Project files: B1 buffer/preamp

What is it?
Project files for my miniature version of Nelson Pass’ B1 buffer/preamp (shown here). I was looking through the “back catalogue” my of designs and decided that this has been sitting around for long enough to release 🙂

How big are the boards?
The board measures 3.55″ x 2.825″ (app. 90 x 72 mm.)

What is the status of the boards?
This board is in version 1.1 – tested, working and with a few minor touch-ups afterwards 🙂

Does it use any special/expensive/hard-to-find parts?
Well…

•  The 2SK170 JFETS are obsolete and can be difficult to get (the real ones at least – getting something that is marked “SK170” isn’t hard at all…). There are a few “close enough” substitutes (such as 2SK369, 2SK117, 2SK246 and possibly a few more) which aren’t completely unobtanium yet. Do a google search if you are not sure, make sure to get BL-grades and beware that not all of these have the same pin connections.
• The input and output caps should be MKP-types (polypropylene). The “square” footprints correspond to normal types from Wima, Evox/Rifa and many others.
• The 1 ohm resistor in the power supply is meant to be a 5W MPC-71 type. These can be a bit hard to find – ebay and Aliexpress seem to be the best options (some risk of fakes as usual) – but it is also possible to fit a normal 3-5W type instead.

Anything else I need to know?

• The JFETs should be matched for Idss for best performance. Plenty of guides available for that if you are unable to buy pre-matched pairs, and my JFETmatcher can be used as well.
• I have used smaller PSU capacitors on the board than Nelson did in the original article, but you should still be able to get away with both regulated and unregulated power supplies. Plenty of advice out there for that as well – as long as you stay between 18 and 24V more or less everything should work.

Downloads:
Download design files here

Related information:
Tons on information out there on the B1 and derivates, but the most obvious place to start is (obviously…) Nelson’s original article.

Note: Always read the “intro post” for additional important information about my designs.