The Paul Hynes SR7

[paulhynes]

The rescheduled list for custom build began with week one starting on 22^nd of January 2018. This rescheduled list contained 29 custom build orders.

 

Orders 1 and 2 are completed. Order 3 goes into soak test on Monday and I begin the build work on order 4. So far I am on track.

 

Happy Sunday,

Paul

[paulhynes]

Adjustment of SR5 and SR7 power supplies.

 

The SR5 and SR7 were not originally designed to allow user output voltage adjustment and were intended for specified output voltage applications. The regulator modules have a precision multi-turn potentiometer on board to allow fine voltage setting. Several customers asked for adjustable output voltage and it was easy enough to select a potentiometer to cover a reasonable range of adjustment for those with experience delving into equipment and possessing a voltmeter to measure the set voltage. Once word of this spread most customers wanted this facility, however it has become apparent that some have little experience of setting up electronic items internally and several customers have had problems with this procedure which is outlined below for those wanting to adjust their supply voltages themselves.

 

To adjust the voltage on any of the rails you will need to switch the power supply off and disconnect the power supply from your equipment. Then unscrew the back panel allowing the top plate to be removed from the side extrusions. This will reveal the regulator modules and there is a small blue precision multi-turn potentiometer on each module for voltage adjustment. From the row of DC connectors on the back panel choose the rail you want to adjust and follow the wiring back to the regulator module for this rail. You will need to connect a volt-meter to the pins on the DC connector, being very careful not to short out any of the pins. You can then switch the power supply on and adjust the regulator potentiometer to set the required output voltage. Allow a few minutes for thermal stability then readjust the potentiometer. Once set, switch off and you can then replace the top panel and rear panel. Reconnect to your equipment and switch on again and you are ready to play music.

 

For those without the experience or the confidence for hands on internal adjustments I have designed a precision stepped attenuator to replace the potentiometer on the regulator module. Up to four stepped attenuators can be fitted to the front panel of the power supply allowing external adjustment of the regulator output voltage for up to four rails. The attenuator control knob has a dial with numbers from 2 to 12 and this fits nicely for a 2v to 12v adjustment range. Some power supplies have voltage requirements above 12v, which can be accommodated by customising the stepped attenuator range. The dial numbers will not then match the output voltage setting directly and a setting key label can be fitted on the power supply designating the set voltage for each dial number.

 

For those with outstanding custom build orders interested in having the external adjustment offered by the stepped attenuators contact me via e-mail at [email protected] to discuss your requirements and the cost before I start your build. I can also retro fit these attenuators if required but the cost will also have to including shipping both ways.

 

Custom build cancelled order availability.

 

For those disappointed that I closed the custom build service earlier this year, I now have several cancelled orders awaiting transfer to new customers, where the previous customer requirements or circumstances have changed. These may suit your application requirements and offer the opportunity to acquire a first class power supply to suit your personal equipment applications. It is also possible to re-customise these supplies. Lead times will vary depending on the order position in the build schedule. E-mail me if this is of interest.

 

I should be starting build 15 next week.

 

Build 16 is one of the order cancellations, so if you want a high spec power supply with 3 DR rails, 19v 3A, 12v 3A and 12v 3A and XL construction, without a long lead time, let me know.

 

Build 17 is also an order cancellation and also a high spec DR XL construction but with three higher power rails to be built into a Streacom FC9 chassis. The rails are 12V 10A, 9V 6A and 5V 6A.

 

There are also several standard spec cancellations further down the build schedule.

 

We are closed for annual summer holidays from 23^rd July to 3^rd August and 20^th August to 24^th August.

 

Regards

Paul

 

[paulhynes]

Flkin,

 

I guess you have misread my last post. Nobody is jumping queues. If a customer wants to cancel his order, for whatever reason, I offer his order to others to allow me to give him a full refund. This does not alter the queue, as the new customer taking over the cancelled order will still have to wait until the original customer number in the queue before I start building the power supply.

