I DID IT !!!

[Lothar]

HA! I never thought I would.....but I did it! And I am sure I will
live to regret it: I added a picture to my profile and uploaded it!
Well....sort of !
Anyhow: This gives a new meaning to the term "thumbnail" pictures!

But I thought it is a pity that we ONLY know Stans loud jacket so far,
plus these funny pics Howard uploaded!

So let's give it a face ! Any followers ?

Promise: These thumbnails are VERY kind to all pictures.... :))))

Regards,

Lothar

[Pete Wilson]

Well, I'm a follower, and so there's now a pic of me up there too. But
it's from 30 years ago, when hair existed :-)

And I've just uploaded the Lustraphone LP100 User Manual as a .pdf. In
the many house moves since I acquired the machine, I lost my copy of
the manual, but Michael Kellett of Lamerholm Fleming Ltd (I've lost
his contact information, but if I remember correctly, he and his
father were deeply involved with Lustraphone) was kind enough to email
me scanned copies of the original, which I stuffed through OCR to
reconstruct a reasonable facsimile of the book (page breaks may not be
correct, but I've proofread it a few times). All attempts to get
automatic tools to 'recognise' the circuit diagram (to the extent of
providing a more readable diagram, not to recognise the thing as a
real circuit) unfortunately failed horribly. I keep meaning to extract
the circuit (manually) and Spice the thing, but time is too short...
Using 741's, indeed...

I hope it's not blasphemy to have a non-Stan Curtis design on our
pages :-)

And rummaging around the house yesterday, I found my old Armstrong
tuner. Right beside the (currently non-functional) Leak Stereo
30....Where can I get some OC-35s?

-- Pete

[John Mayberry]

What a name for a company- Lustraphone....

The bottle of Smirnoff in the background truly adds to the ambience.

We finally got the second season of Life on Mars over here recently;
amazing how times have changed.

[John Mayberry]

I'm sure Stan's fine with the design. The 741 will always be
remembered fondly- almost a fountain of our youths!

I did find my Hill Plasmatronics Owner and Repair Manual over the
holidays and need to scan it- roughly 50 pages in all. Any
suggestions from the those who have been there so my day isn't shot?

[Lothar]

Hi Pete,

GOOD, another braveheart !

Hair: Yes, the good old days plus most of the hair have
gone ??? ;)))
(should have kept some!)

As for your technical info, I must confess it is quite lost with me,
as I am ALL EARS, meaning I know what I like when I listen to it, but
don't care how they achieved it ! (Sorry Stan!)

Stan and blasphemy......NO, I don't think so, you might be beheaded or
something of the kind, but it could be worse, couldn't it !?

Regards,

Lothar

[Pete Wilson]

Incidentally, the websites says the group has used about 70% of the
allocated file storage...

I have no idea whether this can be increased, but I suppose that at
some point there should be a cull, or a change in philosophy. I think
other groups tend to post the pictures elsewhere and then just send
URLs.

I have a 'professional' account at smugmug (which, if you folk don't
know of it, is a most excellent site for photo professionals,
committed amateurs and so forth - friendly, competent, excellent
colour, good prints etc) and so I can post an unlimited number of
**images** (not pdfs, alas) in a 'Lecson gallery' there at no extra
cost to myself, if that seems to be a good thing to do. But it means
emailing me images and me uploading them, which is inconvenient for
folk.

Let me know..

-- Pete

------------------------------------------------
Pete Wilson :: pe...@kivadesigngroupe.com
cell: (512) 577-1618 fax: (512) 259-1595
104 Forest Trail::Leander::TX::78641-9398::USA
pictures at http://kivadesign.smugmug.com
================================================

[Spiny]

OC35's... er I've got a couple in the junk box unused and test OK :)
if you really need them drop me an email, must have had them since the
60's. My Leak uses valves - currently resting in the garage.

[Lothar]

Great suggestion Pete, but.....

just could be a lot of extra work for you, and a bit too complicated
for some maybe.

Maybe we have to try it the hard way first = throw out most of the old
stuff which has been downloaded already by most, but of course that's
bad luck for any new members!

Idea: We might collect all old stuff at the forum, "throw" it out of
the forum into an archive, which is where YOU come in !?

Much less work for you, and everybody who wants to can 1) upload new
stuff directly and 2) try to find everything else in our new
archive !?

Just an idea.....

Bye for today !

