How am I supposed to lay all this out?

[xsundown]

I have no idea what I got myself into.

[JRT]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

http://www.google.com/search?um=1&sa...oard+crossover

Follow the link above to see some pictures of crossovers assembled on pegboard.


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[djg]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

This might help.

www.speakerdesignworks.com/nodal_analysis.html

[joeybutts]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

just yahtzee it all. That's what I do. :p

Honestly, just take your time and lay it out nice and neat, being concerned with inductor orientation.

[biff]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

Sometimes the easiest thing to do is lay it out just as you see it. Take a piece of cardboard and place your components just as you see them here on the diagram and use that as a start to see if you can fit it in the cabinet, then fold, spindle and mutilate as needed,

Parallel components, like the C1, L1, R1 can be twisted together for test and listening, same with L2, R3, C5. The C2,R2 could be hooked in series and then placed across the leads of the woofer if necessary for space. But start by using the schematic as a pattern.

[joeybutts]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

[50 watt head]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

Sometimes the easiest thing to do is lay it out just as you see it. Take a piece of cardboard and place your components just as you see them here on the diagram

+1

Another thing you may find helpful is to build and install the two circuits (low pass and high pass) on two separate boards. That may alleviate some of the stress of trying to fit everything on one board.

[Soundslike]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

You're going to get a variety of opinions about how to approach crossover building. In my view, the "best" approach depends on the individual and what he is trying to achieve. If the goal is just to get it working and then hide it inside the enclosure where it will never again be exposed to the light of day, a simple approach is best. If you plan to tinker with it, i.e., make adjustments to the values of certain components to tailor the sound to your particular situation (environment and tastes), then make it simple. If on the other hand, making a crossover is another opportunity to do something crafty, and you want a result you'll be proud of, I advise that you spend some time on the layout. I fall into the latter category and use a computer drafting program to draw all the components to scale, them move them around until I think I've arrived at the optimal layout. By optimal, I mean in compliance with inductor placement guidelines (see drawing below). I generally settle on the dimensions of the board after I achieve the optimal layout (or think I have). When you size the board, make sure it will fit through whatever opening you plan to insert it though in order to place it where it will be installed. The process I follow can be viewed, starting with post 11 here.
If you're interested, you can look at other examples by clicking on the links below my signature, at the bottom of this post.

Let me quickly add, there is absolutely nothing superior about my method, other than the sense of accomplishment I get from doing it that way. If you would like to use the process I did, but don't have access to a drafting program, you can always trace the outlines of the components on paper, and cut them out. [ Edit: It looks like Biff has already described a similar method, using the actual components.] You can them move them around and experiment with the layout. One other thing, I don't know what level you're at, but you might want to begin whatever process you choose by marking the components with their identifier (shown on the diagram as C1, R2, etc., etc.). Also, when you mount the components on your board, make sure the label is up so you can identify each component value should you need to in the future.



Diagram from one produced by Troels Gravesen
Source: http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/coils.htm

[xsundown]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

I don't know what parts should be grounded to eachother, or what parts should be positived together at whatever points there are. I'm debating on just returning it and just buying a premade Dayton one off PE. I've gone too far over my head with this.

[Soundslike]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

Hang in there. Don't do that. You can get the help you need here. I'll help you figure it out, if you want. Do you have a soldering iron?

[WernerM]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

Don't give up that easy, it really isn't that difficult. We can help you lay it all out. Where are you located? Maybe someone is near you and can assist in person.

[jclin4]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

I agree, hang in there and give it a try. Note that aside from the connections from the amplifier and the drivers, the individual parts in the crossover have no positive or negative ends; just wire them together as you see in the diagram.

Others have posted great examples of crossovers, neatly arranged and tied down. I would suggest wiring your parts together following the diagram and don't worry for now about arranging the parts in nice, neat parallel rows. Go ahead and hook up speaker wires from your amplifier and hookup wire to the drivers, and see how it sounds.

If you are sure it is hooked up correctly and it sounds right to you, then you can go back and place the components on a board, re-arranging the component parts in a more orderly manner. You would of course make sure that the parts are all wired together as before, and may need some hookup wire in some places to connect components that are now physically now farther apart.

You are free to play with the physical arrangements of the parts*, but electrically, they have to be connected according the diagram.

Good luck!

* the exception are the inductor coils which should be a far apart from each other as allowed and at right angles with their closest neighbors.

[andykriech]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

I always found this write-up by Darren Kuzma to be very helpful in setting the XO up:

http://www.parts-express.com/techHelp.cfm#showAnswer

HTHs, Andy.

[woodsart]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

Mr. Xsun!!! I completely understand how you feel, my first crossover was last year and I felt lost, it was embarrassing to say the least, but Marc at Meniscusaudio.com who I bought the Triton kit from was very helpful, so will the guys here.

I just assembled the Kairos crossover just my second one and it was a breeze, so don't be too discourage, the rewards will be great.

Robert

[ROTECH]

Re: How am I supposed to lay all this out?

I already mentioned that you can send it to me and I will assemble/return ship for no cost. Better yet, send me the parts for one XO then when I ship back you can match/assemble the second.