First- All of the build pictures can be seen on my Frugal Amps Facebook page. I think this link may get you there: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=873226094507129&set=pcb.873241074505631
This is the second amp I have built using an AA Electronics board and documentation. Like the previous Dumble ODS build I did, this one represents a very complex amp with a lot of components and in need of special transformers. After looking over the schematic, you will see that the power transformer needs to provide several differnt voltage leads. I looked far and wide to find a transformer that could provide these voltages and decided to contact Nick at Ceriatone amps and bought the units he uses in his BE series of amps. Expensive to ship from the Phillipines to the US but made the build so much easier in the end. Then there was finding a chassis that had the front panel real estate to fit all the many pots and switches this amp uses. I think there are 16 pots on the front panel plus 4 mini switches. The only chassis I could source was a full size Marshall JCM800 then had to do a lot of modification to the front and rear panels to make all the control spots required. I got this from Weber. You can see all of this in the pictures on the facebook page.
There are a few instances on the board that require 2,3 or 4 leads to go to one spot. However, there is not a large enough hole through the PCB to accomidate this many wires. As an example, look at the junction of R24, C16 and C9. 3 leads are supposed to go into one hole. Nope. Another spot I found confusing was the juntion of C51 and C8. Looks like these two caps are made to meet end to end. The only way to do this was to elevate the junction in a small triangle shape standing clear of the board. There should be a better way to allow for all cap ends to be mounted on the PCB and not up in the air.
In the end, the amp works just fine. I used a Metropulos Powered loop in my build. I have used these several times before and they are rock solid and quiet. There are a lot of shielded wiring runs and many places one should take care to check and double check your work. Good luck with your build!! Its a beast.
