MPSA 18 vs. BC546B's

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At one point in time I asked Nelson, "I note you change from the MPSA18s to ZTX450s between the A5 and A4. The later are much easier for me to locate and I wondered if they were exchangeable"

To which he replied, "The bipolars in this circuit are completely generic, and the ZTX450's were chosen for price and availability. np"

That is, any equivalent will do.

cheers, mark
 
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Joined 2002
I am silly. My friends call me so.

Whatever I make, I use only the matched components.

Matched transistors...
Matched JFETs...
Matched MOSFETs...
Matched caps...
Matched coils...
Matched resistors...
Matched cable length...
Matched chassis...
Matched transformers...
Matched knobs...
Matched bridge diodes...

Sound silly, but this is the right solution.

Please believe in me. Just go ahead.
 
In someway a wrong obsession.

Energy lost into chaos (random) is totally waisted.
Energy lost into (near ideal, not optimal) symmetric circuitry will cause (return as)harmonic (ie. ordened) distortion.

Total chaos is in my eyes even a way too lose entropy in the universe.
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2002
I use MPSA42.
I use ZTX450 too.
I use 2N6517 too.
All matched.

I have only one power amp. So, I use the above three
simply to replace in turn, whenever I get to feel boring.
It¡¯s fun of soldering and re-soldering. Yeah...it is indeed.

If it is NPN transistor,
if it has big enough CE, CB and EB breakdown voltage rating,
if it works hard-saturated, and
if it has a base-emitter potential of about 0.66V,
which one?, does not matter. This is my lesson from a book and
the articles of Nelson Pass.

Cowanrg...

:eek:

I was teaching a shark how to swim...
 
jh6you,

It seems like any respectable BJT will do in this situation. I have even built a test circuit using the venerable 2N2222 in place of the ZTX450/MPSA18 for the Aleph current source. Worked pretty good with a hfe of ~125.

I wonder what the minimum hfe would be in this situation. I might tinker with this tomorrow if I get some time.

cowanrg,

8-100W Class A Amplifiers?! I hope that your climate control system is up to the task. Don't each of these amplifiers idle near 400W?

Later,
 
hehe, yeah, 8 aleph2's.

but 6 of them are going to be in a theater, and the other 2 in a listening room. they wont all be together. i know i know, its nuts. but hey, i want to do it. and its only 300 watts of heat :)

stadams said:
jh6you,

It seems like any respectable BJT will do in this situation. I have even built a test circuit using the venerable 2N2222 in place of the ZTX450/MPSA18 for the Aleph current source. Worked pretty good with a hfe of ~125.

I wonder what the minimum hfe would be in this situation. I might tinker with this tomorrow if I get some time.

cowanrg,

8-100W Class A Amplifiers?! I hope that your climate control system is up to the task. Don't each of these amplifiers idle near 400W?

Later,
 
I just hope you have a dedicated line rated at 120 VAC @ 30 amps or a 220 VAC dedicated line rated @ 15 amps just for the power amplifiers. You will need at least 10 awg wiring to the outlets @ 115 VAC. Six channels of Aleph 2 is about 1800 watts constant draw which is a tad too close for a 120 VAC, 20 amp circuit. A 120 VAC 20 amp circuit may not be safe if the run is long. A long run could be a fire hazard due to heat dissipation in the wiring. It looks as if your best bet is either a 120 VAC 30 amp circuit or wire the Alephs for 220 VAC and run a 220 volt line (if your trannies have dual primaries). I also hope you have at least 150 amp service or better in your home especially if you electric appliances. All in all though, having 8 Aleph 2's is not a bad problem to have.
 
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