Yes, it is. At first I thought it was like the 813, but when the tubes showed up I found out otherwise. AES has the sockets.
Now that you mention it I know that I have a box full of 829B's and another box with some Amperex tubes that look a lot like the 5894, and another box with somthing like an 829B that never grew up. It's rather short and chubby.
George, I have been asking myself that same question.
I sold the building I presently office in and have to be out of it by the end of May, and am in the process of a full renovation of another, and it mostly depends on how all this plays out.
I am already behind schedule on the electric (and way over budget), but I am still thinking I can have it all done by the first week in May.
So, probably yes, but I won't know for sure until closer to Hamvention time.
Win W5JAG
I sold the building I presently office in and have to be out of it by the end of May, and am in the process of a full renovation of another, and it mostly depends on how all this plays out.
I am already behind schedule on the electric (and way over budget), but I am still thinking I can have it all done by the first week in May.
So, probably yes, but I won't know for sure until closer to Hamvention time.
Win W5JAG
No activity at all, not even turning an amp on to listen. I will be gone for most of May and I have been working a lot to get ahead. It's a safe bet that I will be behind when I get back, so there probably won't be much Tubelab activity until well into June. I must go to West Virginia and move my mother in law into a different house.
This weekend will be used up packing my Honda to the max for my 3000 mile road trip. I should be leaving aroung May 5 and not returning until May 24. One stop will be the Dayton hamfest.
I saw no mention of it in the flyer that they sent. Last years exhibit was pretty lame. There were two projects, and no one near either to explain them.
I could give a good demo on electronic pyrotechnics, but after a few years in a row demonstrating the "chip tester" at the now defunct Miami hamfest, I don't think it would go over well in Dayton. The aroma of roasted silicon and burnt plastic smells as strong as some of the Cuban cigars being smoked at the Miami show. At least our episodes got the fairgrounds to ban smoking indoors (now a state law).
I am already in West Virginia and only 200 miles or so from Dayton. Barring a major FU I will be there. I just got this Comcast Xfinity thing installed and need to get the wireless router working.
So, how was Hamvention? I didn't get to go. I've changed contractors on my office building and the major delay may even make me miss Hamcomm 
I have been giving some thought to simple 6146 single ended rev II, think I know how I want to do it, and may be able to get that together in the next few weeks.
Win W5JAG
I have been giving some thought to simple 6146 single ended rev II, think I know how I want to do it, and may be able to get that together in the next few weeks.
Win W5JAG
The Simple SE is still a project I'm planning. I wanted to work up a parts & cost list, but the web page's link to that is broken for the Simple, as is the OPT page. Is there a parts list currently available for a conventional build? The OPT's and tubes and chassis I have figured out, but a suggested parts list would be very helpful, especially if it has source and part number info, as is available for the Tubelab SE.
I think I'll start with 6L6's since I have a pair, but I also have those 12v 6146's to try too, so I'm keeping up with this discussion.
I think I'll start with 6L6's since I have a pair, but I also have those 12v 6146's to try too, so I'm keeping up with this discussion.
A legal issue requires Tubelab to cease use of the word "simple" paired with the common abbreviation for single ended. All use of the combined words had to be removed from my web site rather hastilly. Many web pages were renamed. The amplifier, circuit board and all things associated with it are now known as "SSE". If you negotiate the web site starting from the home page, all links should work. Links stored in your favorites will not. I am working on a revised web site, but I have not had much time lately.
It rained for 3 weeks leading up to the hamfest. The TV weather man promised good weather for the hamfest, followed by more rain. I drove to Dayton Thursday afternoon in the rain. It was still raining at 11 PM. Friday morning...clear blue sky and 60 degrees. They got it right. Attendance seemed a bit thin on Friday morning, probably due to the previous rain. Saturday was quite crowded until IT happened.
I had already planned to leave mid afternoon to start the long drive home. I noticed water flowing out of a crack in the poorly paved parking lot where the swap area is held. Something also smelled bad. Within a few minutes the water flow had become a volcano of raw sewage. I said goodbye to my friends and hit the road.
On Friday I was buying sweep tubes NIB for $1 each. I collected about 100. On Saturday I raised my limit to $2 and collected a few more. I got some RF parts, 8 antennas, some chassis, and a 5KW RF amplifier.
Doh, now that Summer has set in I was changing out the 6146B's for lower dissipation 2E26's and pulled a plate cap right off one of the Chinese 6146's.
Went to Ham Com this weekend and only came home with seven tubes, a globe 80, a couple of globe 46's, a globe 47, a couple of 5842's, and a 12AX7. I looked for some 801's ( not 801A's ), but couldn't find any. Saw 45's, including some globes, saw some 2A3's, 6A3's (which I meant to get, but forgot) 813's, and even some GE 6550's and 6CA7's and more, but I passed on all these.
Win W5JAG
Went to Ham Com this weekend and only came home with seven tubes, a globe 80, a couple of globe 46's, a globe 47, a couple of 5842's, and a 12AX7. I looked for some 801's ( not 801A's ), but couldn't find any. Saw 45's, including some globes, saw some 2A3's, 6A3's (which I meant to get, but forgot) 813's, and even some GE 6550's and 6CA7's and more, but I passed on all these.
