DIY Regen Battery tweak

Anything to do with computer audio, hardware, software etc.
sima66
Posts: 872
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 7:35 pm
Location: Canada

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by sima66 »

nige2000 wrote:Assume you've tried the normal stuff
Turn off power to USB card turn on power to USB card
Shut down PC and then press start
Remember if the USB card isnt in and on for bootup it won't know its there
Regen is hot swappable

Take out usbcard and put back in

Check for 1.6v on clock

It's likely something simple
I can't remember how many times I turned on/off PC and always make sure that the card was off when PC off and card ON before starting the PC.

I'm only not sure that I did that when I connected ONLY the +5v to sonicweld, so today I started all over again (before I unplug (unscrew) the card).

I connected the same way I had before (both grounds) and now it plays like nothing ever happen! :))

In any case , Nigel, thank you. ;-)
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nige2000
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Location: meath

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by nige2000 »

cool

at least its working
sd card player, modded soekris dac, class a lifepo4 amp or gb class a/b amp, diy open baffle speakers based on project audio mundorf trio 10's
Crom
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:55 am

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by Crom »

jkeny wrote:
nige2000 wrote:Yes cool stuff you can also do a 5 v pass though
Thanks, Nige - yes, or inject a clean 5V into the output USB connector on the right of the pic

The pin at the bottom of this connector in the pic is the 5V pin - it is the one with the wide trace going to it from the REG5 (5v regulator)

You should connect the +5V from a PS to here & the PSes gnd to the battery ground or any other ground point on the board
Hey N&J, I haven't been here in a while...or in fact done much DIYing (no time with littluns!!). It's great to see that you are still pioneering the way forward. Some of these threads are really re-kindling the DIY fire (that and the fact that after over 2 years my Paul Hynes order is - apparently - within a week of dispatch...I will believe it when I see it).

To get my hand back in I've done the Regen battery tweak but now need to make sure that 5v is present on the o/p. So...quick sense check - I think I'm fine with just connecting the 5v USB input with the 5v output (ie connect the USB connector pins together across the regen board. Do you see any problems with this - ie feeding 5v back into the o/p of the REG5 - and would I be better with cutting the traces on the board?

I'll only use the 5v to initiate the connection - and then switch off - but want to make sure that I don't blow anything by bridging the 5v across the board!

Cheers guys,
Crom
nige2000
Posts: 4253
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:47 am
Location: meath

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by nige2000 »

Crom wrote:
jkeny wrote:
nige2000 wrote:Yes cool stuff you can also do a 5 v pass though
Thanks, Nige - yes, or inject a clean 5V into the output USB connector on the right of the pic

The pin at the bottom of this connector in the pic is the 5V pin - it is the one with the wide trace going to it from the REG5 (5v regulator)

You should connect the +5V from a PS to here & the PSes gnd to the battery ground or any other ground point on the board
Hey N&J, I haven't been here in a while...or in fact done much DIYing (no time with littluns!!). It's great to see that you are still pioneering the way forward. Some of these threads are really re-kindling the DIY fire (that and the fact that after over 2 years my Paul Hynes order is - apparently - within a week of dispatch...I will believe it when I see it).

To get my hand back in I've done the Regen battery tweak but now need to make sure that 5v is present on the o/p. So...quick sense check - I think I'm fine with just connecting the 5v USB input with the 5v output (ie connect the USB connector pins together across the regen board. Do you see any problems with this - ie feeding 5v back into the o/p of the REG5 - and would I be better with cutting the traces on the board?

I'll only use the 5v to initiate the connection - and then switch off - but want to make sure that I don't blow anything by bridging the 5v across the board!

Cheers guys,
Crom
hi ben
been long time
was starting to think you got sense

dont see any issue with bridging across the 5v with a switch
about 3 seconds does the handshake on xmos chips
sd card player, modded soekris dac, class a lifepo4 amp or gb class a/b amp, diy open baffle speakers based on project audio mundorf trio 10's
jkeny
Posts: 2387
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:37 pm

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by jkeny »

Yea, crom , you should be safe bridging the 5V across the board - it won't blow up the 5v reg

When you've done this battery mod, let us know your impressions
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Crom
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:55 am

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by Crom »

Hey Nig, no...sense is still in short supply just no time these days :-)

Thanks for the sense check guys...all done and listening for a little while now.

