Bucket Profiles - Reverse Engineering?

[horizonsound]

Hey all,

I'm in need of a few buckets, and after looking at how they are made, it could be possible to get the profiles lazer cut locally, than having to pay massive shipping / import prices - living in the arse end of the world (Australia), that's the reality. I just paid an additional 75% on top of purchase price to import some SL611E channels. Lucky they were cheap to start with.

Is anyone out there skilled enough to reverse engineer and produce a drawing such that I could create a dwf drawing and get the bucket side panels made locally?

The extrusion used throughout the buckets seems hard to find, but there are plenty of alternates that could work well. That only needs to be cut to length.

Anthony.

[Matt Sartori]

this would be such an amazing DIY project.. but very time consuming...
I am not a mechanical engineer, but maybe there is someone here on the forum that would do that?

Matt Sartori

[horizonsound]

Hi Matt

Thanks for the response! My background is mechanical/manufacturing engineering, with a passion for electronics. I've reverse engineered quite a lot in my time, both mech and elec. Yes it is time consuming, but after going over it in detail, the SSL 4000 looks like a fairly straight-forward and elegant design.

Perhaps as a start, the basic side profile outline would satisfy a lot of people looking to make 8 channel standalone buckets.

I could make a blank dimensioned template, and would then need someone to fill in the dozen or so values. Any takers?

Failing that, it would be nice to get my hands on an original I'm actually trying to lock down a deal on a 4032E frame, but the seller has gone quite recently, and it may not happen.

Anthony.

[jimlfixit]

Hi Matt
At SSL, Krouse Engineering (sadly no more) in the UK made all the big aluminium work including the profile sides for SSL as they had one of the few big CCN (?) cutters available nearby at the time (late 1970's).

There are now loads of these about somewhere in the World and perhaps Sintech (Andy), here on the forum and in the UK could maybe help as I have sold some to him.

I have had quite a few requests for people having a small 8 or 16 channel SSL front end in buckets which need wiring done so, if anyone needs that, I can help.

Before SSL were involved in OB (Outside Broadcast) trucks, they didn't produce consoles with profiles every 8 channels. OB trucks changed all that as the driving made everything inside the truck vibrate and possibly come loose. Therefore, console frames were not as a 24 channel space but 3 x 8 instead and everything else was re-engineered a bit to suit (such as locknuts and securing 19" rack mounted gear back and front).

One of the first OB trucks that SSL made was for the BBC and this one recorded the original Live Aid concert back about 1982 (?). I remember that as it was the first (and hopefully the last) time I worked 40 hours without sleep trying to get it finished on time at SSL. From memory I remember SSL making at least 5 Outside Broadcast trucks for the BBC in the early 1980's.

[horizonsound]

Hi Jim,

Great info there! I assume all these manufacturing files and drawings are around somewhere, but SSL probably won't give up their IP seeing as they are still in business.

The horizontal aluminium extrusions are proving a bit harder to find something close. Worst case is to use flat bar, drill & tap. That's a pain.
Hopefully these links work... not to scale as i have just "guessed" the dimensions, but you get the idea.

[SDVIG]

Hello,
Maybe this will help:

[horizonsound]

Hi,

Yes I used that side profile "drawing" to create the sketch. It is not to scale.
In order to get these accurate to +/-0.2mm, and actual real one will need to be measured up.
The sketch could be used to make a custom bucket, but it won't fit with any real SSL buckets.
Anthony.

[horizonsound]

A few SL611E channels arrived this week. They need a lot of work, and are missing the 82E13 VCA card.
Given how many of these I will need (potentially 16), reverse engineering looks like the way to go....

[Matt Sartori]

A few SL611E channels arrived this week. They need a lot of work, and are missing the 82E13 VCA card.
Given how many of these I will need (potentially 16), reverse engineering looks like the way to go....

Hi Anthony,

this is an amazing project and embraces exactly the spirit of the forum!!!!

Thank you!

Matt Sartori

[horizonsound]

Thanks for the support Matt!!

Would you have any details on the DBX202X, the one with 8x2180 THAT chips and a 5534N in it?
I've exclusively been working off pictures, and can’t quite get it without a schematic, or better pics.
Or someone willing to offer me a donor unit
Once that is complete, I’m ready to send the boards out for manufacture.

Anthony,

[Matt Sartori]

Thanks for the support Matt!!

Would you have any details on the DBX202X, the one with 8x2180 THAT chips and a 5534N in it?
I've exclusively been working off pictures, and can’t quite get it without a schematic, or better pics.
Or someone willing to offer me a donor unit
Once that is complete, I’m ready to send the boards out for manufacture.

Anthony,

I don't I am afraid, but I am going to have an extra look in the workshop to see whether something comes up...

Matt Sartori

[DigitalMetal]

Do these look like the right profile?


https://imgur.com/j4VpBHz

[horizonsound]

Close, but not quite. The length under the fader tray should be longer.
Seems like someone has had a crack at making one themselves.

[waltzingbear]

to look at the 202X, that (the company) has a number of documents online that cover it pretty well. There are also fairly extensive discussions about it and the vca's in the DIY forums, both groupDIY and DIYaudio.

The original disign used the 2150 series vca, these are no longer available being replaced with the 2180 series vca. New designs with these tend to use either 4 instead of 8 vca's or just one 2181. The new vca is considerably more linear than the predecessor, also noise is better, one of the reasons to parallel them.

I believe circuit boards for the 4 paralell vca are available on line.

good reading.

Cheers
Alan

[horizonsound]

Thanks Alan,

Worked it out now.

Anthony.