PedalPower: Spyder

[Hailstorm350]

Has anyone ever built the spyder project from the Geofex site? the one where The transformer is rolled custom?  I am considering taking on that project and I need to know if anyone has had success with it or not.
I was also wondering what kind of enclosure you would put something like that in.  It shouldn't require a ton of space seeing as how it only uses one transformer(unlike the 8 separate transformer version)  and the circuits could just be laid out next to each other over and over and over on a single circuit board.  Any reply is appreciated.  If you have any tips on winding the transformer or anything else, please let me know, seeing as how I will be doing this for a friend and want to do a good job!  

[niftydog]

I didn't necessarily follow the Spyder design, but I have built a custom wound transformer for my power supply. It has 12 secondary taps and is capable of providing up to about 15VDC/tap.

It was a huge success, by far and away the best thing I've done for my effects rig.

Enclosure type and size will largely depend on the transformer you re-wind. Mine was an old 6.3V transformer out of an old TV. It was about 5-6 inches square, thus I needed a fairly large enclosure just to fit it in... then obvioulsy fitting the circuit boards was not a problem.

I don't think I could add anything to RG's fantastic advice on winding transformers - excpet to say that you should be prepared to go slightly insane and willing to subject your hands and wrist to a fair bit of abuse. I staggered the winding task over a couple of weeks so that I didn't spend too long fiddling with the winding wire, getting hand cramps and counting to infinity!

The harest task is picking a suitable transformer. It's really difficult to estimate how large the bobbin needs to be in order to accomodate the appropriate number of turns of wire. Also, finding one that can be dismantled easily is sometimes harder than you think.

Anywho, if you have specific q's, don't hesitate to ask!

[Chico]

Hailstorm:

Try a search on this forum for Weber and transformer.  You may be suprised what you find.

Best regards

Tom[/list][/code]

[Hailstorm350]

thanks, I think I'm just gonna go with the flatpack transformer that rg used on his project page.  It seems pretty reliable that I could get the same results with the number of turns he specified.
Ken

[H.Manback]

I'm thinking about building something similar as well, not sure yet on winding the transformer yet.

Is it possible to wind a toroidal transformer yourself, and if so does it have any benefits?

[R.G.]

Toroidal winding is possible, but hard.

Seriously, I've been messing with and winding transformers for over 30 years. The flat pack semi-toroidal things are the neatest thing since sliced bread for DIY transformers.

They come in several sizes. If I had to make another one, I'd probably get a larger size than I used for the prototype just to make winding easier (bigger window area to wind in). The truly nice thing about the flatpacks is that you don't need to mess with the **dangerous** primary at all. Just cut off the secondaries and wind new ones in.