 

Re-customisation is possible in limited circumstances as the materials I have purchased for the build can often be re-configured slightly to match requirements. However, if the build is imminent and a new mains transformer is required this can delay the build by the lead time from my transformer manufacturer (currently 30 to 40 working days from order placement to shipment). In this case the order is set aside until the transformer arrives allowing others in the queue to move forward, which is a plus factor for them.

 

Build 16 and build 17 are imminent (starting soon). I guess there is nothing stopping people from ordering one of these power supplies and cancelling orders placed later in the queue. However you would have to pay the original order cost, cover any re-customisation costs, which could be significant and possibly suffer a lead time postponement if a new mains transformer is required. You would also have to await the sale of your cancelled order to receive a refund for this. Overall this could be a costly exercise. There are only a few cancelled orders so the scope for the scenario you have raised is limited but I can see that this could end up being a problem if people tried to do this every time an order cancellation occurs, as it would waste a lot of my time and annoy others in the queue.

 

For those considering following this scenario you should note that my custom build order terms have no cancellation rights. This is normal for custom-made items. If customers do need to cancel their order I offer to help sell the order on to someone else. This offer of help is not there for people to abuse and I would be disinclined to help with such transactions outlined above.

[paulhynes]

Flkin,

 

I generally order long lead time materials for a build during the week following payment. Small component orders for builds are usually processed together at the end of the month of order as they are usually in stock with my suppliers. Out of stock items go on back order but their lead times usually complete before the build starts. This means that by the time the build starts everything is in stock for the build.

 

Changes to specification can usually be accommodated provided any additional costs are met. If a spec change is late in the lead time, and requires a new mains transformer, there may be a delay with acquisition that over extends the original build lead time.

[paulhynes]

Builds 16 and 17 have now been re-sold and have new homes to go to. Refunds will be issued to the original build owners as soon as the re-sale funds arrive.

[paulhynes]

Actually, the SR4 can provide 2.5A continuously when set to 12v or 9v. The continuous load current draw should be restricted to 2A when set to 7v or 5v to avoid running the power supply at too high a temperature.

[paulhynes]

Ciukas,

 

The 18A current is the output current available spread across the four regulated output rails of the specified SR7. The input current required from the mains, when all rails are fully utilised, would be between 6 to 10 times lower on 110vac mains and between 12 to 24 times lower on 230vac mains depending on the specification of the secondary windings of the mains transformer. Most loads would idle at lower than maximum continuous rail current so the mains input current would be even lower in these circumstances.

[paulhynes]

Yes, it is about time for an update.

 

I am behind with my estimated schedule for the outstanding custom builds for various reasons. Over the last few months the health support systems I had in place for two of my family members collapsed and I have had to make a number of trips off island to get this sorted out and to transport them for health assessments and appointments. The National Health Service is currently in a sorry state at present being undermanned and under funded. Hopefully this in now settled again for the time being although health appointments will be necessary from time to time for monitoring purposes.

 

There have also been a number of business trips off island that took longer than usual and of course the Easter and Summer holidays.

 

There has been a trend of re-specification for outstanding orders to allow compatibility with new developments in the computer audio sector, and a number of order cancellation transfers to deal with which all takes time to sort out and it also causes delays with the orders.

 

The working conditions at home reached saturation point with two of us working in a rather small space stacked high with equipment, transformers, chassis, components etc. Vying for space to work had become a big issue. Also we need to create disabled facilities at home and the rooms I currently use for work will shortly no longer be available because of this. So I planned to move the business into new premises with plenty of work and office space (approx 8 times the current space), which I scheduled for takeover the first week in September. Unfortunately the move has been delayed because the owner of the premises was unable to get tradesmen in for general repairs and decorating before the move so it has been postponed until 5^th November. There is a lot of stuff to move and it will take some time for an orderly preparation during the week before the move and dealing with workshop and office installation the week after. Unfortunately there will be no production work during this time. The priority will be to get the production area functional as soon as possible.

