SymAsym - “The Sequel”, AAK’s Rev_1.

4 PCB Assembly Instructions

This document is intended to provide all the information necessary to build my PCB. The
document includes step-by-step assembly and testing instructions, the latest amplifier and
power supply schematics, matching transistor circuits, and picture illustrations.

I’ll divide the instructions into different categories starting with assembly tools.

Assembly Tools:

1. Needle nose pliers for bending leads to secure components to the board before
soldering.
2. A fine tip wire cutter to cut component leads after their soldered to the board.
3. Soldering gun of a least 40 to 60 watts. If the temperature is controllable set it to 700F
for small signal transistors, resistors, small caps, rectifiers, and output transistors.
800F for soldering the PS caps, terminals, and fuse holders.
4. Magnifying glass to make sure there’s no shorts caused by solder slobber.
5. Isopropyl Alcohol and tooth brush to remove soldering flux from the board.
6. A multimeter or DVM to measure resistance, voltage, and setting quiescent current
(Iq). It should be able to measure hFE for matching small signal transistors.
7. An oscilloscope would be nice but not necessary. If no mistakes are made most likely
you wont need one.

Assembly Tips:

1. Check each component for the correct value before inserting them into the board.
Check the package for the correct part value to make sure the right component was
sent. Use a DVM to check resistor values when in doubt.
2. Check to make sure the components are inserted in the correct position. Refer to the
Parts Placement Diagram on Page 5.
3. Check polarized components like capacitors, diodes, and LEDS for the correct
orientation. Refer to the Assembly Instructions section for additional information.
4. Bend leads away from adjacent pads when securing components to the board to help
prevent shorting when soldering.
5. Don’t over solder especially in the amplifier section. Use just enough solder to cover
the pads.
6. Be careful not to overheat the small signal transistors (SST). Set the soldering gun to
about 700F and quickly solder the transistor leads to the pad.
7. Solder only a few components at a time. Trying to solder around to many leads makes
it more difficult to solder and could result in poor solder connections and shorts.
8. Take your time don’t rush the assembly.

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 Assembly Instructions:

1. Start the assembly by inserting the resistors first following the order listed on the
BOM. Note that resistor labeled R40 near Q4 on the PCB should be R46 as listed
in the BOM, 1/8 watt 10k resistor. For bias pot R36, the orientation of the small
adjustable screw coincides with the circle labeled on the board. I like placing R7
underneath the board to provide additional clearance around ground terminal T11.
2. Insert the non-polarized capacitors. These are the small Wima caps including C7, and
C8, and Mica caps C15-C19.
3. Insert the small-polarized capacitors. Verify that the capacitors positive lead is
inserted into the pad hole with ‘+’ labeled next to it. Note that the polarity of C20
and C21 are incorrectly labaled on the board. The correct orientation is
illustrated in the Parts Placement Diagram found on Page 5.
4. Insert LEDs, L1-L6. Insert the longer of the two leads (anode) into the pad hole
with a circle labeled around it.
5. Insert diode ZD1. Note the correct orientation labeled on the board.
6. Insert the SST including matched pairs Q1&Q2, Q3&Q4, Q5&Q6&Q7, Q9&Q12,
and Q10&Q11. If you plan on mounting the drivers Q20&Q21 to the main heat
sink refer to step 10. If not, insert Q18,Q19,Q20, and Q21.
7. Insert rectifiers D1-D4, terminals T1,T2,T3,T11,T14, fuse holders, and large PS caps
C3-C6. Set the solder gun to about 800F when soldering terminals, fuse holders, and
large caps. Solder the top and bottom of each terminal and fuse holder for added
strength. The rectifier’s metal tabs should face inward towards the AC terminals.
For the large PS caps insert the positive lead in the pad hole with ‘+’ labeled
next to it. For the fuse holders make sure the tabs face outward.
8. Connect jumper J1 with a 22 to 26-gauge 1.6” (41mm) jacketed wire. One of the J1
pads is located right below the adjustable pot R36, and between Q8, and R29. The
other J1 pad is located between R32, R30 and L3. Place and solder the jumper
underneath the board. Then connect jumper J2 found right below C26.
9. Solder to each Q17 (BD139) pin a 2” (50mm) jacketed wire so that it can reach far
enough to mount onto Q22 for thermal sensing. I like trimming the BD139’s leads
about 0.25” before soldering the wires to them, and then insulating the solder
connections using 1/16” heat shrink tubing about 5/8” in length to help prevent the
pins from shorting. Before soldering the wires to the board trim the wires to the
correct length by first turning the board upside down placing the BD139’s backside
up over where about Q22’s mounting hole would be. Lay the wires flat over the board
so they don’t overlap each other, then bend the leads towards the pads at a 90-degree
angle and trim the wires even. Now strip the ends of the wires about 3/16” then insert
the ends into the pads and solder from underneath. You may need to pull the wires
out slightly to make a good solder connection.
10. Insert drivers Q20&Q21. Here you have two options. Either insert the drivers from
the top side, and use the small heat sink listed on the BOM, or from underneath to
mount the drivers to the main heat sink (MHS). I prefer the former. If you select the
later, first mount the drivers on the MHS allowing enough clearance between the
mounting hole and board edge so that you can easily access the mounting screw.
Then holding the board above the drivers align the pins with each pad. Use ½”