Lothar

On 7 Jan., 19:23, Pete Wilson <p...@kivadesigngroupe.com> wrote:
> Incidentally, the websites says the group has used about 70% of the
> allocated file storage...
>
> I have no idea whether this can be increased, but I suppose that at
> some point there should be a cull, or a change in philosophy. I think
> other groups tend to post the pictures elsewhere and then just send
> URLs.
>
> I have a 'professional' account at smugmug (which, if you folk don't
> know of it, is a most excellent site for photo professionals,
> committed amateurs and so forth - friendly, competent, excellent
> colour, good prints etc) and so I can post an unlimited number of
> **images** (not pdfs, alas) in a 'Lecson gallery' there at no extra
> cost to myself, if that seems to be a good thing to do. But it means
> emailing me images and me uploading them, which is inconvenient for
> folk.
>
> Let me know..
>
> -- Pete
>
> On Jan 7, 2008, at 11:30 AM, John Mayberry wrote:
>
>
>
> > I'm sure Stan's fine with the design. The 741 will always be
> > remembered fondly- almost a fountain of our youths!
>
> > I did find my Hill Plasmatronics Owner and Repair Manual over the
> > holidays and need to scan it- roughly 50 pages in all. Any
> > suggestions from the those who have been there so my day isn't shot?
>
> ------------------------------------------------

> Pete Wilson :: p...@kivadesigngroupe.com

[Pete Wilson]

Spiny

Thanks!

Last time it it croaked it was a driver, not the output devices, so I
was being a little theatrical. I hope to actually find out what's
going on. But I'll be back in contact if..

-- Pete

On Jan 7, 2008, at 12:42 PM, Spiny wrote:

>
> OC35's... er I've got a couple in the junk box unused and test OK :)
> if you really need them drop me an email, must have had them since the
> 60's. My Leak uses valves - currently resting in the garage.

------------------------------------------------
Pete Wilson :: pe...@kivadesigngroupe.com

[Pete Wilson]

I think that's a good model to follow...

-- P

------------------------------------------------
Pete Wilson :: pe...@kivadesigngroupe.com

[catman]

First a happy new year to everyone (well , better late than never ) .
Large naval guns? thats a subject i know only a little of . Whilst i
agree with Lother on the subject of war you cannot be but impressed
with the engineering involved.
Hi Steve just read your post re. Lustraphone LP100 amp. Brings back
memories of an amp almost bought back in the seventies. I did however
buy the matching tuner a few years after i bought my first pair of
HL1,s. I think it,s called LT100 but i would have to rummage in the
loft to find it. It,s still in perfect working order and looks great .
I actually sold this tuner to a friend, who then gave it to his mother-
in-law, and many years later i bought it back together with my garrard
401 (my first record deck) in the early nineties.I bought it new from
a radio shop long after Lustrphone had expired and almost got the amp.
but it was away being repaired for some reason. Untill now i have
never found anyone who has even heard of Lustraphone . Alas my HL1,s
are all in bits, as i am waiting for some parts for the crossovers and
some new cable. The wiring diagram for the modified crossovers that
came with the speakers is not quite correct. I don,t suppose someone
has the original?

On Jan 7, 5:00 pm, Pete Wilson <p...@kivadesigngroupe.com> wrote:

[Lothar]

Funny thing with Lustraphone is that I have never seen one and only
read the name sometimes in the seventies.
Most of all it seems they were specialists for professional
microphones !?
Right or wrong ?
One is just being offered at ebay, have a look and be amazed !

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120207308931&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=002


To be honest: I would now love to get my hands at one of their amps,
no matter which one and no matter if it is worth it, or a tuner or
whatever !

PLEASE don't ask me why !

Maybe I just fancy the exotic name..... ?

Guess it will be impossible to get anything from them......

Lothar

[Pete Wilson]

Yes, Lustraphone started out as a professional sound company
specialising in microphones. It was a little strange to see them
introduce the LP100 amp.
I vaguely recall the (Hi Fi News?) show at which they were introduced.
I got mine from a colleague at ICL - it kept committing suicide and
killing driver and/or output transistors. I hypothesized that sticking
a few pf across the power amp inputs would fix it, bought some new
transistors and - it worked! Never a day's problem since. But the
power supply electrolytics are showing ominous signs of incipient
death...

Some commentary here:

http://moosenose.com/LustraphoneRib%5CLustraphoneRib.htm

-- Pete

On Jan 9, 2008, at 7:52 AM, Lothar wrote:

> Funny thing with Lustraphone is that I have never seen one and only
> read the name sometimes in the seventies.
> Most of all it seems they were specialists for professional
> microphones !?
> Right or wrong ?
> One is just being offered at ebay, have a look and be amazed !

------------------------------------------------

[organstan]

Lustraphone ! Yes great name isn't it. I've seen quite a few of their
microphones over the years and they had a good reputation back then.
The diversification into hi-fi amplifiers was strange. The LP100 was
expensive to manufacture and sonically wasn't too brilliant at all.
Looking at the schematic goes some way to explaining why. I hope it
wasn't the activity that brought them down.

Still it's good that Pete has rescued the documentation; all good
stuff. Ah yes the 741 (and before that the 709). Used lots of them
but never in an audio circuit. Considered them for the Cambridge
Audio Classic amplifier but they sounded awful so rather than
investigate further I designed my own hybrid integrated circuit, the
H1 which was manufactured by Newmarket Transistors Ltd. (Now long
gone)

Stan

[John Mayberry]

I edited my profile and added a graphic done by my last magazine.

