Phoenix Gold Phorum

After years have passed, I am finally getting my basement in order.

I started working on my test bench. I first installed two 20A dedicated lines for my power supplies. Next I wired up a bunch of outlets along the wall. Then I insulated and put up a 1/2 in MDF sheet and built a shelf to mount my head unit in and support my power supplies. When done I will have 200A of current for testing amplifiers.

very nice keep up the good work
what did you use on the floor?

Being that close to the power box, you could easily get 240v going. I wonder if they make power supplies that run on that? Just curious because your setup is clearly overkill anyways

Nice work on the framing. When you take time to do it yourself, it will be very rewarding when you've finished... and a lot better quality than some rushed contractor job too. What contractor would run your wires so nicely?

yeah, what did you use for the floor... looks like paint onto cement?

Looks great. It looks to me as though that is the epoxy flooring used commonly in garages (the stuff is amazing!)

That's pretty sweet man.......................

240V supplies are out there, but they cost quite a bit. I would like to go higher than 200A some day when I can afford it.

This is the floor...

http://www.epoxy-coat.com/

I did my garage floor last fall and was pleased with the results. I did have air bubbles in the garage floor, but not the basement floor. Also, if I have snow on the bottom of my shoes, the garage is like an ice rink. In winter I need to put down a lot of floor mats.

Isn't there a sand type additive you can add to the epoxy to give the floor texture so it's stable underfoot when wet?

Nice job though.....

Bruce

The epoxy kit came with aluminum oxide you can sprinkle on for traction, but it will wear out over time, and it makes cleaning the floor harder. Right now when spring comes I hose out my garage and then use a big squeegee to take away the water. When I do this the floor looks just as good as the day I put it down.

Looks nice!
A slippery floor comes in handy when you have to move big boxes with heavy stuff [such as amps] around...

Well, I have things somewhat working for power testing. I made some changes. No more shelf brackets, they flex too much. I ran chain up to the floor joists of the house. I installed two lights and run them off the switch on the front of the shelf. I also put a spare outlet in for when I need my dremel or any other power tool.

I need to put some switches in for the head unit and the remote lines (so I can turn things on and off as I need to). I also have to put a PLD in there somewhere. I plan to use the PLD as protection for my head unit if the amp under test has catastrophic failure.

Looks good to me! I wish i had a basement like that!

Looking good Eric! I need to find me a nice PS like yours for my bench.

what we always did with our test benches was run the speaker wire out from the deck, into some terminals that then went to the speaker. This would allow both for easy testing of decks, amps and speakers by simply disconnecting them and re-wiring them the way we needed them.

I agree with Joerg, I would love a basement like that. Looks great!

ttocs wrote:what we always did with our test benches was run the speaker wire out from the deck, into some terminals that then went to the speaker. This would allow both for easy testing of decks, amps and speakers by simply disconnecting them and re-wiring them the way we needed them.

That is a good idea. My deck does not have any speaker outputs, but I will mount some barrier strips with connections to the speakers so I can test decks if I need too.

I made some improvements based on some of your suggestions. I can now run two processors and an amp or two at the same time. I also have the PLD in there, not to boost the voltage, but to protect my deck should an amp short out to the RCAs. Fixing the PLD would be much easier than fixing the deck. Everything is now fused, and I have switches to control remote turn on lines. The speaker wires go to the barrier strip so I can test deck and more easily connect up amps.

looks pretty freakin awesome. so clean

Great job running those wires. Looks slick as shit.

now that it's setup so nice I've got some amps for you to test

That is awesome. I hope to have a basement or garage to work in someday when I buy a house.