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 standoffs at each corner of the board where the mounting holes are to provide an even
spacing between the board and the main heat sink. Then tack on the pins to the pads
with a small amount of solder from the topside to hold the drivers in place. Then
remove the board and solder the drivers from underneath. I’d suggest leaving out
Q18&Q19 for later to provide some extra wiggle room for the solder tip when tacking
on the drivers.
11. Next output transistors Q22, Q23, Q24 and Q25, and mounting thermal tracking
transistor Q17 to Q22. First mount the output transistors (OT) to the MHS, and then
holding the board above the OT align the pins with each pad. Use standoffs at each
corner of the board before soldering to provide an even spacing between the board
and the main heat sink. Then solder the OT pins to the pads from the topside, and
then remove the board and solder from underneath. When remounting the OT to the
MHS mount Q17 to Q22.
12. Lastly attach a single ground wire from one of the boards ground pads located near
C7 and C8 to the MHS.
13. Now clean the flux from the board by dipping a toothbrush in isopropyl alcohol. A
PCB cleaner can be used as well. Wait until the boards have dried before testing.

Testing Procedures:

1. First lets check the power supply, make sure the fuses are not inserted. Then check
the rectifiers for the correct orientation; the metal taps should face inward towards the
AC terminals. Then connect the transformer’s two AC outputs, and Center Tap (CT)
to the input terminals labeled AC, and CT on the board. Then attach one of the
multimeter probes to fuse holder clip FC3 and the ground probe to the GND terminal
and power up the transformer. Check for the correct positive voltage then probe FC1
for the correct negative voltage. Note: The PS LEDs will not light up unless the fuses
are in place. Power down the transformer and wait until the PS Caps bleed off to near
zero volts.
2. Without the fuses inserted solder or attach a 100-ohm resistor across each fuse holder.
These 100-ohm resistors are used to monitor current draw during testing, and provide
component protection if a mistake was made in the assembly process.
3. Now with a small screwdriver adjust the bias pot R36 fully counter-clockwise until
you hear it click. The trimmer screw must be turned counter-clockwise 25 full
turns to ensure the amplifier’s output section is set to it’s minimum bias of about
0ma. If not the 100-ohm resistor may go up in smoke.
4. Now attach the multimeter probes across one of the 100-ohm resistors as illustrated in
and set the multimeter to about 20V. Now supply power and check the voltage across
each 100-ohm resistor. It should measure somewhere between 2.5 and 3.5 volts, and
the four green LEDs in amplifier section should light up with nearly equal intensity.
If the voltage is within range then check the output DC offset by connecting the
muiltimeter probes to the Gnd terminal, and speaker output terminal. It should
measure less than 50mv. I measured less than 5mv in the new amps that I built. It
varies depending on how well matched the SST are. If the 100 resistors smoke refer
to step 6.

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 5. Now remove the 100-ohm resistors, insert the fuses and power up the boards. Then
set your multimeter to 200mv, and attach the probes to Q22 and Q23 emitters to
measure the correct Iq bias. Initially it should be zero or near zero. Now adjust the
bias pot R36 clockwise slowly until you measure about 35mv. It may take several
turns until you see the bias start to increase. Then wait a bit while the amp warms up,
and then readjust to 35mv. It’s ok if the bias drifts 2 or 3 millivolts. Then check the
DC offset again to make sure that it’s less than 50mv. If it all checks out the amps are
now ready for some music. Good Job!
6. If one or both of the 100-ohm resistors smoke in step 4, or the voltage is higher
than 3.5 volts or less than 2.5 volts, post your observations on the DiyAudio.com
builders thread and will start diagnosing the problem.

Transistor Matching Circuits:

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