[Lothar]

Thanks John, just had a look at the graphic, and I recognized you
without any doubt....or something of the kind.....

Ah well, as it looks right now, I am the only one who was crazy enough
to upload a real picture...
(Pete's pic is also real, but as he said: More from his hippie times,
when he was young and beautiful! Sorry Pete! )

I said I would live to regret it ! :)))

[Pete Wilson]

Ah, but Lothar, I now have an up to date picture of me up there. And
as you can see, the beauty is ummm.. transformed by the passage of time

-- P

On Jan 10, 2008, at 7:35 AM, Lothar wrote:

> Ah well, as it looks right now, I am the only one who was crazy enough
> to upload a real picture...
> (Pete's pic is also real, but as he said: More from his hippie times,
> when he was young and beautiful! Sorry Pete! )

------------------------------------------------

[Lothar]

Hey Pete, thanks!

But it really was NOT necessary! After all time has been more or
less (usually less) kind to us all, so what do we complain !? :)))

You know what was missing with the old picture!? A HARLEY !

The way you looked then was really just right for a Harley! (I never
had a real good motorbike, as Harleys are too expensive for me, and
the real big and heavy machines make me shiver....always afraid these
beasts would drop on me!)

Oh and while I am writing this: NOT to forget Stan, who silently,
without a word also uploaded a little picture!

Thanks Stan !

What a pity these pics are SO tiny that they don't do any justice to
our REAL beauty, don't you agree ?


Lothar

On 11 Jan., 01:41, Pete Wilson <p...@kivadesigngroupe.com> wrote:
> Ah, but Lothar, I now have an up to date picture of me up there. And
> as you can see, the beauty is ummm.. transformed by the passage of time
>
> -- P
>
> On Jan 10, 2008, at 7:35 AM, Lothar wrote:
>
> > Ah well, as it looks right now, I am the only one who was crazy enough
> > to upload a real picture...
> > (Pete's pic is also real, but as he said: More from his hippie times,
> > when he was young and beautiful! Sorry Pete! )
>
> ------------------------------------------------

> Pete Wilson :: p...@kivadesigngroupe.com

[Pete Wilson]

Digging out stuff as I begin to rework the LP 100. Work triggered by looking at it and discovering the power amp supply caps were bulging horribly. Now replaced with big modern ones - vastly over engineered ‘computer grade’..

But now the DC fuses have gone kerblooie, perhaps because the new caps allowed more inrush current and the fuses went in an attempt to save the life of the bridge rectifier.

Reading back, I found Stan’s note below:

Coupla comments - my LP 100 sounded better than the Linn LK1/LK2 combo I bought after arriving in the States (and the AudioLab 8000, which has for many many years sounded dreadful - gotta open it up and poke around a bit.)

It’s certainly mechanically very complex, with many twiddly bits. Comes apart well enough, but there’s just so many parts - easy to see why it could well have been vastly expensive to make

The strange thing about the LP100 is that the power amp was more or less a perfectly ordinary Class AB amplifier with complementary output devices and a nice (if simpler than usual) differential input stage and the usual feedback path to the differential stage giving it a voltage gain of around 20. But then they dropped a 741 op amp in front of the power amp proper, AND put it inside another feedback loop from the power amp output. Now, 741’s had open loop bandwidths of a kilohertz of so, and so TIM would always have been a possibility. Since, however, the 741 was run open loop (no local feedback, I suspect its output signal would have been relatively small, and so volts per microsecond slew rate limiting may never have occurred. But if I remember correctly its list of sins, the 741 was itself prone to crossover distortion…. sigh.

Anyway, another golden memory and time to trot off to Fry’s to see if I can’t replace the fuses AND the bridge rectifier with something much more robust….

— P

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Pete Wilson :: pete [at] kivadesigngroupe [dot] com

                        cell: +1 (512) 577-1618

        109 Woodland Trail::Leander::TX::78641-9207::USA

           pictures at http://kivadesign.smugmug.com

linked-in members:http://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjwilson

==========================================

[Lothar]

Hi Pete,

I am a bit lost....why you posted this to an EIGHT YEAR old post I had completely forgotten!

First I thought somebody had hijacked my account and posted in my name, but it seems I DID post this....eight years ago!

Well, I'm sure you have your reasons!  ;)))

Lothar

[Pete Wilson]

Lothar,

I am old, and my mind turns to fun things now and then :-)

— P

On Jul 31, 2016, at 3:24 AM, Lothar <lothar.k...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Pete,

I am a bit lost....why you posted this to an EIGHT YEAR old post I had completely forgotten!

First I thought somebody had hijacked my account and posted in my name, but it seems I DID post this....eight years ago!

Well, I'm sure you have your reasons!  ;)))

Lothar

---------------------------------------
         Pete Wilson
 peter....@freescale.com
    Freescale Discovery Labs
………………………………..
   cell: (512) 577-1618
======================