It's Alive! DIYDC [Archive] - Techtalk Speaker Building, Audio, Video Discussion Forum

framus

06-01-2009, 12:56 PM

After a couple of missed years, I'm reviving the DIY gathering in Washington, D.C. (well, Bethesda, MD). It will be a modest affair with no competition--just a show and tell and a very interesting demonstration of crossover slopes by Neil Davis. I'll let him describe exactly what he's planning. I'll have the recently introduced Salk HT4's on hand, which feature an 18 Hz bass module by Jeff Bagby, a quasi open-back mid module using the $500 per FAL flat driver, and a virtually free standing RAAL OEM ribbon tweet. And my passive variant on the Linkwitz Pluto will also make an appearance, using an upfiring
5" revelator midwoof and the Neo 3 planar.

This won't be anything to rival the Iowa or Ohio DIY's, but maybe the food will be better. The date? July 18th, 10:00 AM. The place? 5214 Wehawken Rd, Bethesda MD 20816. Please PM me, Dennis Murphy, if you can attend or have any questions.

the kid

06-01-2009, 01:06 PM

ALL-FREAKIN'-RIGHT!!!!!!!!

I'm there!

DougP

06-01-2009, 03:15 PM

Hmmm, I would love to be there but I bet that the odds of that happening are about zero.

Have a good time Dennis and you never know I just might make it. I have some family in the area.

Doug

martyh

06-01-2009, 06:30 PM

Hey Doug,

When Dennis was at the Iowa event did you take him to Casa Margarita? No? I didn't think so....

Let's not be dissin' Iowa food! :p

ericy

06-02-2009, 08:31 AM

Ah C'monnnn. I hope there's more interest than this. Maybe people are just sending PMs and not posting.

framus

06-02-2009, 10:55 AM

Ah C'monnnn. I hope there's more interest than this. Maybe people are just sending PMs and not posting.

The replies are trickling in. But there's room for lots more. Did I mention that I have a remote-controlled A-B preamp that lets you instantly compare up to 4 sets of speakers at the same volume level? And there will be food? And a golden retriever?

mtbiker

06-06-2009, 12:39 AM

For a preview, here is one of my very limited edition Plutoesque octagons, with Dennis' crossover.

http://jamiedamanpour.com/diy/speakers/octagons/images_480/IMG_0555_480.jpg

cfbuck

06-12-2009, 01:17 AM

framus

06-12-2009, 12:52 PM

I'd like to exhibit these at DCDIY.

This speaker was built in 2005 and two of the drivers I think are now discontinued so that the speakers are basically not replicable. Despite their one of a kind limitation , I think that they are worth a listen and perhaps a critique as well.

Dennis Murphy designed the crossover and he hasn't heard them in stereo yet so I thought that after all his efforts he should at least hear the results of his work.
The bass is the venerable Peerless CSX 10", mid a Seas Excel w15CY and the tweeter is the Raven R1 ribbon.

http://www.execulink.com/~kandfbuck/3WayAged3.jpg

Thanks very much for the post, and I hope you'll be able to make the long trek. I'll look forward to hearing that design again--it's the only one I've done with the Raven, which is an exceptionally smooth driver. Although the Peerless woofer is extinct, I've revised my MB0W1 3-way using the replacement woofer, which is almost as good. So I'm sure this design could be modified successfully as well.

sendler

06-12-2009, 09:39 PM

What do you think of the Raal oem?
.
http://www.raalribbon.com/products.htm

jasonb

06-13-2009, 12:09 AM

For a preview, here is one of my very limited edition Plutoesque octagons, with Dennis' crossover.

http://jamiedamanpour.com/diy/speakers/octagons/images_480/IMG_0555_480.jpg

Nice! What is the approximate cost in drivers and crossovers?

Jason

mtbiker

06-13-2009, 12:37 AM

Probably $700+ for drivers and crossovers...

The monetary cost isn't the real story. It's the time required to make an absurd cabinet like this. Of course there are a few things I would do differently if I had to do this all over again.

jasonb

06-13-2009, 04:19 AM

Dennis or mtbiker....

Any comments on listening impressions, on it's own or as compared to the original Pluto?

