Skip to main content

Building Compact F5 Amplifier (Part 3) PCB & Heatsink Mounting

Every end of the year, I don't know why I am always make a new amplifier. Maybe the hot season already left behind and the chill wind blowing in the morning refreshing my mind. I have more energy to build something like this one, the compact F5 amplifier.

Right now I am using the PCB for the very first time since 12 years ago. This F5 amplifier is pretty simple and point-to-point is not difficult to make. But I already had this PCB on hand, not using it will be a waste. The PCB quality are very good, although I found some mark on the fet is wrong but overall this is the best PCB I can get from my local forum member.

I also check the best possible placement for the final transistor.

I guess this is the final layout.

Then I will put the final Transistor attach to the heat sink. Surface of the heatsink need to be clean before installing the fet on it. By doing this will improve the heat transfer.

I still have a CPU thermal paste from my previous PC project. This thermal paste is better than my any standard thermal paste. It is from Deep Cool Z5. The specification on the datasheet claims that it has more material that transfer heat quickly.

Before apply this paste, the fet pins need to be adjusted.

Using the short cable to extend the leg and attach them to the PBC is not the best idea, but this is the best solution for non universal heat sink like this case.

Still nice isn't it?

Remember to use mica spacer to avoid short circuit between body of the fet and the heat sink grounding.

One cable is attach just like the pig tail. It is for easy ground connection in the process.

The input cable is from Canare. It is a shielded cable to avoid signal noise.

It attach the cable directly on the back of the PCB. The hole is not large enough to fit this cable.


Little amount of thermal paste is enough. In this picture, I add to much.

Attaching the fet to the heat sink and secure it with a bolt.

At the side, you will notice I am using a big washer just like Mr. Nelson did. The thermistor is located near the fet and touch the heat sink.

The final result would be like this. All I have to do now is connecting the power and speaker out cable.

I am stop this project at the moment. I still need few components such as one piece of 2SJ74 which already hard to find here.

The final part can be found here

Disclaimer: Any statement and photos in this article are not allowed to copy or publish without written permission from the writer. Any injury or loss from following tips in this article is not under writer responsibility.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

OPA1622 Vs. OPA627 High Performance Op-amps Comparison

This op-amps comparison topic is actually boring, but at the same time, many of us still curious about what others think about it. The reason is simply because of the op-amps variation are hundreds and they are depends by the implementation. The op-amps are considerably cheap and an interchangeable electronic components but they are not built for the same function. So in this discussion, I will focus on the modern Vs. vintage high performance op-amps in the simple non-inverting pre-amplifier gain stage.

Vintage Multibit R2R DAC Tier List

At the very beginning of this year, I committed to explore the best multi-bit R2R DAC. This is simply because I have plenty of the resources (from broken old unit CD player of course) and ability to build them up. If you think this kind a recycle from old un-used unit to become something useful, than I should stated myself giving contribute for greener world:) After all DAC that I built in this year, I think it is better for me to list them up again in one single page like this. Then I will rank them up in a simple tier list. The reason for this, so you all know what my opinion about of those vintage multibit R2R DAC especially in the sound quality.

TDA1543 DAC Review In 2021

It is a fine day and as usual I am reading and searching online contents related to almost anything I like. During my search, I stop to the few online forum discuss about a simple DAC using TDA1543 DAC IC. The discussion about this DAC was about 3 years ago, and the latest was about a year ago. Quite new and overall discussion about this DAC sound quality mostly are positive. It is interesting topic anyway especially I was built this TDA1543 DAC long time ago in 2016. At that time, I combine this DAC with Tripath amplifier  here  and  here  before it sold in 2019. That is also my first DIY DAC and I am quite enjoyed this DAC so much, at that time. The background story about this, previously I was using Sony Playstation SCPH-1002 as my reference CD Player. The reason I moved to this TDA1543 DAC is because the CD optic inside the Playstation is wear out and I cannot find the replacement for it. I pretty remember the sound quality of this TDA1543 DAC is quite comparable...