 

My technical computer died screaming during a backup last week when the ATX power supply exploded. I was sat next to it at the time, which was pretty scary. I have replacement equipment ordered to rebuild it. I do hope the hard drives have survived, as it will be tedious and time consuming to have to re-install everything onto new hard drives.

 

All of the above has caused considerable disruption with my work on the custom build outstanding orders with little happening over the last two months. Once we have the new premises up and running we should be able to work more efficiently than of late and my primary aim will be to get up to speed with my work schedule again. With so much happening recently I have been a little disorganised with the admin for which I apologise.

 

This week I should be shipping out custom orders 15 and 16. Order 17 has been temporarily delayed due to a re-specification so I will start on order 18 as soon as the new workshop is functional.

[paulhynes]

Hi Rick,

 

I have not taken the computer apart yet as I have been too busy. I tried measuring the output from the UPS and it killed my multimeter, so I am not using this particular UPS again. I may do a diagnostic on it when I have more time next year. From experience I just decided to get everything for a complete rebuild plus a new multimeter of course. It is usually quicker and if at least one of the drives is OK then I will be up and running quickly with access to all the tech files. My custom build files are all on this computer so it is particularly important for me to get this back on line.

 

I am looking forward to taking over the new premises. The rooms are light and airy and it has a pleasant view over the Lochboisdale Harbour. The premises were previously used for a University project digitising old analogue film archives. It was intensively wired up with large quantities of mains power sockets and Ethernet connections for all the equipment they had. It is walk into and plug in for business and we can keep any network internal on Ethernet without having potential computer infiltration from the outside world. Only two computers will be connected to the outside world for Internet browsing and e-mail. The rest of the business computers will be isolated.

 

Your consideration is appreciated as is yours too, Auric. I will hang in there. My father gave me a family motto, which is tenacity of purpose and I try to uphold this with everything I do.

[paulhynes]

Sorry for the tardy reply, I am still dealing with the move to the new premises.

 

The Vishay Zfoil bulk metal foil resistors are very close to the ideal resistor. The foil layout is designed to cancel inductive and capacitive effects and the foils have very low noise, close to the theoretical noise of the resistance value of the resistor. The resistor tolerance is 0.01% with a temperature coefficient of +/-0.5ppm, which reduces circuit parameter drift and thermal drift.

 

Regarding Dielectric Absorption, Walt Jung and Dick Marsh wrote an article published in Audio magazine as far back as 1980, covering the subject when related to the sonic effects of capacitors used in audio circuitry. This captured my interest at the time and I was able to hear the audible differences the various capacitor dielectrics created during my capacitor substitution tests. The following link should take you to Yumpu.com where registration will allow you to download a PDF file covering the text of the article.

 

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/download/27191293/84864-0407f-737e0-ab399-53a1b-1d0d7-1c428-26398

 

It should be noted that Walt Jung and Dick Marsh are regarded as eminent electronic engineers and they are well qualified technically. They are also audio enthusiasts who have an open mind and are prepared to investigate audio anomalies in real time instead of just making assumptions based on incomplete theoretical data.

 

It occurred to me that the DA characteristics displayed in the various capacitor dielectrics could also apply to PCBs (printed circuit boards), as they are effectively a dielectric material with copper tracks bonded to the surface. There will be capacitive effects between the tracks and the dielectric across the printed circuit board and it is logical to assume that the sonic signatures of the various PCB materials due to dielectric absorption will also be audible. As Teflon was considered to be the best of the dielectrics I decided to investigate the use of Teflon PCBs in my audio designs. In every area of signal processing and power supply the Teflon PCBs outperformed the normally used fibreglass (FR4) PCBs. I have been using Teflon circuit board ever since in critical high performance designs. Unfortunately it is quite expensive and therefore not suitable for inclusion in lower cost products.

