Admiring Old Builds

[Bill Mountain]

I needed a single opamp for a new project and my stash of TL071's was empty.  I have a tone of 741's, 301's, and such but I wanted something a little higher fidelity for this project.

I decided to take one out of an old TS clone I built (which utilized a single TL071 and a passive e.q.) that I haven't used in a while.

When I opened it up to get my chip I blown away.  The wires were cut the perfect length.  There were no burn marks on the shielding.  The soldering was perfect.  All of the parts lay perfectly flat and straight.  The pcb was nice and secure.  The foot switch was cleanly soldered.  The jacks weren't over soldered.  The pots were straight and tight. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Who built this thing again?  I though I would get better over time.  Nope... I just got lazy.

[Mark Hammer]

Maybe it was just built before you started thinking "Meh, if I don't like it I can always build another modified version.  Cheap enough to do."

[duck_arse]

whenever I open an old build, it means it is one step closer to becoming something else. and my reaction is always "what the hell was I thinking?"

[alanp]

I keep photos of the guts, so I never forget just how bloody messy a lot of my old stuff is.

[Greenmachine]

Sometimes instead of a bringing a book to bed I bring a pedal and a screwdriver.  So yes, I feel you man.

[amptramp]

When Parkinson's meets Alzheimer's, just remain in awe of what you were once able to do, try to remember doing it and screw the lid back on.  Then repeat tomorrow when you have forgotten it all over again.