Jimmy’s Junkyard

Saturday, 4th February 2012.

Picking the Right Soldering Iron

Posted on Tuesday, 20th December 2011 by Auw Jimmy

Finding a good soldering iron is not an easy job. But once you find it, it will simplify the rest of your life – I mean, the rest of your soldering life

One of my preference brand is Goot from Taiyo Electric, Japan. Although there are several affordable and also durable brand, but I think I’m quite OK with this Goot soldering iron (but remember, this is not the only brand in the world and the important is the man behind the gun, I mean, the solder).

I’m quite happy with CS-30 series which I bought maybe more than 7 years ago. It’s very durable. The main reason for me to change is the screw to remove the tip has broken (so I can’t change the broken tip). The new replacement is CS-31 which carries similar spec (25W version).

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Tags: Goot, Melting Temperature, solder, Soldering Iron, WBT
Posted in Collectible Stuff, DIY Audio, Measurement | Comments (6)

Removing the Old Tube Socket

Posted on Sunday, 13th November 2011 by Auw Jimmy

During the upgrading process, the old Ceramic tube socket also got new replacement to the Teflon one. The problem is, the process to remove the old tube socket will not be an easy job, as removing other parts. Why? Because as other part usually only has 2 leads, the tube socket got 9 points to be removed.

Actually if you really want to re-use the old socket, you have to use hot air solder to remove the perfectly. But I don’t really have the need to re-use the old socket. So I cut them directly.

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Tags: Aikido, preamp, solder, Teflon, Tube Socket, WBT
Posted in DIY Audio | Comments (4)

Passive Preamp with DACT Stepped Attenuator

Posted on Sunday, 21st June 2009 by Auw Jimmy

I plan to separate my system volume control with dedicated passive preamp. Before, I planned to take one attenuator from Goldpoint but due to some reason, I changed my mind and took one from DACT.

A stepped attenuator has advantage over typical potentiometer, especially for sound quality and attenuation precision. But do mind that most attenuator is expensive.