 

Out off interest regarding power supplies, their operating frequency is not just limited to the 50/60 Hz mains frequency, nor is the current flow within the power supply circuitry static, as the equipment under power will demand current dynamically at whatever frequency it operates at.

 

Lastly I am not in the habit of offering upgrades that have no merit.

 

PS. The SR7 chassis size is correct.

[paulhynes]

I am still dealing with the move to the new premises.

 

There were initially delays with getting the carpets cleaned.

 

Then the custom frames for all the workbenches and office tables were delayed in transit via a local forwarding agent. One key ingredient for these was finding enough extrusion couplings for the extrusions, as agents for these products were out of stock, world-wide. I managed to finds some from several different sources and they arrived last week, so I was busy assembling them for the rest of the week.

 

The Beech wood worktops have now been varnished to seal and protect the surface and have been fitted to the bench frames. The varnish will take a couple more days to cure before I can place equipment on the worktops.

 

I am currently transferring equipment over to the new premises ready for installation and then all the materials stock for current orders will be transferred.

 

Then I will be starting custom build 18 and my assistant will be catching up with his work on the SR4 products.

 

There is a lot still to do and I will have to catch up with e-mail once the move is completed.

 

Regards

Paul

[paulhynes]

I had intended to provide an update last week but re-scheduled health appointments for family members took me off island.

 

The weather over the last two months has seen repetitive storm fronts moving across the island with few days of settled weather. The wind speeds have been typically gale force and higher resulting in many ferry cancellations. This in turn has delayed delivery of materials and equipment for the new premises as well as delaying the appointments for contractors of specialised work to comply with health and safety legislation here in the UK.

 

I am still awaiting the installation of solder fume extraction equipment. As a temporary solution, I have ordered a couple of bench top solder fume absorbsion units for use until the fume extraction system is installed.

 

The workshop benches have built in shelving to 2 metres height and fully loaded these will be top heavy. I ordered the cross beams that will anchor these workbenches to the workshop walls safely, but these have not yet arrived. The first shipment of these beams was lost in transit (how do you lose two 3 metre long 45mm x 45mm aluminium extrusions) and a second shipment has now been sent which shows on tracking as due for delivery imminently. We are away from tomorrow until 2^nd of January for the Christmas and New Year holiday break. I have made arrangements for outstanding deliveries and hopefully everything outstanding will be delivered on 2^nd January. Once I have these items they will be installed and I aim to be back on a fully operational custom build workbench on January 7^th.

 

I have completed the Technical computer re-build and also the new administration computer is now installed at the new premises, so I will be able to go through all the build schedules for SR power supplies on my return from the holiday. There is also a large amount of e-mail awaiting my attention in the inbox. A brief scan of this indicates that many with outstanding custom build projects wish to re-specify their project to accommodate new equipment acquisitions. This is fine but it will take some time to process and I do not wish to overspill into allotted build time, so please be patient and let me get on with this during my allotted admin time.

 

Down time over the last couple of months, component sourcing and chassis anodising issues have resulted in delays with SR4 order completion. The sourcing and anodising issues have now been resolved. The printed circuit boards have all been populated and we now have the chassis with a very nice anodised finish. The mains transformers have to be installed on the printed circuit boards then the SR4s can go into soak test prior to shipping. My assistant will prioritise these when we return after the holiday.

 

Jiffi32, the next SR4 production batch with available units will be manufactured in February.

 

Regards to CA members and happy Christmas

[paulhynes]

Hi Auric and Scott,

 

The workshop is indeed operational now, however I am not at the workshop today.

 

I have been plagued with toothache for several months but I was too busy getting the workshop operational to go for treatment. It was manageable with paracetamol until this last weekend when the pain escalated to the point where even the maximum daily dose of Paracetamol was not enough to kill the pain.

