What happened to the zvex post on the main page?

[Ravenswerld]

[rocket88]

i deleted it for the time being. the admins are discussing if it's ok to have some mini tube amps due to some concerns, mostly due to the high voltages you'd deal with building it. the biggest concern is someone inexperienced could seriously get hurt or die in process. there is a difference between building a pedal and an tube amp, even one of these subminis. I mean it for this amp the power transformer puts out 230V.

if we decide to do so, i've got a schematics for other submini tub amps that will eventually be posted.

[Ravenswerld]

    Yes, I understand the concern. I think it would open up a lot here. Also, if there's disclaimer it shouldn't be tagboards responsibility. I've built a tube amp and in the process got JOLTED. I talked to others who have built them and they said that it is inevitable to get a shock here and there. Lol...anyways, it would be fun to have all this info readily available to those who want to build tube stuff...thnx guys!!!

[Neil mcNasty]

rocket88 has a very good point here regarding high voltages!
I say: Leave them out and stick to lower DC voltages.
If you want to build Tube Amps and work with high voltages, there are loads of websites and forums that cover this subject already, with way higher skills and knowledge than what you find here (generally speaking)

Here's my point:
Often we see questions from first time builders that can be a bit scary or lacking any understanding of what they embark upon.
But that's OK when building a pedal, and "no questions are stupid questions", is the main attitude on this site. And this is what makes this site great!
We always guide them and share our knowledge in a friendly and supporting way, like we were guided and supported when we started out on this site/building pedals.
This is perfectly safe when dealing with 9V DC, because we know that nothing serious/dangerous can happen to the person/builder.

Now apply this kind of situation to a high voltage build and consider that:
You might not want to be the guy who made a layout that contains serious and dangerous errors.
You might not want to be the person who was trying to help someone, and later discover that the project killed him, because he did not understand what he was doing.
And: You might not want to be the one who wonders if your were the one, contributing to this person now being dead! An question you would be stuck with the rest of your life!

I say: Let's stick to the low voltage stuff...
After all: This is a stompbox site...

[Marbles]

As much as I admire the work in the posted layout, I think I agree with Neil.

I do want to build one eventually. But there are so many people (including me) diving headfirst into layouts that are way over my head understanding what I'm doing.. We tend to get a bit overconfident haha.

Yes, you should always be careful, but many times I have misplaced a crucial part. How many warnings you're going to give, people will ignore them :D
People can get hurt somewhere else if not here, sure. But if soething would happen through here..

Are you responsible then? No, definitely not. You have warned them (and the layouts are posted 100% verified I assume).


I think the question should be: Would you FEEL responsible?

[rocket88]

While this isn't really a community discussion I'll just say this. Yes the main concern is safety, especially when it comes to new builders, but many of us in the community are rather experienced so is it right to limit everyone because of new builders? Personally, I don't think so, especially when there is a large number of experienced people here that have expressed a desire to build an amp, and tbh going from a pedal to a full power amp is a very large jump. Having small low wattage amps that have less complexity, but require the same skills and components, which would act as a foundation for building a larger more complex amp.

As far are remaining only low voltage stompboxes, if you look at the sites like FSB and DIYSB they have also, for a long time mind, have submini amp schematics and builds. I don't think that pigeonholing the site only to typical pedals is right, just like how we've integrated PCBs designed by community members, and SMD hybrid layouts.

As far as feeling responsible, I don't think so if there are warnings and safety is stressed. Just because something is available doesn't me one must do it, it's a choice. Do we feel responsible for someone's failure when building a pedal that doesn't work, no especially when it's suggest they not build it. For instance if you see a car running and you get inside and drive away, is it the owners fault you stole it because it was running? No. Should the owner feel responsible, I don't think so. Granted it's a completely different scenario, but the concept of responsibility is similar, to me at least. In all honesty if people ignore warnings and something happens, in reality it's their own fault.

Again, there are many things to consider here. Obviously I am in the category of yes, there are other admins of the same thought, while others are not.

[Marbles]

Oh I understand. Don't get me wrong, I did not mean to imply that you guys would be responsible in any way whatsoever.
Like you said: If people are looking for it, they can find it somewhere else. People will always find a way to hurt themselves, you can't stop them.
But yeah, it is a large step. I can understand both sides. I would stay away from building them, and am smart enough not to take it on.

Though having it in a different section might make it less tempting to take on, cause you will actually have to choose to go there. Gives more room for a clearer warning/not reliable etc notification too.

But you guys are the admins and decide for a reason. I understand both sides (oh how correct) ;)

[Neil mcNasty]

I can also agree with all the points brought forward, both for and against.

I just wanted to mention some of the issues that are involved and are beyond our control, even though we perfectly know we are not responsible for any actions besides our own.
I know I would go trough hell wondering if any of my tips contributed to a tragedy.

I trust the Administrators will make a good decision, no mater what the final decision will be.
A dedicated "DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE!" section with only verified layouts could be a solution...

[rocket88]

No worries. Remember we've toyed with this for awhile, and there is an amp folder in the contributions section with warning and danger sign. More likely then not they willl be placed there rather than the main page. Again, there's lots of things at play that are being discussed, so we'll see what happens.

[nocentelli]

Neil mcNasty wrote

I trust the Administrators will make a good decision, no mater what the final decision will be.
A dedicated "DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE!" section with only verified layouts could be a solution...

[zombie_rock123]

I randomly decided this morning I wanted to put some transformers to use and gut a shitty SS Marshall Ive had for years, remembered Rick Holts stuff over at Diystompboxes but because of something happening with.. photobucket? .. all the schems are gone from what I could see.

I understand the reasoning behind the no high voltage stuff completely but does anyone have backups of the murder one/promiscuous girlfriend perf layouts and schematics or know of anywhere theyre posted?