Phase Linear Phan Introduction ... a few years overdue

e30m3mon

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#1
Hello all ... I guess my intro posting is a bit overdue, 8 years to the date when I created my account here. Better late than never, I guess!
Back then I had convinced myself that I was going to finally repair the PL 400-II that I had bought new in '80 or '81; playing "DJ" at a loud party claimed one of the channels several years later, so I shelved the unit for a bunch of years while I raised a family, etc ... life. But life got even more complicated until I recently retired.

Soooo back into the plan of rebuilding this old timer from where I left off. Things have changed and now I have the WOPL PL14_20 kit, as well as the WOPL PS Caps.

Started reading through the reams of posts ... hints, etc. and am a bit intimidated, yet happy to be in the midst of this vast pool of knowledge. Please be patient if I ask dumb questions! I had been a mainframe technician at a big 3-letter computer company back in the late 70's, gotten into coding for many years, then system architecture, and then management at the end of the career. Quite a few decades of roller-coaster rides, I am looking forward to discrete components and the smell of solder again (I know, don't inhale!)

I also have the original PL 2000-II (recapped) that was bought with the 400-II, recently acquired and re-capped a PL 1000-II, also recently rebuilt the Dynaco ST-120 and PAT-4 (yes, bought those new too back in the 70's). I've got a rack of miscellaneous old equipment, couple turntables, a couple Carver Receivers, a Teac 2300S, Nakamichi casette decks, a dbx and Audio Control boxes too. A/D/S and Ortofon speakers. Yeah...I hoard old audio stuff !

I teach High Performance driving on race tracks in the Northeast (mostly - due to travel constraints) and teach evenings at adult ed for HVAC as well as electrical circuits for HVAC technicians at a local vocational school.
Al
 

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e30m3mon

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#7
Thanks for the welcome, guys.
Teflon tape, no - just a white adhesive tape around the output capacitor inductor coils for the ST-120...without the tape, the wire would unravel.
So glad you asked about the user name. I had wrestled for something unique/unused on the various forums I participate, and this came to mind while I was sipping something alcoholic in St John's about 20 years ago ... at a bar called "The Quiet Mon". So I stole "Mon" for "Man"

The E30 was one of BMW's most successful chassis designations (back they they had E21, E28, E36, E34, etc.) for each model family; from there the engine displacement made up the second two places of the car's name ("325" was an E30 3-series with 6-cyl 2.5l engine, for example), but the Motorsport version of the E30 - "3" series was the "M3" ... a beastly little 190HP 4-cylinder engine called the S14 (all BMW Motorsport engines are named "S" for "Sport"), "14" as it was designed in 14 days. ... So the E30 chassis M3 was one of BMW's most winning cars - ever - and is highly sought after today, since only 15000 were ever built. I happen to have one, and my track car is the lesser E30, once a 325i, but now has a monstrous S52 engine, bored/stroked to 3.3litres. Crazy nomenclature, but trust me, driving at speed, on track is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

In this pic, the E30 M3 is on the floor and the E30 332 is on the lift of my garage.
Hope this helps :)
Al
 

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e30m3mon

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#12
You guys kill me! Many thanks for the warm welcomes!

@Billboard - yes, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Mosport, Calabogie, Mont Tremblant, Monticello Motor Club, VIR...I'll think of others that I haven't been to for a while.

I'm studying the WOPL posts for pointers and related wisdom. Hoping to start building the board ... I bought it off ebay about a year ago and it's been haunting me since.
 

e30m3mon

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#17
Grazie, Marco!

@Lee -
I had that feeling Joe was the goto guy for WOPL upgrades.... his ebay store is where I had bought the kit last year. My only regret is that I hadn't seen it 8+ years ago when I started down this slippery slope of repairing the PL400-II. I'm very impressed with his PL14 20 board kit - even went out to get a spool of the suggested Kester solder and a new Weller WESD51 soldering station. I figure a high quality design requires an equally prepared bench.

I'm wrapping up a new heat pump installation at the house, but the unrelenting rounds of winter storms here in the Northeast have really hampered my progress on getting the outdoor unit connected. But once that is done, I will be able to focus on the rebuild. Stay tuned and thanks again for welcoming me.
Al
 
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