 

I managed to get an appointment with a dentist off island for yesterday and two rear molars were identified as the cause of the problem. One molar had to be removed and the dentist did the best he could to save the other molar but this may also have to be removed as it is still very painful, although I am told that if the pain eases off over the next few days it should be ok. If not I can get another appointment early next week to deal with this. So best case I should be back in the workshop on Monday and worst case back later in the week.

 

Sorry folks but intense pain is not conducive to work concentration so I have remained at home so far this week. I have managed to clear some of the backlog of e-mail though and will continue with this while at home.

 

[paulhynes]

I guess its time for another update.

 

Firstly I have already posted information through Autumn and into January regarding the trials and tribulations occurring throughout this period.

 

Unfortunately these trials and tribulations are still occurring, albeit ones that are one off occurrences that should not re-occur once dealt with.

 

The beginning of the month was a jaw dropper as over 21,000 of the previous year’s business e-mails were accidentally deleted during preparation of a new holding page for www.paulhynesdesign.com prior to the development of the new website. Fortunately with the help of the service provider it was possible to retrieve most of the e-mail, but only up to the date of their last data backup point. We had a few days of communication blackout and lost e-mail throughput.

 

The following week there was a local power outage for over half a day. Not too much of a problem in itself, but for whatever reason, whether coincidental or not, the fibre optic broadband service collapsed for the whole area and was not reinstated until three days later. More communication blackout.

 

Last week I managed to trash software on the technical computer by installing the wrong updates and had to do a re-install to get operational again. Now the Win 10 on the computer will not boot on switch-on and I have to fiddle about with restart and repair to get it going. They say “To err is human; but to really foul things up requires a computer”. Is Win 10 prone to this sort of behaviour or is it just my lack of computer knowledge getting in the way?

 

Alongside all this computer mayhem I have been actively seeking help with the business for production and administration. I now have an Office Administrator called Mark who has IT experience and we are working on systems to streamline administration and make it easier to keep track of things. This will take some time as there is much to do, so I would not expect overnight changes.

 

I have also made contact with a local government initiative in Stornoway to help place apprenticeships for young school leavers who do not wish to leave the Island looking for work. So far, after a number of communications from me, there has been no return communication from them, so I am widening my search in other areas.

 

Following advice from my accountant, I have set up the company Paul Hynes Design Ltd to act as the vehicle for the business in the new premises. I have been trying, so far in vain, to set up a bank account for the Ltd Company. There are several bank branches along the island chain but none of them has a business manager to process a Limited Company account application and they do not appear to have a procedure to set up the account on-line because there are several shareholders involved, so it looks like we will have to go to the mainland to get the account set up. I could do without that at present, as it is more time lost here, but once it is done it is done.

 

Regarding the SR4 production delays, there was an additional issue to deal with this month on a batch of boards from the CMC (contract manufacturing company). The aluminium bar mounted on board the printed circuit board to provide a firm interface between the power supply power devices and the chassis was initially slightly out of alignment which prevented a sound thermal interface with the chassis. We fixed this but when it came time for final assembly into the chassis another issue was found in that the screw mounting holes were too small to take the screws, so we had to remove the aluminium bars again and get the holes re-machined. Production is now continuing and we expect to be shipping out all the remaining outstanding orders through next week. Then production should be back to normal for SR4 with orders shipped out as planned. The good news is that the CMC have achieved the same level of performance for sound quality as that achieved with SR4 units built here. I am very happy with this result as it means I can now confidently program a gradual increase in SR4 production from the CMC without stressing the workforce at this end.

 

Regarding SR custom build I have already outlined the delays in progress so far, however there is another additional reason I have not progressed the builds this last month.

