+1
The site seems to have gone down!
Very little changes, really. The filter capacitor bank constitutes a different deal altogether, but still, at the ass end, the equivalents of the sections in the original get wired to the usual suspects on the chassis. Then there is that thingy-puffer that increases sensitivity — I can't speak to that. I can speak to the PEC board substitutes. I made my own and used the schematic illustrated in Sheldon Stokes' web site. This concerns small boards upon which discrete resistors and caps are mounted. These made a very big improvement. BTW: I used polystyrene instead of silver mica caps, but I recommend the latter over the former.I was wanting to see the schematic with the mods in place.
Sonics ... more articulate and euphonic. I will not say that it improved anything but the sound itself. I can't remember enough about what the PEC does in the circuit, but a faint memory points towards this making sense — in regards to sound that is. Other parameters are IMHO unaffected.Lorne- what improvements did you note when you replaced the PEC circuit?
I have a FM-3 and SCA-35 and their biggest problem is that they were built on a chassis about half the size as should have been used for heat dissipation. Yes, large enough to build the kit but poor engineering. These 2 units literally seem to cook themselves to death.
Perhaps the majority of Dynaco products were distributed in the mails. The idea must have been to keep the respective chassis models down to a minimal size in order to facilitate economy in shipping. Everything about the Dynaco idea was to popularize effective audio on a mass, affordable scale through a skillful balancing of shrewd engineering and frugal economics. The result was not totally effective nor was it expected to see these things into brilliant operation 45 years later. The fact that so many of them continue to work as well as they do is something to consider.I have a FM-3 and SCA-35 and their biggest problem is that they were built on a chassis about half the size as should have been used for heat dissipation.
Sonics ... more articulate and euphonic. I will not say that it improved anything but the sound itself. I can't remember enough about what the PEC does in the circuit, but a faint memory points towards this making sense — in regards to sound that is. Other parameters are IMHO unaffected. <snip>
After surviving the Midwest AK fest this weekend, I tackled a few of the easier mods from the kit today.
First up is the replacing of the flacelight bulb with an LED. Had to move one resistor from top to bottom and mount the LED board.
Before shots:
After. These picks don't do this mod justice. It is a more defined light source than the blasting bulb. Very cool looks.
Next is the Selectivity/Sensitivity Module. Easy no solder upgrade. The S/S Module increases the tuner's ability to recieve distant stations without being squashed by closer, stronger ones. I now must do the alignment so it may slow me down a bit.
Before
After
So far darn easy. Lets hope I don't get lost somewhere down the line. Let me know if you have any questions.
Gary
Hi, I'm looking for this selectivity/sensitivity modification part but cant find anywhere.. anyway you can read me the code on the ceramic filter itself? It would really help. Thanks.After surviving the Midwest AK fest this weekend, I tackled a few of the easier mods from the kit today.
First up is the replacing of the flacelight bulb with an LED. Had to move one resistor from top to bottom and mount the LED board.
Before shots:
After. These picks don't do this mod justice. It is a more defined light source than the blasting bulb. Very cool looks.
Next is the Selectivity/Sensitivity Module. Easy no solder upgrade. The S/S Module increases the tuner's ability to recieve distant stations without being squashed by closer, stronger ones. I now must do the alignment so it may slow me down a bit.
Before
After
So far darn easy. Lets hope I don't get lost somewhere down the line. Let me know if you have any questions.
Gary
Had an FM-3 at work, in a desk drawer with two LM386 amplifiers, two 6V lantern batteries, and Koss Pro-4 AA headphones. The site was high on a mountain ridge a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, not quite halfway between L.A. and San Francisco, so reception was excellent.I've always liked the FM3.
Really nice suite of mods gets me thinking.................