Thanks,

Jason

framus

06-13-2009, 11:05 AM

What do you think of the Raal oem?
.
http://www.raalribbon.com/products.htm

That's easy--it's virtually perfect, although the last sample I got wasn't quite as flat, and I suspect the tensioning of the ribbon element is critical and subject to QC issues. But the response without a baffle (which is how I use it) is the best I've seen, both on and off axis. And the distortion products in the 1500-3000 Hz range are much lower than with other ribbons I've measured. I crossed it at 1800 Hz on the new Salk speaker with no problems. On very well recorded material with lots of bells and whistles, the sonic superiority is readily apparent in an A-B test with the best ribbons and domes. When money's not an object, it would definitely be my tweet of choice.

framus

06-13-2009, 11:16 AM

Dennis or mtbiker....

Any comments on listening impressions, on it's own or as compared to the original Pluto?

Thanks,

Jason

I haven't had extended experience with the new Pluto, but I had the original version in my house for almost a year. The Orion is one of my favorite speakers, but the 1st Pluto--not so much. The lower treble and upper midrange sounded blurred to me, particularly on brass. There was just too much output. That didn't show up on the usual one-meter measurement, however. And when I first designed the crossover for Mt. Biker I went for a flat measured response. But it sounded just like the Pluto. My read is that the very short measuring window wasn't picking up on the woofer's rear radiation output. But, of course, the ear would as soon as the 1st reflections came rolling in. I took some room measurements and experimented with the on-axis profile in the crossover region, and finally came up with something that sounded accurate to me (but it measured with a pretty deep depression centered around 2 kHz). Jamie can update me on this, but when he got the thing home, he tried it in two different rooms, one quite reverberant, and the other very damped. It sounded fine in the reverberant room, but he could pick up on the hole in the middle in the dry room. So these things are tricky.

mtbiker

06-13-2009, 03:16 PM

Dennis is correct. The octagons live in a painfully reverberant room and they sound great there--really fantastic. However, they are "my wife's speakers" which means that they are never asked to play anything complicated, loud, or compressed. When I put them in the basement, which is an acoustically damped room, I could hear the hole in near the crossover point. Ordinarily I think narrow holes are OK since you often don't know what you're missing, but since this extended downwards in the midrange, it really affected speech intelligibility just watching TV. This was a lesser problem when I listened to complicated, loud, and/or compressed music in the basement, where they maintained their clarity despite the hole. So I'm not sold on the arrangement or the crossover for myself, but they work great upstairs. It will be interesting to hear them at DIYDC.

sendler

06-14-2009, 07:52 AM

That's easy--it's virtually perfect, although the last sample I got wasn't quite as flat, and I suspect the tensioning of the ribbon element is critical and subject to QC issues. But the response without a baffle (which is how I use it) is the best I've seen, both on and off axis. And the distortion products in the 1500-3000 Hz range are much lower than with other ribbons I've measured. I crossed it at 1800 Hz on the new Salk speaker with no problems. On very well recorded material with lots of bells and whistles, the sonic superiority is readily apparent in an A-B test with the best ribbons and domes. When money's not an object, it would definitely be my tweet of choice.
.
Great. Now if only we could buy them.
Ever try the Raal 140-15?

framus

06-14-2009, 10:38 AM

.
Great. Now if only we could buy them.
Ever try the Raal 140-15?

Of course not. Why would I try something relevant?

castlesteve

06-19-2009, 12:31 PM

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2008-11/1327024/meetspeakers.jpg
After a couple of missed years, I'm reviving the DIY gathering in Washington, D.C. (well, Bethesda, MD). It will be a modest affair with no competition--just a show and tell and a very interesting demonstration of crossover slopes by Neil Davis. I'll let him describe exactly what he's planning. I'll have the recently introduced Salk HT4's on hand, which feature an 18 Hz bass module by Jeff Bagby, a quasi open-back mid module using the $500 per FAL flat driver, and a virtually free standing RAAL OEM ribbon tweet. And my passive variant on the Linkwitz Pluto will also make an appearance, using an upfiring
5" revelator midwoof and the Neo 3 planar.

This won't be anything to rival the Iowa or Ohio DIY's, but maybe the food will be better. The date? July 18th, 10:00 AM. The place? 5214 Wehawken Rd, Bethesda MD 20816. Please PM me, Dennis Murphy, if you can attend or have any questions.

Great news on the return! I`ll be planning on coming with a couple of speakers. Thanks for hosting.
Steve.

freakeystyley

06-19-2009, 10:59 PM

I'm very interested, if nothing else to come and listen to everyone's hard work.

I don't know if I'll have the Magna C Laude's done in time, but then again, they won't compare to most of what is showing up.:o

mtbiker

07-09-2009, 12:04 PM

Hey Dennis, are you saying you are going to have a prototype of this monster on-hand?