 

There have been several regulator module failures on the Multirail power supplies this last year, usually the 3A modules. The failure mode has been a short between the input and output terminals of the regulator output device. The cause appears to be over dissipation (too much heat generation) in the output device. When I introduced the 10v adjustment range on the regulator modules I stated in the information sheet that it was necessary to de-rate the regulator output current specification when setting the output voltage at the lower end of the range. This is very important as the regulator input voltage remains the same when set to any voltage in the range. This means that at lower voltage settings there is a higher voltage across the regulator output device and this increases the heat generated within the device for a given output current. If you already have an SR5 or SR7 power supply with 3A modules, make sure you stay within the rail ratings and de-rate the output current for lower voltage settings as specified in the SR information sheet and all should be fine.

 

It is sometimes difficult to get actual load current specifications from equipment manufacturers as many do not usually publish this information. With this in mind I usually like to err on the conservative side with specifications, so I have re-specified all the outstanding custom build power supplies that have 3A rail modules specified for 3A or less in the original specification. The 3A modules will be upgraded to 6A module power ratings free of charge as the power devices used in the 6A modules are much more rugged. The original rail current specification will remain the same as originally specified, as the mains transformer dictates this specification. There are several additional component changes to make on the boards to allow the use of the 6A devices. I now have the materials in stock for these power device upgrades and will be progressing the module rebuild, for those custom build projects sat on my work bench awaiting completion. I can then continue with the custom build schedule.

 

I do appreciate that long delays can be very frustrating and I also appreciate the patience shown by the majority of customers as well as their continued support on these forum threads.

 

Regards

Paul

[paulhynes]

Flkin,

 

I hear you.

 

As I stated in my last post a system management regime is being designed to make administration easier this will remove much admin from my work load. I will still have to provide technical advice to customers until such time as we find and train a technician but most of the day to day admin will be in Mark’s hands once he is up to speed.

 

Part of Mark’s remit with regard to the admin system design is to instigate progress notifications to customers via e-mail.

 

Auric,

 

E-mail me with your order specifications so I can check the records for your build.

 

I am tired of the constant distractions that have occurred during the last few years too. Hiring staff in the new premises is designed to alleviate those distractions.

 

I understand you are tired of waiting from the various comments you have posted on CA. If you have run out of patience I have a number of people awaiting order cancellations who would be only too pleased to take over your order and I would be happy to facilitate the transfer for you and thus provide a refund for you.

 

Incidentally, I have noticed a number of comments criticising custom build order cancellation transfers. I should point out that the cancelled orders do not belong to me. They belong to the original customer who placed the order. If he no longer wishes to proceed to completion for any reason he is fully entitled to transfer his order to another person without losing his paid for place in the custom build queue. My involvement is purely as a facilitator and to ease the transfer by providing technical information if required. This is not a conspiracy to short circuit the custom build queue and it does not change anyone else’s position in the queue.

 

Regards

Paul

 

 

[paulhynes]

Hi flkin,

 

I need to access your order details before offering your build to someone else. I have checked my PM inbox and my e-mail inbox to find a link to your CA identification and can find no links. When you contacted me to discuss your order did you use an e-mail address that does not relate to your name, perhaps a business name? Sorry I do not have the time to go through the 21,000 e-mails in my inbox at present. I do have build 32 against a name I think could be yours but again no link in my e-mail. If you e-mail me at [email protected] I can then track the original order and verify the details.

 

And yes I have a number of potential customers for your build.

 

Regarding the provision of a list of customer build orders, I am afraid providing customer identification is not something I am able to do as it would cause a breach of the Data Protection Act. However I will be able to provide an update of the current position in the custom build schedule and each customer who has placed an order will have their build number to allow position assessment. I still have to finish updating the custom build schedule with all the changes that have occurred since the last update and once this is completed the numbers for the latest orders will be e-mailed to any that have not already received a number.

 

 

 

And now to another matter.

 

I will try and keep this short as I have much to do today.

 

I lay awake all last night considering the ongoing implications of offering a custom build service, and all the comments, both positive and negative, on the CA threads.