Hmm, impressions...um, blown away tbh! Some context: I bought a regen on the back of the wave of popularity a while back but wasn't too enamoured when I plugged it in...didn't seem to do anything in my setup. I listened to it off and on for days and ended up replacing the SMPS with a paul Hynes I had and after much swapping I decided to leave it in. I already have lifepos powering all the clocks on MBs, USBs, DAC etc and Ian Canada's FIFO reclocking the i2s signal so I put the 'failure' down to the kit already being as tricked out as it could be. I was wrong.

One more lifepo stuck into regen has turned this thing into a v significant tweak...I mean like a minor preamp upgrade! Presence, imaging, transient speed all improved. The placement of instruments in the 3D space and the defined space which they occupy, all more accurate. Nuances in vocals that I hadn't heard before and the sound of the space in which the recording was made now more obvious. a (slightly) punchier aspect to the bass which really underpins the presentation. Winner guys, thank you!

what is going to happen when we finally are able to bin USB as an interface...we won't have anything to tweak or complain about?
nige2000
Posts: 4253
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Location: meath

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by nige2000 »

Crom wrote:Hey Nig, no...sense is still in short supply just no time these days :-)

Thanks for the sense check guys...all done and listening for a little while now.

Hmm, impressions...um, blown away tbh! Some context: I bought a regen on the back of the wave of popularity a while back but wasn't too enamoured when I plugged it in...didn't seem to do anything in my setup. I listened to it off and on for days and ended up replacing the SMPS with a paul Hynes I had and after much swapping I decided to leave it in. I already have lifepos powering all the clocks on MBs, USBs, DAC etc and Ian Canada's FIFO reclocking the i2s signal so I put the 'failure' down to the kit already being as tricked out as it could be. I was wrong.

One more lifepo stuck into regen has turned this thing into a v significant tweak...I mean like a minor preamp upgrade! Presence, imaging, transient speed all improved. The placement of instruments in the 3D space and the defined space which they occupy, all more accurate. Nuances in vocals that I hadn't heard before and the sound of the space in which the recording was made now more obvious. a (slightly) punchier aspect to the bass which really underpins the presentation. Winner guys, thank you!

what is going to happen when we finally are able to bin USB as an interface...we won't have anything to tweak or complain about?
the regen stock nearly induces as many issues as it solves
its a wonder there was any benefit putting it in
the battery mod had at least twice the benefit as the regen itself

we are also very impressed with the intona isolator which kinda proves usb itsself isnt really the evil one its still the fricken computer even after all the mods i was pretty much astounded

whats your digital chain these days?
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rickmcinnis
Posts: 588
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:01 pm

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by rickmcinnis »

I have to disagree with you, Nigel.

USB is a problem.

Please get a SATA SD card writer, get a copy of SLITAZ and copy some files. http://www.slitaz.org/en/get/

That part is not difficult.

I think it shows the shortcomings of USB for audio
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nige2000
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Location: meath

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by nige2000 »

rickmcinnis wrote:I have to disagree with you, Nigel.

USB is a problem.

Please get a SATA SD card writer, get a copy of SLITAZ and copy some files. http://www.slitaz.org/en/get/

That part is not difficult.

I think it shows the shortcomings of USB for audio
link a sata sd card writer for me

what are you comparing this sata sd card writer to?
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jkeny
Posts: 2387
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:37 pm

Re: DIY Regen Battery tweak

Post by jkeny »

Crom wrote:Hey Nig, no...sense is still in short supply just no time these days :-)

Thanks for the sense check guys...all done and listening for a little while now.

Hmm, impressions...um, blown away tbh! Some context: I bought a regen on the back of the wave of popularity a while back but wasn't too enamoured when I plugged it in...didn't seem to do anything in my setup. I listened to it off and on for days and ended up replacing the SMPS with a paul Hynes I had and after much swapping I decided to leave it in. I already have lifepos powering all the clocks on MBs, USBs, DAC etc and Ian Canada's FIFO reclocking the i2s signal so I put the 'failure' down to the kit already being as tricked out as it could be. I was wrong.

One more lifepo stuck into regen has turned this thing into a v significant tweak...I mean like a minor preamp upgrade! Presence, imaging, transient speed all improved. The placement of instruments in the 3D space and the defined space which they occupy, all more accurate. Nuances in vocals that I hadn't heard before and the sound of the space in which the recording was made now more obvious. a (slightly) punchier aspect to the bass which really underpins the presentation. Winner guys, thank you!

what is going to happen when we finally are able to bin USB as an interface...we won't have anything to tweak or complain about?
Thanks for reporting your findings
Yes, it's a significant upgrade as Nige says, bigger than the upgrade from no Regen to Regen itself
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For Digital Audio playback that delivers WHERE the performers are on stage but more importantly WHY they are there.
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