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1656/salk-sound-ht4-speakers

framus

07-09-2009, 12:33 PM

Hey Dennis, are you saying you are going to have a prototype of this monster on-hand?

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1656/salk-sound-ht4-speakers

Yup. They're raw mdf, and the bass modules don't quite match, but otherwose they're the real deal. I'm not sure I can hear them hit 18 Hz, but I did notice that the dog moved into the house next door. I'll have an update on Saturday, along with directions available on my website.

framus

07-12-2009, 05:13 PM

Yup. They're raw mdf, and the bass modules don't quite match, but otherwose they're the real deal. I'm not sure I can hear them hit 18 Hz, but I did notice that the dog moved into the house next door. I'll have an update on Saturday, along with directions available on my website.

Bump. I've posted directions to the July 18 DCDIY on my website:

http://www.murphyblaster.com

Right now we have a lot more people than speakers, but there should be enough to keep us amused. I'm getting close to house capacity, but if you have speakers to show, come on down, or up. The current lineup is The Salk HT4 and HT1 transmission line, a home brew variant on the Pluto, a 3-way with the Raven R1 ribbon and Seas Excel W15 mid, the Modula NeoD, Usher Tiny Dancers, and a few other DIY designs that I don't have descriptions for. If you've told me you're coming and can't make it, please PM me so I won't turn people away unnecessarily.

WmAx

07-12-2009, 09:32 PM

framus

07-12-2009, 09:42 PM

I think I will come. I can not guarantee it yet, but it's likely.

If there are many requests, I may bring my turn table if people are interested. It is a very high quality device: Marantz TT-15S1 (http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73850) made by Clearaudio. It would allow people to hear what kind of pitch stability and noise floor that a very high quality turn table can produce. But it's a fragile thing; and I would be devastated if it was damaged.

I can also bring a variety of high quality headphones, if that is of interest to many people.

-Chris

I take it you have some prize LP's you would like to demonstrate? That could be interesting, though I don't want you to take any chances you're uncomfortable taking. We'll have two rooms available--maybe people could listen to headphones downstairs when they want to take a break.

neildavis

07-13-2009, 01:48 PM

Bump. I've posted directions to the July 18 DCDIY on my website:

http://www.murphyblaster.com

Right now we have a lot more people than speakers, but there should be enough to keep us amused.

I could bring a "crippled" version of the Marthas if people are interested in seeing the progress, but they won't do anything really interesting. All of the drivers are wired up, and I could load the amplifiers with 4-pole LR filters so that it will make play music...even in stereo. But the fun part of this speaker is still not working. What's cool about this speaker is that is has a lot of active crossovers and switching to evaluate many different configurations, with different crossover frequencies and slopes. There is even a relay that switches all five drivers from omni to dipole mode, and each driver bank has digital delay. Right now I can control all of the physical amps and crossovers, but there is a layer of software that is still getting written to control logical connections and that will allow rapidly changing the configurations. Also, I still need to network the two amps so that both speakers change at the same time. Once it's done it could be the basis of an all-day event, and maybe it's best to save it for another event later this year. But if people want to see it and hear it with "hardwired" connections in omni mode without delay adjustment, I can bring it. It only has SPDIF input right now, but I can bring a CD player...

I can also bring at least two active speakers with programmable amps, and I could provide a tutorial about the designs and what's possible using Class D amps that have embedded DSP. I'm not sure if this is of interest to everyone, so I'd like to get a feel for whether this is something that people want to see.

3957

mtbiker

07-13-2009, 02:29 PM

But if people want to see it and hear it with "hardwired" connections in omni mode without delay adjustment, I can bring it.

Since I'll have my omnis there and I believe their success to be environment specific, I would definitely be interested in hearing another omni speaker.

I can also bring at least two active speakers with programmable amps, and I could provide a tutorial about the designs and what's possible using Class D amps that have embedded DSP

I am interested in DIY amps and anything I have control over in a convenient fashion. IOW, pairing Hypex modules with a Behringer DCX2496 is an approachable solution, but I am probably not interested in being an early adopter for DIY gear that could have assembler bugs instead of merely wiring problems. It's bad enough trying to explain to my wife why HDMI/HDCP is a such a cluster. On the other hand, I would like to see what's possible, and another budget 2-way in a rectangular cabinet is no longer worth leaving home to experience...

framus

07-13-2009, 03:55 PM

I could bring a "crippled" version of the Marthas if people are interested in seeing the progress, but they won't do anything really interesting.
I can also bring at least two active speakers with programmable amps, and I could provide a tutorial about the designs and what's possible using Class D amps that have embedded DSP. I'm not sure if this is of interest to everyone, so I'd like to get a feel for whether this is something that people want to see.