 

Early last year I closed the custom build service to new orders but, due to popular demand, reopened it later in the year (after all the e-mail I have received asking me to continue with the service), albeit with limited monthly acceptance in an effort to kerb runaway lead times in the future. Now I have decided to reverse that decision and close the custom build service again but this time permanently.

 

All current outstanding orders will be serviced, of course, and it is my intention to get back on the workbench next week and resume with a schedule of one custom build per five working days (as defined in my custom build ordering terms) as closely as possible until all the outstanding orders are completed.

 

There are some of you, with my help, currently in the process of preparing a specification for an order, and these will be honoured if you choose to proceed to completion. I will not be accepting any new orders for custom build. Once I have cleared all the outstanding custom build orders I will be retiring, well semi-retiring, as I will maintain an on-going advisory position with PHD Ltd.

 

Paul Hynes Design Ltd will not be offering custom build services so please do not ask them for custom build once their communication systems and website are fully operational. They are in the business of offering fixed specification products like the SR4 and the imminent revised SR5 and SR7 format (no custom options) that can be provided using CMC (contract manufacturing company) services.

 

I have arranged that PHD Ltd will provide on going service under guarantee for customers of my custom build service and thereafter service out of guarantee to ensure product longevity for customers after I retire. This service will be limited to re-instatement only and no further customisations will be offered.

 

Regards

Paul

[paulhynes]

We have a temporary lay off issue at the new premises.

 

This is a bit of a saga but I thought I would provide a thorough report as certain persons commenting negatively on here in the past have been fond of quoting snippets of information out of context to give a more positive spin on their side and a more negative spin on my side.

 

The new premises are part of the Lochboisdale Pier Development which consists of small ground floor units with flats (apartments if you live in the USA) on two floors above. The drains are shared between the commercial units and the flats and common in the vertical direction until they reach the inspection manholes running along the footpath outside, where they are grouped together and directed to a large storage tank across the road.

 

For several weeks we have been experiencing drain backup in our toilet and also the sink in the janitor’s room. I called the Scottish Water Authority about the problem and last Friday one of their technicians arrived to investigate.

 

The inlet on the sewage tank across the road was found to be blocked due to the disposal of wet wipes and sanitary products down the drains. Not recommended but some people do not pay attention to these matters.

 

After clearing the tank inlet blockage and all the outside drains up to the manhole covers, the Scottish Water Technician reported back to me, but unfortunately I had to tell him that he had not cleared our sector blockage. He was unable to help further, as he was not authorised to work on internal blockages in business and domestic premises, and duly advised me to contact a plumber. Well, plumbers are as rare as rocking horse manure on the island but I managed to make contact with several (so not so rare really) but they were unavailable and I was informed that they are booked up solid with work for many, many months. So it is not just custom build that has long queues here.

 

Unfortunately over the weekend the residents of the flats continued to add waste to the drains and there was an overflow in both the toilet and the janitor’s room with some further leakage out into unit 6 (currently the storeroom), and the cloakroom and kitchen area. On my return to the premises on Monday I realised what had been a minor inconvenience had developed into a health and safety issue which would need cleansing before we could continue working in the premises, so in compliance with health and safety regulations I sent the staff home until completion of the cleansing.

 

So what to do next? Well first I rescued as much uncontaminated equipment and stock from the store room (unit 6) as I could and stacked it in the workshop which was fortunately unaffected by the foul water overflow.

 

Then I returned to the issue at hand. I spent some time on the Internet looking for options, but without the proper equipment, and a working knowledge of the internal drain layout, this was not something I could deal with myself.

 

I contacted the landlord of the premises who was very helpful. He informed me that the flats were all part of a local housing association and they had a small team of various trades for maintenance purposes. As the drains were essentially a joint responsibility he said he would contact the housing association and on Tuesday two plumbers arrived. They were as perplexed as I was regarding the drain layout but they did have all the required equipment for the job.

