I just completed a Dlator and I thought I’d share some pics along with a quick description.
First, I want to thank Funk for posting pics of both his own Dlator and a real one (yours too?) I also purchased a transformer from him which was most excellent. Small enough to fit on the back of the rack just like the originals.
Although I used Funk’s eyelet layout with minor alterations including eyelets being connected on the underside of the pwr board. I tried hard to get as close as possible to the original Dlator so I skipped the ground bus and instead sanded all corners to create a universal ground that way. I also added an 8-lug terminal strip above the power supply board so I didn’t have to elongate the pre-existing tranny leads. It was built using an 8” deep Hammond rack chassis, the PTFE coax is from Apex Elec and the 12AX7 is a balanced triode from EH. Labeling the enclosure was a breeze with my trusty DYMO labeler!
It was a fun project. What took so dang long for me was preparing all that coax, wheeww!!! At least I didn't have to worry about melting the insulation that runs between the shield and center conductor because it's teflon.
In regards to the "original" Dlator schem, what specifically does the altered values do besides increase headroom and recovery gain? I mean, didn't the Dlator based on the initial schem run of a 12AX7 as well, yet we hear complaints of clipping issues?
Great Job! I bet it's quiet. Looking at your schematic I have 2 questions - 1. 1k3 ohm Carhode resistor on return? Is that a typo or do you have that value laying around? 2. Did you really interrupt the signal at both the send and return jacks or just the return. If both why? The send can be an excellent line out while still passing signal to the return.