3957

Why don't you bring the poor crippled Martha for general listening in the morning, and then you can talk about active stuff after lunch. If passive types want to pack up and leave, we'll just be done with them. I have two CD players if that matters. Dennis

WmAx

07-16-2009, 01:13 AM

So, does no one else care about trying a high grade turn table?

If I did bring it, I would presume it would be connected to the best speakers at the event, at least...

-Chris

AudioMixer

07-16-2009, 01:17 AM

For a preview, here is one of my very limited edition Plutoesque octagons, with Dennis' crossover.

http://jamiedamanpour.com/diy/speakers/octagons/images_480/IMG_0555_480.jpg

Holy smokes man...I thought there for a second this thing look like an ash tray. You guys sure come up with some weird looking designs:eek:.

framus

07-16-2009, 09:45 AM

So, does no one else care about trying a high grade turn table?

If I did bring it, I would presume it would be connected to the best speakers at the event, at least...

-Chris

I can't speak for anyone else, but I would be interested, assuming you have some LP's that you think are good program material. We would have to do it after lunch, and you could choose the speakers. Dennis

stevec

07-16-2009, 10:20 PM

Chris... I would be interested also. Thanks for offering your nice equipment.... I am ignorant when it comes to the LP world so that would be a good learning experience!

framus

07-16-2009, 10:43 PM

Holy smokes man...I thought there for a second this thing look like an ash tray. You guys sure come up with some weird looking designs:eek:.

Harumph. That's a pretty expensive ash tray. And it sure doesn't sound like one. Have you seen the Pluto? Compared to that, this belongs in the Museum of Modern Art.

framus

07-17-2009, 10:12 AM

Final bump for the GTG tomorrow at my place in case anyone missed the link to directions: http://www.murphyblaster.com

I've got more than a full house--in fact it's totally out of hand--so I can't fit anyone else in. But if you've contacted me, come on down. Or up. Or whatever. See you Saturday around 10:00 (but you know how that goes). Dennis

neildavis

07-17-2009, 02:53 PM

Final bump for the GTG tomorrow at my place in case anyone missed the link to directions: http://www.murphyblaster.com

I've got more than a full house--in fact it's totally out of hand--so I can't fit anyone else in.

The Powerpoint file for the DIY digital crossover discussion is at this location:

http://www.audiodevelopers.com/temp/DIY_Crossovers.ppt

My wife made a nice chocolate cake plus blondies.

I'll bring those Marthas, but I'm not happy with them being so crippled. Even so, they are interesting.

JRT

07-17-2009, 04:58 PM

The Powerpoint file for the DIY digital crossover discussion is at this location:

http://www.audiodevelopers.com/temp/DIY_Crossovers.ppt

My wife made a nice chocolate cake plus blondies.

I'll bring those Marthas, but I'm not happy with them being so crippled. Even so, they are interesting.

Neil, on the page showing cascaded biquads, consider including more filter blocks.
Take a look at Linkwitz's write up (follow link (http://www.linkwitzlab.com/frontiers_5.htm#V)).

.

neildavis

07-17-2009, 05:23 PM

Neil, on the page showing cascaded biquads, consider including more filter blocks.
Take a look at Linkwitz's write up (follow link (http://www.linkwitzlab.com/frontiers_5.htm#V)).
.

That's just to illustrate the concept. Since a 3-way requires 8 filters and there are a total of 80 biquads available, you can pretty much do whatever you want for filtering and EQ. Also, the PC software calculates the filter interaction with phase, so you can view the issues that Linkwitz raises and work with them interactively.

It's going to fun to have some time to actually play with this software using some real speakers. I've got a number of 2-ways, but the only large system right now is the Marthas...and they aren't quite done.

WmAx

07-17-2009, 10:22 PM

Unfortunately, it looks like I won't make it, though I really want to come.