 

It took them over an hour to find the blockage and clear it. This is where my day got very much worse. As the blockage was cleared a large amount of foul drain water flooded out of the toilet and also from the low lying sink in the janitor’s room soaking the areas only lightly contaminated previously. Noooooooo! Why Me? What have I done to deserve this? I spent the rest of the day vainly trying to mop up the mess.

 

Anyway, where are we now? The landlord has reacted quickly and is currently trying to organise a clean up team to resolve the health and safety issue. I am not at this point sure when the clean up operation will begin as I am awaiting communication regarding this. I will update you when I know more.

 

Unfortunately, until the clean up has been completed the premises are not operational so once again the work schedule has an unscheduled delay. Needless to say I will endeavour to return the premises to operational status as soon as possible.

 

Humorous comments and puns are acceptable at this point and, if my mood lifts, I may give a prize to the one that makes me laugh the most, but no trolling, sarcastic or negative comments please.

 

Regards to all

Paul

[paulhynes]

LTG2010

 

I am going to tel the cleanup team what you said about them.

 

Brian,

 

As it happens, most of the custom build stock is still at home as I have only been bringing what is needed for my weekly work schedule into the workshop so I do not clutter the premises up. These items are on my workbench in the workshop (unit 4) so none of the custom build materials are affected. All the SR4 materials are in the workshop on the shelves above the SR4 workbench so these are also not affected. The only stock in the storeroom is actually for my R&D projects as well as some obsolete stock for obsolete products and I would not have rescued these items if they had been contaminated.

 

Anything of value to the business in the store room was on a work bench and I moved these items after the first lesser overflow before any contamination reached the workbench.

 

Some machinery and tools for custom machining were contaminated as they were in boxes on the floor next to the janitor’s room and these are going to be taken for waste disposal. I have already ordered replacements. Some packing materials were also contaminated and these will also be disposed of and replaced.

 

I totally understand your concern about any contamination and I am quite fastidious about issues like this. I would never have allowed anything that was contaminated to be used in production or for packaging.

 

Ray

 

That caused a chuckle and lightened my mood. It will explain the comments about a more organic presentation with these SR7s although they will not be more congested as I will be applying a laxative coating before shipping them out.

 

Regards

Paul

[paulhynes]

There is a selector switch on the back of the power supply for 115vac or 230vac.

[paulhynes]

Hi Mitch,

 

Actually the mains input voltage on the SR4T can be reset internally by moving the transformer primary connector to one of two positions to change the input voltage from either 115vac to 230vac or visa versa. The earlier SR4 had an internal selector switch on the printed circuit board so these can also be changed to suit your mains voltage.

 

It was not possible to fit this option to the back panel as there is no room for additional switches.

 

If you need to change the voltage let me know and I will detail the procedure to access the internals.

 

Regards

Paul

[paulhynes]

Hi Dave,

 

Historically, there has been a wide variation between EU countries mains voltage and the EU sought to harmonize voltages across the countries. When it was realised that some equipment rated for higher voltage input may malfunction with a lower input voltage and that equipment designed for lower voltage input may be damaged with a higher input voltage, the specification was relaxed to a compromise of 230vac with a higher tolerance than initially set, with equipment manufacturers expected to accommodate the tolerance in their product designs.

 

I often measure mains voltage around 240vac and occasionally just over 250vac where I live.

 

Having the primary split into two allows for operation in series for the nominal 230vac (which is a comfortable compromise in the EU) or in parallel for the nominal voltage of 115vac (which is a comfortable compromise for most American grid systems which can vary from around 110vac to 120vac).

 

There are several options for manufacturers using mains transformers in their equipment regarding compatibility with 115vac to 230 vac. Select a single primary winding for a specific area or use two primary windings with some method of switching between the two voltages. As audio enthusiasts often sell on equipment they no longer need to other enthusiasts around the world, it is more convenient for them to be able to set the mains voltage compatibility on the equipment and less costly than sending the equipment back to the manufacturer for a transformer change.

 

Regards

Paul