Hi All,
It's been many moons since I studied electronics, and I was always better with digital than analog, so I'm hoping for some help with this project of mine. I don't really want to design and build from the ground up, but preferably find suitable kits that I can plug together to see my idea come into fruition.
So to that end, here's my idea along with some kits and components which I believe should work, but I'm pretty sure there are better choices out there. Hopefully someone can help me identify those!
What I want to do is build a power amp suitable for home audio, to drive ceiling speakers for ambient music. I'm looking at 30-50W per channel, 6 channels. And I need to control it via a PC, most likely RS-232 (or USB via a USB-RS232 convertor)
Here are some of the components I've identified. Forgive the invalid URLs, I'm not allowed to post links until I've made 3 posts on this forum;
Power amp (www_kitsrus_com/pdf/k106.pdf). Not the cheapest, and that's a pretty big heatsink, especially if I'm going to have 6 of them!
Volume control (para_maxim-ic_com/results.mvp?fam=dig_pot). Seems pretty straight forward to use something off that list or similar, either using a pushbutton or SPI control
At first I saw this (www_oceancontrols_com_au/controllers/phaed/som96.htm) which looks like it could simplify some control, but its works out pretty expensive at $25 per channel.
So first off, an easy question. If I use the Kit106 power amp as described above, according to the kit notes I'll need 150VA for two channels. That seems to a pretty big power draw if I'm running 6 channels. Or is that to be expected?
In building a bridge rectifier, what are some suitable diodes for the recommended 5A load? And what capacitor and resistor should I use for a reservoir capacitor and bleeder resistor?
So now I guess the more tricky part, what are my options for using something as off-the-shelf as possible to control something like a DS1802 via its contact closure mechanism, or preferrably using the 3-wire serial as this gives discrete control over volume rather than just up/down. Or the DS1807 provides an addressable 2-wire interface which may be more suitable for control multiple channels.
Are there any nifty off-the-shelf devices that will fairly easily allow me to interface to such a bus via RS-232 control? At this stage I'm thinking something along the lines of an Arduino.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer their opinions, advice or alternatives.
Mark.
It's been many moons since I studied electronics, and I was always better with digital than analog, so I'm hoping for some help with this project of mine. I don't really want to design and build from the ground up, but preferably find suitable kits that I can plug together to see my idea come into fruition.
So to that end, here's my idea along with some kits and components which I believe should work, but I'm pretty sure there are better choices out there. Hopefully someone can help me identify those!
What I want to do is build a power amp suitable for home audio, to drive ceiling speakers for ambient music. I'm looking at 30-50W per channel, 6 channels. And I need to control it via a PC, most likely RS-232 (or USB via a USB-RS232 convertor)
Here are some of the components I've identified. Forgive the invalid URLs, I'm not allowed to post links until I've made 3 posts on this forum;
Power amp (www_kitsrus_com/pdf/k106.pdf). Not the cheapest, and that's a pretty big heatsink, especially if I'm going to have 6 of them!
Volume control (para_maxim-ic_com/results.mvp?fam=dig_pot). Seems pretty straight forward to use something off that list or similar, either using a pushbutton or SPI control
At first I saw this (www_oceancontrols_com_au/controllers/phaed/som96.htm) which looks like it could simplify some control, but its works out pretty expensive at $25 per channel.
So first off, an easy question. If I use the Kit106 power amp as described above, according to the kit notes I'll need 150VA for two channels. That seems to a pretty big power draw if I'm running 6 channels. Or is that to be expected?
In building a bridge rectifier, what are some suitable diodes for the recommended 5A load? And what capacitor and resistor should I use for a reservoir capacitor and bleeder resistor?
So now I guess the more tricky part, what are my options for using something as off-the-shelf as possible to control something like a DS1802 via its contact closure mechanism, or preferrably using the 3-wire serial as this gives discrete control over volume rather than just up/down. Or the DS1807 provides an addressable 2-wire interface which may be more suitable for control multiple channels.
Are there any nifty off-the-shelf devices that will fairly easily allow me to interface to such a bus via RS-232 control? At this stage I'm thinking something along the lines of an Arduino.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer their opinions, advice or alternatives.
Mark.
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