England Part One

This debrief will be extremely stream of conscience so here we go.  

Monday: Go to AEA get parts for doing SMT re-flow. come home, pack head to airport forget coat go back home get coat head back to airport.  Get through security with no issues. for some reason getting my ticket was not working at first but then someone helped and was just fine.  Get on plane.  trade seats with someone so that the group of friends can sit together.  sit between to other guys one is going back to boston for school was in japan.  while in flight someone gets sick flight attendants asked if their is a doctor aboard.  

Tuesday: Land in boston paramedics are waiting take person that was sick of plane. I get off find my next gate, find a power outlet charge phone text mom and katy that I have made it to boston.  Go get a sandwich and a tea, feel sick go buy aspine feel better get on next flight to london. plane is half full its nice I have a window seat and no one next to me.  sleep most of the flight. get to Heathrow get through customs bag is lying on the ground waiting.  Phone does not work wait for Colin to come and pick me up. Get to Colin’s, hang out for a bit, take a walk with Colin and the dog. Go to bed.

Wednesday:  Get up around 10:45am local time go down to the shop get introduced to Daniel and Buzz.  Look at the schematic for Colin’s mic pre.  Fix Terry Finn’s two RPQ 500s.  Go with Daniel to get tile for mounting the stencil to for solder paste. Glue the tile with scrap PCBs so that the motherboard fits in perfectly and won’t move around.

Thursday: Wake up super early.  Stay in bed leaning how to use KiCAD CAD package better.  Order PCBs for a DI design that I have been working on form iStore/Open PCB. Spend most of the day working on preparing for pick and place. Lean about how to squidgy on the solder paste. Pick and place components cant believe that I forgot to bring the decoupling caps.  Bake board. needs two runs though the oven to fully solder. I think that I should have cleaned off the board first with some flux.  Board comes out great.

Friday:  Wake up late, go with Colin to a friends studio to play with the mic pre and see if there is any noticeable issues with the switching power supplies.  No noticeable issues sounds very similar to the Sadie mic pres. Have a great pub lunch. Go back to Colin’s fix two more RPQ 500s. Go to dinner.

Saturday: Pack up and head out to the Blyths.  

RPQ 500

Shipping TODAY!!!

New Bench Shots and Other Stuffs

AEA RPQ 500 Series Ribbon Mic Preamp - AES 2011

Learning how to do PCB layouts

DIoder

Solid State Reamp

AEA RPQ 500

RPQ500 

High Performance Preamp

Clean gain with Curveshaping for API 500 series racks.

• 80 dB of quiet JFET gain • High-impedance No LoadTM inputs • CurveShaperTM EQ for extended highs and articulate lows • Line-level input mode for using the EQ during mixdown • Output level control • VPR alliance application pending

Originally designed to deliver the truest and most natural gain for impedance and noise sensitive ribbon microphones, the full-rack AEA RPQ preamp has proven itself to be the perfect match for any microphone, ribbon or not. The new RPQ500 module is based on this successful design and provides the same ultra-clean, high- gain signal path that has earned AEA preamps their great reputation, in a 500 series package. The RPQ500 has been enhanced with additional features, turning it into a workhorse tool for your API 500 compatible rack.

The RPQ500 delivers the bandwidth and quietness needed for high resolution recording. JFET circuit topology delivers all the dynamics, subwoofer bass, and fast transients that your microphones can record. No LoadTM input impedance above 10,000 Ω means the RPQ500 will not load down a mic and change its sound. Low Energy StorageTMcircuit design instantly recovers from overloads for superior dynamic performance.

The CurveShaperTM offers a natural option for sculpting your sound right at the start of the signal path. Switchable and tunable low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) contour controls allow you to tame proximity problems and provide HF extension and slope control. The high-frequency CurveShaperTM excels at adding a touch of air or presence, and the low-frequency control can remove boxiness and boominess in a fast and unobtrusive way. The bottom line is a versatile channel strip that will deliver an unadulterated performance in any application.

The Line/Mic switch bypasses the microphone gain stage and allows the EQ to be used for tracking with other preamps or during mixdown. Add the output level control and the RPQ500 becomes a high-quality processing tool that can be used for mixing and mastering when combined with summing racks and mixers such as the Purple Audio Moiyn or the Roll Music Folcrom.

The original RPQ with CurveShaperTM was designed to fully capture every nuance of ribbon microphones: vintage or modern, passive or phantom powered. Engineers have discovered that the RPQ also complements their moving coil, tube and solid-state mics. By virtue of its sonic qualities and versatility, the AEA RPQ500 is the tool of choice for all microphones whenever a true and pristine signal path is needed. It will allow the best performance of all your microphones with a cleaner, more open, and more responsive sound than you’ve ever heard.

Manufactured by Audio Engineering Associates:

1029 N. Allen Ave. Pasadena, California 91104, USA 

Tel: +626-798-9128 Fax: +626-798-2378 www.ribbonmics.com

I helped hand build the first five prototypes! I saw this project form cradle to grave I am so ecstatic. 

Apple Visionary Steve Jobs Dies At 56

by LAURA SYDELL

Steve Jobs — the man who brought us the iPhone, the iPod and the iMac — has died. The co-founder of Apple was 56 years old. Jobs had been battling pancreatic cancer for years.

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Ghost Town Jenny

I built the site for Ghost Town Jenny check it out here.