basic DIY hook up / chassis questions

After building a few bottlehead and single board projects, I have grown increasingly comfortable with the simple soldering aspect of DIY audio. Hook up and case work are another matter...

I have been sitting on a partially constructed wire se-se build for a year or two now for want of a super simple enclosure solution and finally ordered up this clamshell ebay chassis (http://www.ebay.com/itm/aluminum-ch...535146?hash=item1c614d392a:g:Z2UAAOSw9N1VzVhC ), a week or so ago. While waiting on transit from China, I am hoping to get my arms around the remaining steps necessary to get the boards hooked up and running safely.

As an initial matter, I have an amveco torroid ready to drop in, but it did not come with mounting hardware. For those of you who are frequent amp builders, where do you get your mounting kits (as depicted below)?



It occurs to me that I could simply drill the chassis/screw down a couple of zip tie mounts, and then run zip ties through the center of the torroid, but I'd rather mount it according to the standard practices. Are these simply parts I should be looking for at the hardware store?

Another question: when I look at photos of many well done diy builds, I see that the leads in the psu circuit (e.g. connecting to the pins on the iec inlet) are covered in some sort of platic/rubber insulator that doesn't simply look like heat shrink applied after the fact. What is it that you guys are using for this purpose?

Question 3: any thoughts/feelings/input on switched vs. non-switched TRS jacks? Does it matter for headphone amps, and why is it so damn hard to find a TRS panel mount with gold contacts, given that headphone TRS plugs are almost always gold plated... I should note that the front panel I'm working with is predrilled, so the oversized square neutrik locking jacks are out.

Thanks in advance for any answers or other input you guys may have for me. When I get down to it, I plan to create a photo walk through of excatly how to hook up a wire se-se since this is something that is sadly missing over on diyaudio.

 

Hmmm, I've never bought a 'donut' toroidal that didn't come with the mounting hardware. A quick check with mouser didn't reveal a listing for just the mounting. It'd be worth a more thorough check at mouser / digikey. If all else fails, send me the size of your torroid and I'll find a set that's close in size; I have a few drawers of such kit.

I use push connectors for IEC Inlet connection. For most case designs, it's important that you be able to disconnect these for easy case access. These are the standard, plastic covered crimp connectors.

If you have a drill, you could certain 'up size' it for a 'D' size connector if you want. Doing so with a predrilled hole is a pain in the arse; but you can get there with multiple passes, each pass is with a bit just slightly larger than the hole size. Unless you're dealing with hardened aluminum (which I've only seen a couple of times in DIY cases), it's not that tough. But back to your question. Unless there's a specific design reason to use switched (when headphones are used, you want to switch away from say, speaker taps - not applicable here) I use non-switched. Note a big deal either way (switched doesn't add a lot of mechanical complexity, not likely to fail more), but with switched you just need to take a bit more care to wire it up properly. When I started out, I had a dyslexic thing going with switched TRS jacks; I kept wiring them up such that it switched out of circuit when I plugged it in.

When I started in with DIY, I hated casing. Hate. It was an unfortunate necessity. My early work reflected that distain; they worked, but U. G. U. L. Y. When I started approaching the case work with the care I did the circuits, it began to be enjoyable. I wouldn't call myself a 'case master', but the finish / quality of my work has improved, and my enjoyment has improved as I invested more care. Casing still doesn't hold the joy that the circuit does, but it's at least enjoyable now.

Take your time. Tape cover the plates your drilling on to avoid the small micro (and not so micro) scratches that will come when a bit slips, etc. Aluminum is great to work with, but it's easy to scratch.

Have fun! Shoot me dimensions and I'll try to hunt down the hardware you need if you can't find it. Amveco's are the tiny one's, right?

 

Thanks so much for the advice, guidance and encouragement MisterRogers! I have unfortunately been out of action for several days with a really nasty flu/cold, which I also managed to pass on to both our children, so no diy or other fun for me in the last little while. But I am looking forward to getting back at my build as soon as life evens out a little.

I really appreciate your thoughtful explanations re general case work and when it is beneficial to use switched trs jacks (makes perfect sense!). The offer of help re transformer mounting is also super gracious and I'll check on size. Now you have me wondering if I might have just missed hardware that actually was bundled in by digikey though lol.

In any event, thanks agaian, and when next you hit socal, beers are on me.