-Chris

framus

07-19-2009, 01:43 PM

Thanks to all the many, many folks who made it out to DCDIY yesterday. Nothing blew up. and there were a lot of great sounding designs. Best of all, a new Neil Davis creation was kind enough to schedule a landing for the morning session. Then it started to whir and rumble, and it was off to the next event.

http://api.photoshop.com/home_7e53687d13c747d28ccec9a6980c7256/adobe-px-assets/3184ab3061b7496988c42c2f692d8f32

maynardg

07-19-2009, 01:48 PM

I met Neil some years ago at a DC event. I was certain he was some kind of genius. However, now I am wondering what kind. Shall we be afraid?

framus

07-19-2009, 02:27 PM

I met Neil some years ago at a DC event. I was certain he was some kind of genius. However, now I am wondering what kind. Shall we be afraid?

I didn't show you the pic with the landing lights on.

maynardg

07-19-2009, 02:32 PM

Time to put on our foil helmets.

stevec

07-19-2009, 03:16 PM

Many thanks to Dennis for his usual wonderful hospitality!
I don’t know much about the other DIY events, but I guarantee – they don’t eat as well as we do!! Dennis is the MAN!

Here were some of the highlights for me:

Neil’s talk made me feel like I was back in EE201 lecture, and the spaceship things would scare small children. The man IS crazy (in a good way).

The “bird houses” and Triska were waaay more enjoyable to listen to then they should have been!

The HT-4’s sounded really big and expensive….. and, well guess what (….hmmm some day)!

Erics and Pjays monitors were both wonderful. It was interesting to hear the difference between the RS aluminum and the laid back aurum cantus. Both great DIY designs! Thanks guys!! I think the young guy Eric may be the next Dennis… ok, give him 10 more years or so ;-)

The “Ralph Lauren” floor standers earn the most dB/$ award! What a great rockNroll party/HT speaker!

The Canadian gentleman’s speakers were clean and wonderful to listen to and stunning to look at! What more can you ask for… Somebody post a pic please!

Old B&W's gave a look at 20 year-old High-end HIFI.... and you know what - they STILL rock! Great stuff!! Wow! Nuff said!

The Modula’s are a very nice speaker. They easily bettered many of the high end, name brand HT speakers I have heard. Just don’t tell me what that crossover cost!

Listening to the “draft” Song Towers… all I can say is that sound in a Salk cabinet has to be THE deal in audio right now! Wow! No doubt Salk will have another winner with the HT-1 TL’s.

Finally, that Seas Excel driver really caught me everywhere I heard it yesterday. Expensive, yeah, but to me, they were clearly superior to the lower priced drivers… Ohhhh I would be all over something like an HT-1TL DIY kit!!!! Take your multi-channel, multi way big boxes and give me a well executed Excel 2-way design and I will be a happy man for MANY hours of listening!

All in all a GREAT time! Thanks again Dennis. I think we DC folk need to get together more often to listen/chat about music and speakers!!

neildavis

07-19-2009, 05:46 PM

Many thanks to Dennis for his usual wonderful hospitality!

Dennis did a great job (as usual) as a host and making sure there was an good assortment of speakers and equipment. It's nice being able to audition such a broad assortment of very high quality speakers.

To put those illuminated speakers in perspective, this project started out as a DIY event test fixture, and someday I'd like to see it used that way. I started thinking about these back when Apexjr had those LM3886 amp modules with the 8-pole LR-crossovers. I actually built quite a few 2-way and 3-way speakers with that 8-pole design, and I like them. But there was a lot of discussion on the Mad Board at the time about shallow slopes vs steep slopes, and I tried making a fixture that would allow real "crossover slope" testing. However, I couldn't do it until I discovered all of those "hidden" biquads in the new digital amps or audio processors, and until I put together a lot of hardware and software. The speakers that I brought will allow that type of testing--these things can actually do a 40-pole LR-filter!.

Also, I wanted a test fixture to allow switching between 2-way to 5-way. And I wanted a test fixture to compare omni to dipole, and to assess the effect of changing the acoustic centers by varying the delay. I was also considering making a version of the speakers with the same drivers but not using the "ring array" concept, to see if we could make some conclusions about the effect of multiple drivers and the ring topology. So for the most part, these speakers were intended to be a "science experiment". When I get the software fully working to do all of this testing, I think it would be a lot of fun and very enlightening to hold an event to run these experiments.

Now, as for some of the unique attributes that take the design a bit "over the top"...well, I needed something to keep myself amused. This was a lot of work for a science experiment. No need to be afraid :D

jimlg

07-19-2009, 05:53 PM

THis was my first DIY event and it was great. I have trouble getting one person to sit and listen to music, and here I was able to sit with 20 guys and just listen to speakers:):):):)

Thanks Dennis, I enjoyed the relaxed event.

