clean the board with alcohol when your finished soldering in the parts.
- Page 6 RESISTOR COLOR CODES To determine the value of a particular resistor you can use the color bands on the resistor and then confirm the computed value with your resistance meter. Use the first two bands to equal the first two digits in the value and then multiply that value by the third band and you will have the ohms of that resistor.
- Page 7 INSTALLING THE PARTS Generally the first thing to install is the tube sockets. Then install the resistors followed by every- thing else. Generally it’s a good idea to solder each part and trim the excess part leads as you go. Double check the values of each part against the silk screen on the circuit board. Put the wrong value part in a location can make troubleshooting frustrating and difficult.
- Page 8 PROPER SOLDERING TECHNIQUE Keep the soldering iron tip clean. Wipe it off on a wet sponge or cloth after it has come to temperature; then apply solder to it to give the entire tip a wet look. This “tinning” process will protect the tip and enable you to make good connections.
- Page 9 PROPER SOLDERING TECHNIQUE (cont) ...
- Page 10 HOW TO CHECK YOUR SOLDERING JOINTS A good solder joint is imperative for each and every joint you make. When both the lead and the circuit board foil are heated at the same, the solder will flow onto the lead and the foil evenly. See illustration A.
- Page 11 HOW TO CHECK YOUR SOLDERING JOINTS (cont) When the lead is not heated sufficiently, the solder will not flow onto the lead as shown in illustration B. If this happens, reheat the connection and, if necessary, apply a small amount of additional solder to obtain a good connection as shown in illustration A.
- Page 12 HOW TO CHECK YOUR SOLDERING JOINTS (cont) NOTE: Many soldering issues can be traced back to having a dirty (black colored) soldering tip. This condition can prevent the soldering tip from transferring heat to the part lead and circuit board foil. When the tip is contaminated by a black coating, solder will simply bead off it instead of flow to it.
- Page 13 To see what a solder bridge looks like please refer to the illustration of a typical circuit board below.
- Page 14 BAD SOLDERING RUINS GOOD SOUND Above is an illustration of what happens when your soldering tip is contaminated (blackened) and won’t transfer heat (or you just can’t solder). The joint above is not making a good electrical connection. Below is the same joint after being properly soldered. ...
- Page 15 BAD SOLDERING RUINS GOOD SOUND (cont) If you are new to the experience of soldering, please find some spare parts around and practice soldering things together until your work looks like the second picture above. Do not use your circuit board to learn on.
- Page 16 PRE-FLIGHT CHECK: Before hooking the amplifier up to a pair of speakers, and before hooking up the inputs, turn the amp on, volume all the way down. Let it warm up. Check the following DC voltages at the following locations: A) 346 VDC +/- 10 VDC B) 309 VDC +/- 10 VDC C) 10.25 VDC +/- 2 VDC...
- Page 17 You might want to put a white dot on the top side of the board at each of the test points to help you find them after assembly. Shown assembled with original Decware transformers which have different colored leads when compared to current version using Edcor transformers.
- Page 18 CHASSIS WIRING Shown below on one of the earlier ZKIT1 circuit boards designed for Decware transformers. The present version should be handled exactly the same way.
- Page 19 It is a 2 watt x 2 SET amplifier made up from top grade USA made parts with proprietary Decware transformers. It is based around the 6P15P-EV aka SV83 output tubes which are one of the most linear tubes in the world. This tube was chosen over 300B, 2A3, 45's and so-on because of it's incredible speed and sonics.
- Page 20 IDEAL SPEAKERS: We have successfully driven hundreds of different loudspeakers ranging in efficiency from 90 to 100dB 1w/1m. On 90dB speakers it works nicely in smaller rooms or for late night out of body experiences. 94 to 96 dB speakers are almost ideal in that they let you play beyond a normal listening level and preserving the dynamic headroom.
- Page 21 Specifications: Circuit type — Single ended Class A Triode Power output — 2.3 watts RMS into 4 ohms, 5 watts RMS into 8 ohms when bridged NOTE: Power increases as ohms decrease - Stable into 2 ohm speaker loads Input voltage — 2.0 volts for full output Noise / Hum —...
- Page 22 SOME FINISHED ZKIT-1 AMPLIFIERS...
- Page 23 SOME FINISHED ZKIT-1 AMPLIFIERS...
- Page 24 SOME FINISHED ZKIT-1 AMPLIFIERS...
- Page 25 SOME FINISHED ZKIT-1 AMPLIFIERS...