I think we all have trouble hanging on to green at a good hamfest. I'm afraid I parted with some of mine, but I'm content with what it brought in. A National NC-98, a Sentinel 269T multiband, and a Heathkit HO-10 monitor scope. All are overhauled and working well now.

Those three chores led to the ones I'm tied up with now. A good running start toward clearing out my wait-for-service line....

There's never any end to it, guys .

But I guess that's our investment in the fun we get from all this stuff, and anyway, gardens don't grow without rain...

Still wish you'd been there. It would have been a great place to meet.



Larry

4000 posts. A long time in making, a lot of water under the bridge, a lot of things done and not done, and God knows how much left to do...

And how much time left to do it. Time to pause and reflect a bit, and then keep on keepin' on...

Best regards to one and all!

Larry

Well, this is it, guys. All my pictures in this thread are gone and obviously won't be back. They all turned up missing, and when I edited the first post to change the title and tried to preview the change, I got a red note saying it was impossible to determine the size of the image. So that's why they're gone, apparently.

I settled on a standardized image size long ago, less than the new standardized size of 800 x 600 pixels, and certainly less than the new maximum file size rating. Apparently, however, that doesn't make any difference, and without the illustrations, this thread is no longer of any help to anyone.

Its whole purpose was to offer encouragement and ideas in homebrewing major projects, and later on, during testing, I didn't mind doing a few vinyl reviews for the guys who are into vinyl first and serious music second. I was planning to come back to it when it came time to swing the mixer chassis on the bench for another round of upgrades.

That's pointless now, however, without the background already in place, and I simply do not have time to go back and repair all the missing illustrations.

But it was good while it lasted, and if anyone did get good or better ideas about building, layout, and construction technique in general from this thread, then it served its purpose.

As an aside, I will note that certain people took a few cheap shots at this project elsewhere, calling it "self-serving" (how??) and a "vanity amp." I'll note at this time that posting the record of BB's rebuild didn't gain me a thing other than the sense that others might be inspired or otherwise helped by it. All I gained from the project was a rebuild that I had earned, thank-you-very-kindly.

And "vanity amp?" Like Babe Ruth said, if you can do it, it ain't bragging.

And it's not vanity, either, because vanity is an empty sack.

Many thanks once again to the fellows who encouraged and helped me along with this project, and my best wishes to all who engage on such projects of their own.



Larry

BigBandsMan wrote:

This saddens me greatly Larry! I haven't followed this thread since the beginning, but I have been following it quite intently for quite some time now. It has given me many ideas and while at one point I said I didn't have time, your encouragement got me on the path of gathering up the pieces and parts to start something of my own. I had been returning to this thread quite a bit, thinking, and reflecting upon what ideas would be beneficial to my project as I prepare to start it. Now that it is in it's current state without the images, I guess I will have to imagine some of this and hope I get it right from the written descriptions. I guess all good things come to an end, but I would have preferred this thread to have not ended just quite yet..... Thanks for sharing all of this Larry! I am sure it has inspired others as well.

Bill

Bill, you just made it all worth the effort, even if no one else ever does. May God bless you .

PM coming, best wishes on your own work and 73's,

Larry
(working to become W4KVM if call is available)

Larry, this was a great thread -- I learned a lot from it and really would like to roll my own amplifier someday. Based on what I've learned from your thread I would go with 7027As or 6L6GCs. I would need stereo so all in all it would amount to a lot of iron and that's what's holding me back, but your thread has really inspired me to at least think about it.

Best of luck with BB and your future projects.

-David

Thank you, David . I had hoped to invoke just the sort of inspiration you've gained, and it means a lot to me that you got it. All you have to do is want it enough, and then push hard enough, and the gate will swing open. And I'd like to see the results.

Thank you once again and all good fortune with all your projects.

Kindest regards, Larry

I wonder if the moderators have the pictures....or are they in the gallery yet?
I would think that someone might be able to help you. I am not sure how you orignally had them set up. The gallery or photobucket.

I think you got a lot of good responses to this post.....alot more good than bad.

I am not sure what anyone would mean by self serving. You're not beating anyone over the head with this project. You're just enjoying what you're doing and sharing with us and giving some ideas.

I like your amplifier alot and also is really cool that you have built in test equipment too.
Also a good example of building something with sensible components and design.

Many thanks, Mark. BB was always a worthwhile project, for it was the proving ground for most of what I've been able to learn about tube electronics. As for the thread, I certainly enjoyed assembling it, and I am grateful that it gave ideas to others.

Unless the Gallery has been purged, all the illustrations are still there. The problem seems to be the function codes that called them up to their proper places in the thread. Those codes no longer work.

As for "self-serving," the cheap-shot artists themselves would have to explain that. It took a lot of work to assemble this thread, and I had absolutely nothing tangible to gain by it. It didn't make me a cent, naturally enough. Nobody came knocking and asking to buy (as if I would sell, anyway, which I won't). And it didn't earn me the status of a guru, which is the last thing I want anyway.

I continue to be grateful for all the good responses, and I'll always be glad if it helped broaden the horizons of others and give them ideas about large-scale homebrewing. Homebrewing on any scale is too near being a lost art, and this was my one major contribution to keeping it alive and flourishing.

Many thanks again and kindest regards , Larry

I'm taking my leave after today, guys. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but I've reached my stop and I have to get off. If anyone needs or wants to contact me, shoot a PM or an Email.

All thanks once again to the good friends here who helped make it a fun ride while it lasted. Good fortune and happy hobbying to you all .

Larry

+1

Hi guys, I should be able to come back soon, now that I am finally getting a MAJOR project out of the way (can't say anything about it just yet ).

I still won't have time to repair this thread and replace all the lost pix, but I would like to thank all those who gave this thread nearly ten thousand views since I was last here (June 2011). Apparently it was useful to someone, even without the pix, and I am grateful for this. Again, I thank you, and look forward to being back on the board.

Best regards to one and all , Larry

Welcome back, Larry!!

Larry, looking forward to hearing from you again.

-David

Wow! This is the best news in a long time. Welcome back, Larry. Looking forward to reading your posts!

All thanks, fellows . It'll be good to get back in action again. I'll need a little time to get my bearings, but it shouldn't take long....

Larry

Welcome back Larry, wish I had a magic wand to make those pics come back... that was really sad. I use Photobucket for all my pics, costs me like $30 a year but I feel it's worth it to have my own place.

johnS. wrote:
+1

Good to see you back Larry!

Bill

Hi Lou, thank you for the kind words. I still have all the pix on my commo computer, and if I ever can find time to restore the thread, I think I will indeed go the Photobucket way, assuming the pix are safe there. Can they be purged, lost etc. as long as you pay the rent?

Larry