I was blown away by the Song Towers and the other Seas speakers. But when Dennis fired up the HT-4 Prototypes I was overwelmed. I was directly in front of the right speaker, but I had a clear stereo image with wide stage depth. Easily the best I have ever heard.:)

I have a feeling the results of the day may be expensive for me. I'm stopping by Parts Express next weekend as I'm taking a trip right by it. I have a feeling some speakers will be returning with me:D:D:D

ericy

07-19-2009, 09:39 PM

Thanks Dennis for putting this show together.
With the food you and others prepared and the speakers everyone sets up to listen to, I feel like I should've bought a ticket to attend.

here are various pictures from the event. Sorry about the quality. my camera was about to run out of battery so I didn't use flash. Also, I had to leave for about 2 hours in the middle and left at about 3pm, so I probably missed a good few things.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/3736668269_39e6607361_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2541/3737456276_6bdc5bbb9e_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2575/3737456264_00bdd2750b_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3509/3737456260_70d1b5429e_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3737456246_9ec64205b4_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/3737456122_30e27936ff_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2577/3737456118_a977973807_b.jpg

Dennis' open backed design with the japanese midrange was really something. The speaker sounded great no matter where you were.
Also, with the easy switching between speakers, I finally realized how much box tuning and cabinet quality made a huge difference.
Though I feel my Peerless design (the one ugly test box) was better at home based on midrange performance and the tonality I tuned it to, hearing it side by side, switching back and forth with my other design made it so easily known how much difference a shoddy cabinet and a lack of adequate damping made. It was unanimous that the smaller MT sounded better and much less "boxy."
I've since finished the Peerless design: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2543/3736668289_c9ac283fec_b.jpg
and it's much better with the damping and more rigid construction. I just wish I had finished it before, not after the meeting.

This was really fun seeing how everyone's speakers were so different yet similar at the same time. I don't think there was anything at the meet that I wouldn't be happy with owning myself.

Thanks again Dennis.

Oh yeah, the worst part is realizing that I'm probably the worst box builder in the DC area. heh.

framus

07-19-2009, 09:58 PM

Hi Thanks for the kind words. Everyone loved your little 2-ways--you obviously know what you're doing). And thanks for the pics. The only ones so far showing the bird house bopper, the visitor from another world with lights flashing, and the HT1 TL comparo test. One of the boxes was a simple MLTL like the Song Towers and HT2 TL's, and the other was a more complex tapered TL with less extension but theoretically cleaner transient response. I think the group agreed that whatever superiority the tapered had in clarity, the MLTL more than compensated for in extension.

richard_swerdlow

07-19-2009, 11:04 PM

Here are more pictures from the DC DIY:

http://www.photoshop.com/user/RSwerdlow/?wf=share&trackingid=BTAGC&galleryid=071d5f8daa214c34945b190104c453fc

Easily the best looking speakers were these
http://api.photoshop.com/home_7e53687d13c747d28ccec9a6980c7256/adobe-px-assets/5d20cf59a58643ee9d5d74ee5e997a1e

matthewkolson

07-20-2009, 10:08 AM

So sorry I missed it this year guys, maybe I'll catch ya next year!

-Mattyo

the kid

07-20-2009, 10:49 AM

Ok guys, it was cool! (except for the nice HOT bbq ribs Dennis provided) Lots of people. Lots of FRIENDLY people!

Nei Davis talked to us a few minutes about his new project. He actually gave us a hand-out!!! A hand-out! We patiently flipped through each page as Neil tried to quickly let us in on some of his innovations. Of course, the only thing I understood from his lecture were the names of the colors he incorporated into his hand-out.

All the speakers were great! Interesting to hear the thoughts & research people put into their projects.

Which leads us to my project. As usual, I incorporated my 'gitter done' attitude & patience when building mine. Straight ahead without having a clue what the end result would be. I really wanted other diy'ers to assess my project, but I honestly was scared they would be the 'degenerate step-child' project of the day. Sort of Homer Simpson-ish.

Boy was I humbly surprised when I actually got acceptance from the group!!! I had presented my approach and goals for the Ralph Laurens & it seems the others agreed that given my experience & budget I had basically succeeded. Thanks guys!

NOTE: My success for this project greatly hinges on Dennis' kindness to initially measure my drivers & design the xo for me.

Oh, and I got to pet the dog.:p

Overall it was a very good day. I enjoyed all of the projects and people. And I too would like to give a plus to Stevec's suggestion of us doing this more often.:)