DIY Airbrake...

Express, Liverpool, Rocket, Dirty Little Monster, etc.

Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal

Post Reply
MasterDisaster
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:54 am
Location: Stockholm/Sweden

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by MasterDisaster »

I don’t think you have done anything wrong as maximum attenuation is about -20db with a 16 ohm speaker load. That would equal about 1W with an input of 100W. Speaker sensitivity is usually around 100db which means that 1W will be pretty loud. This statement is from DR Z homepage. (The Air Brake has a "bedroom" level control that, when selected, will allow for fine adjustment and maximum attenuation down to 1 watt (with amps less than 100 watts.)

Mike
User avatar
M Fowler
Posts: 14017
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:19 am
Location: Walcott ND

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by M Fowler »

Factory adjusted for 1.8 dB of attenuation each step and to change settings you loosen the sliders and move the first slider towards the out to speaker jack which increases the amount of attenuation in the number 2 position of the Attenuator control. This is the same for the other sliders.

Mark
t.olsen
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:38 am
Location: Southwest Germany

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by t.olsen »

M Fowler wrote:Factory adjusted for 1.8 dB of attenuation each step and to change settings you loosen the sliders and move the first slider towards the out to speaker jack which increases the amount of attenuation in the number 2 position of the Attenuator control. This is the same for the other sliders.

Mark
Position 0-4 is not my problem.I only want less volume at bedroom level.I will try to solder another resistor behind the rheostad.
Agu
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:20 pm

More Bedroom for my Air Brake

Post by Agu »

Hi, I've finished my Air Brake yesterday and sounds great for me. But the "bedroom" is stil too loud for my only 5 watt epiphone valve special (I used also DIY OD-308 Monte Allum pedal). If I push it more than 12 O'clock of Vol. , I think my neighbour will kill me :evil: Can I put just a 47 Ohm 50 watt resistor between tap resistor and rheostat? Any experience?
richon
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 7:20 pm

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by richon »

could i replace those resistors you all used with this resistores i found easyly here?

[img:400:250]http://www.allproducts.com/manufacture9 ... oduct2.jpg[/img]


the goal is to get the values by adding different resistor ('cause i can't regulate the value ) to a LORLIN switch


would this idea be VERY VERY Wrong?
Soy de Chile y tu?
oh7hhi
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 12:43 pm
Location: Finland

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by oh7hhi »

Hi!

I built an Airbrake clone without rheostat and it sounds pretty good. Only last two clicks starts to bring some "fizziness" to the sound.

Does anyone else have same problem?
I read somewhere that someone put a zobel filter to his Airbrake to tame fizziness. Has anyone tried a cut control ála Vox?
rmroza
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 5:58 pm

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by rmroza »

Hey Guys

Ok, after breaking one of the Ohmlite resistors last week and waiting on my new order to come in, I finalized the Airbrake with the "final" settings noted.

I played it thru my Trainwreck Express with my custom closed-back cabinet, Les Paul (72 Custom & 06 Premium Plus) with a Celestion G12H30-70th Anniverary at 16 Ohms).

It sounds AMAZING! It does EXACTLY as it's supposed to and basically keeps tone all the way down and thru bedroom-levels! I'm not sure why people want to adjust attenuation TTY the truth. Maybe they want "whisper-levels" lol Well, I did use 6V6's, soo maybe EL34's is the reason!

Anyway, besides doing what its supposed to, I didn't see any change to treble roll off (at least with the system I was testing it with) and the bass stayed woofy and tight all the way down again! VERY happy! :-) Thank you!

@richon - NO, don't use the gold colored heatsinked wirewounds!! I tried it and for you and let me tell you, after under 30 minutes, the CASE was soo hot, you did not want to touch it!! You don't want that heat transferred directly to the case. You want it to AIR and why the Hammond vented (top) case was chosen. The heat is thru air and out the top. I played for 2 hours at bedroom-levels and high attenuation and the "case" wasn't but maybe warm (90 degrees)?? Totally sustainable for long durations.

