I still need to set it up properly, but in typical inpatient Jason fashion, I did make a test cut.

Trying to look perverted:

Hot stuff, right!?:

Smooth as a baby’s behind:

Anyway, since I don’t want you to leave with that as your last memory, here are a couple pictures of Alissa doing her Charlie’s Angels poses:

And finally, I should mention that we went to the twins’ one-month doctor appointment today. Ashley is now 7 lbs and 19.25″. Amanda is 5lbs 11oz and 18.25″. Both are apparently healthy and doing a good job putting on weight. Here they are waiting for their exam:

Here’s the power supply board in progress:

And here it is complete:

Here are the three amplifier boards in progress:

More to come… there’s still a lot to do!

Edit: The boards are done… now comes the difficult task of connecting them all up together and running tests to make sure everything works as it should.

In the meantime, here’s the obligatory Ashley and Amanda pic:

Edit 3/8/2009:
Just about done with the amp. I still have to wire in the headphone jacks when I get them, but it works with the speaker jacks already.
Here’s the full amp in all it’s cookie tin goodness:

The front panel:

The back right:

The guts:

Edit 3/17/2009:
I was getting some transformer hum problems despite my best efforts to keep the signal wires on the opposite end of the enclosure, so I ended up moving the toroid into it’s own enclosure while keeping all the wiring, IEC, and on/off switch in the original tin.

As luck would have it, I had a round cookie tin lying around so I put it to good use! As such, I present to you the cookie tin/beta 22 hybrid:

I just need to trim and mount everything to that board (scrap piece of shelf from IKEA) and then it should be completely finished.

Here’s the amp:

Here’s the DAC:

So now, I can get the digital optical signal out of my Mac Pro, convert it to an analog signal, and amplify it with a nice portable but powerful amp. Woohoo! I’m liking this DIY electronics stuff quite a bit at the moment. It’s not quite as brute force a project as the bike building, but it’s not nearly as messy either. One more project to go… details to come.

It’s new territory because it’s an electronic device which is not intuitive to me at all compared to the mechanical things I’m used to tackling. Anyway, without further ado, here it is:

What is it? It’s a headphone amplifier. Stuffed into an Altoids tin. Much like big speakers need amplification to sound their best, headphones also can sound better with stand alone amplification. It’s based on a simple inexpensive home brew design originally dreamed up by Chu Moy (which is why these are called CMoy amps.). Since the original incarnation, many folks have tweaked it to suit their needs. Some have built and sold them on ebay. Others have started small businesses providing parts and advice.

One of those businesses is JDS Labs. They provide the assembly guide, bill of materials, and the printed circuit board to guide you through the process. John, the man behind JDS was super responsive and really helpful in answering my questions and getting me parts quickly.

After reading the instructions multiple times and picking up some ancillary supplies, it took me about three hours to put the whole thing together. And to my surprise, it worked without having to do any trouble shooting! I probably could have taken my time a bit more on getting the holes in the tin more exact, but it’s not bad.

As for performance, it definitely improves the sound quality of my ipod and even the signal coming out of my Mac Pro. Everything is more detailed and “live” sounding. I will say that different combinations of songs, headphones, and sources provide different levels of improvement. The bass boost is thankfully not boomy or obnoxious at all. As a matter of fact, with the cheapo headphones I’m using now, I’d probably just leave the bass boost on all the time. I might feel differently after my new cans arrive next week though.

Since this is my first headphone amp, I don’t really have anything to compare it to. But as far as DIY projects go, this one was fun, rewarding, and not that expensive. And actually, since the parts were relatively cheap and I figured I would break something along the way, I ended up buying enough parts to make three. So I guess I have to start eating some Altoids!

EDIT: 1/25/09
I ended up finishing the other two amps. One is simpler in that I eliminated the bass boost knob. Here’s a pic before putting it in the peppermint altoids tin.

The other retains the bass boost knob but moves it to the stock location. This one went into a wintergreen altoids tin.

It’s actually not that big a deal although I admit that the scope has grown. How? Here’s the evolution:

1. The last bike project aggravated the lumbar radiculopathy that hasn’t bothered me for the last two years so I need a proper work bench.
2. Work benches are expensive though, so I’m going to build my own.
3. To build a proper work bench, I need a compound miter saw. (Ok, I don’t absolutely need one, but any self-respecting DIY homeowner should have one.)
4. While I’m at Home Depot, I might as well get the closet rod that Bonnie wants me to add.
5. Yet to be identified projects that will be born from here.

And of course, to build the bike itself, I need some other tools that I don’t already have (bench grinder, hole saws, hand files, vice, gas torch, etc.)

So anyway, no post is really complete without pictures, so here are a few quick ones.

Here’s the bench holding up the mitre saw I used to build it:

It has wheels so I can put it in the middle of the garage when I’m using it and then roll it against the wall when I’m done.
I got the miter saw for $60 off at Sears.

Here are the bike pieces:

I got them from Nova Cycle Supply. Many of the parts are from their November special.

Here’s about how they’ll go together:

Of course, I still need the chain, wheels, saddle, seat post, handlebars, stem, pedals, and brake lever. I already got a crankset, freewheel, and brake caliper.

So, hopefully, before too long, all these parts will turn into a ridable, safe, and cool bike that fits me perfectly.

Before we left for the party, Alissa was busy with stickers and more corn. But she did let us put her in a skirt. It’s rare that the weather is nice enough to put her in one, so Bonnie took advantage.