Robb
getonemaker
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:37 pm
Location: USA

Correct schematics

Post by getonemaker »

Hi All,

I guess I board the train late, but here is the correct schematic for the attenuator on page 1 EXCEPT - as was pointed out - the jumpers are not installed on the switch.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
wsaraceni
Posts: 504
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:18 pm

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by wsaraceni »

anyone know the part number for the 50 watt resistors. I want to save space and use it with 18 watt heads only. thinking of mounting it on the top of the chassis like the mini z and putting the 5 position on the rear panel. have one output jack for the attenuated side, and one for non-attenuated.

i think these are correct so far

D50K25RE
CK1455
L50J25RE

i just need the mounts and clips i suppose
harris51
Posts: 103
Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 5:18 am
Location: United States

subject

Post by harris51 »

where do i get the layout? thanks
wsaraceni
Posts: 504
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:18 pm

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by wsaraceni »

there really isn't a layout i don't think, but you can see pictures on the proguitar.eu website

essentially resistors on both sides, guts and wires in the middle.
wsaraceni
Posts: 504
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:18 pm

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by wsaraceni »

for all those who are complaining that the bedroom volume is still too low, here's what i did that i think would help you.

i have the komet air brake. it doesn't have the bedroom level. instead it has a line out. i use the air brake as a load. and feed the line out into another power amp. it's the best way to get a lower volume. if you can add a little reverb and eq between the new amp and the air brake, even better.
TheCowGod
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:16 am
Location: Knoxville, TN
Contact:

Re: FYI on switch

Post by TheCowGod »

danotron wrote:Found a nice switch to use....expensive but good...I was woried about how robust the cheap switch is so I went with this:

Mouser Part #: 633-HS16-2SN-RO
I built the AirBrake (without the rheostat) a few years ago, and was really happy with it, but after I took it on the road a few times, the plastic Lorlin switch broke when something got loaded on top of the airbrake. I replaced the switch, but the replacement broke the first time we played out. So the airbrake has been in a drawer for a year or so. But I came across the above post recently, and even though that switch is $25, I decided to give it a try.

It just arrived, and man -- it's very sturdy, but it's a lot bigger than it looked in the little picture on Mouser.

[img:800:598]http://binrock.net/permanent/2012/0625_airbrake/01.jpg[/img]

[img:800:598]http://binrock.net/permanent/2012/0625_airbrake/02.jpg[/img]

It's certainly not going to fit in the existing enclosure. Heading back to Mouser. But I AM much more optimistic about this one standing up to touring.

Anyway, just wanted to post about the switch in case anyone else is considering it.

Dan
User avatar
cbass
Posts: 4344
Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2011 6:17 pm
Location: Between Pomona & Bakersfield

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by cbass »

Just a dumb idea but
If i was more concerned about roadworthiness than looks.I would cut the shaft on the switch down then cut a slot across the shaft.Kinda like hum balance pots are.You would have to change settings with a screwdriver or a quarter.
DLR is a Captain beefheart wannabe
TheCowGod
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:16 am
Location: Knoxville, TN
Contact:

Re: DIY Airbrake...

Post by TheCowGod »

That's not a bad idea. I also considered protecting the knob with the same sorts of drawer pulls that they use a lot for tube-based pedals, like this:

http://www.synthtopia.com/images/Tube-Vibe.jpg

But I was also wanting to get away from the Lorlin switch because its datasheet says it's only rated for 150mA, and 50w + loads are surely more than that. Mine has been fine so far, and I see that many others have built AirBrakes with the same switch and are apparently having no problem, but I'd rather use a switch that's rated for the current I'm driving through it.

As a followup to my previous post, I considered a larger enclosure but didn't really want the increased size, so I went switch shopping again and found part number 690-C4D0206N-A. It's not much cheaper -- about $19 -- but it's significantly smaller, and still metal-bodied and rated to make or break 500 mA, and to carry 15 A. So I ordered that one, and it seems perfect:

[img:800:598]http://binrock.net/permanent/2012/0625_airbrake/03.jpg[/img]

[img:800:598]http://binrock.net/permanent/2012/0625_airbrake/04.jpg[/img]

So for future builders, I highly recommend the 690-C4D0206N-A switch. $19 is obviously a good bit more expensive than $4.50, but I think it's a small enough price to pay for a durable switch that's not going to explode into a shower of small plastic parts when subjected to mild pressure, like two of my Lorlin switches did.

Dan[/url]
Post Reply