Win W5JAG
I brought back over 100 tubes from Dayton most big sweep tubes for $1. They are still sitting in the box in the middle of the living room floor wher they landed when I unpacked the car. Too much time spent at work now.
I typed two words in a thread in the main tubes forum. Those two words started something that people have been asking for for years.
Many people think of me as a guitar player and I used to be a good one. I learned tubes by making guitar amps out of old TV sets when I was quite young (like about 10). I made guitar ampd for friends and for sale on and off over the years. I haven't made a completed working guitar amp in about 15 years though and I don't even have a working amp right now. My Stratocaster is in pieces, and my fingers are too stiff to play well. But I had to open my mouth....So there is a contest running right now. Deadline for completion is Aug 15.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/190738-hundred-buck-amp-challenge.html
I guess for the next two months I will be designing a master screamer or 2 or 3.
I typed two words in a thread in the main tubes forum. Those two words started something that people have been asking for for years.
Many people think of me as a guitar player and I used to be a good one. I learned tubes by making guitar amps out of old TV sets when I was quite young (like about 10). I made guitar ampd for friends and for sale on and off over the years. I haven't made a completed working guitar amp in about 15 years though and I don't even have a working amp right now. My Stratocaster is in pieces, and my fingers are too stiff to play well. But I had to open my mouth....So there is a contest running right now. Deadline for completion is Aug 15.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/190738-hundred-buck-amp-challenge.html
I guess for the next two months I will be designing a master screamer or 2 or 3.
George, thanks for the link. I wasn't aware of this contest. I love this and I may very well build something from the entries, since my only amp is a SS modeling amp (which I actually like a lot). I'd probably mate it to a diy single 15" cab, since I love the sound of a 115 even at low volumes.
I do think the rules will have to somehow involve speakers and recording technique since apparently they will be judged according to recorded sound, but it will certainly be fun to watch.
Now we know your button - a good competitive challenge, hi.
I do think the rules will have to somehow involve speakers and recording technique since apparently they will be judged according to recorded sound, but it will certainly be fun to watch.
Now we know your button - a good competitive challenge, hi.
I haven't had any building time for awhile now - I'm way behind. 6146 SSE #2 is mostly worked out in my head, but I need to build it up and validate it and move it to a chassis.
I took my Tubelab SE apart for a rebuild about nine months ago and haven't touched it since. I'm thinking of moving it to the chassis 6146 SSE #1 is on, but that won't happen until #2 gets built and vaildated.
I ordered one of the DZ Kit transceivers last summer and the last of the modules made it in a couple of weeks before Hamvention, so I would like to start on that kit sometime.
I'm still working on the hybrid transceiver that got me started on the tube audio diversion. There is just never enough time, it seems.
Win W5JAG
edit:
LOL, I don't know why this just now sunk in. 5KW? There's got to be a story here.
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Yes, 5KW AND I carried it from the back of the swap meet to my car across the street from the hamfest, about 1/2 mile.
There are some guys that are there every year. They have a wide variety of stuff on their swap tables from tubes (too expensive) to RF amplifier modules that have been salvaged from MRI equipment. They are priced by the number of MRF150 RF mosfets on the module. Usually about $10 per fet. I got some of these from them 2 years ago when a major rain storm was approaching and I offered a low ball price. As the rain started they took my offer. The amps seem to cover 40 meters (7 MHz) to 10 meters (28 MHz) and put out about 100 to 150 watts per fet. I have been tinkering with some of the small ones (4 fets) that I got 2 years ago and have indeed seen 500 watts flow on 20 meters. I bought a big one back then that had 24 fets and said 2.5 KW on it. I have not even tried to fire it up yet.
So this year they had this monster 5KW amp. The guy said it goes from 20 to 70 MHz and needs 48 volts at 150 amps. I don't know why, but when he said $75 I got out my wallet. The heat sink is worth that much, but I wasn't so sure about half way to the car.
No way I can light this whole thing up, but I will test the driver by itself. It should be good for about 600 watts on 6 meters. The heat sink in this thing is big, but can not support CW at 5KW. It is from an MRI machine where short pulses are the norm.
Attachments
Well, the sudden arrival of a toddler in the house has brought 6146/2E26 SSE use to a screeching halt - plate caps are too much of an attraction and danger and there are no non plate cap tubes in this base configuration that I am aware of.
So, in keeping with the oddball tube use, a hasty reconfig yesterday afternoon has brought 6AR6/6098/6384 to the SSE party. When it's safe to use plate caps, 6889, 6BQ6 and 6DQ6 can also be used. All of these are low screen voltage tubes, that really need to be run as pentodes. For anyone who has not seen a 6AR6/6098, just think of a (real) Tung Sol 5881/6L6WGB - they look identical. 6384 is a ruggedized variant made by Bendix, Tung Sol, and Cetron. 6AR6, 6098, 6384 and 6889 tubes do not drop in the SSE sockets -a pin adapter is required.
Now that I know how to do this, the reconfiguration was pretty fast and simple: I pulled the 180K resistor that was paralleled across the original 220K grid resistor; put the screen voltage back to pin 4, put the OPT lead back to the pin 3 trace on the pcb; and changed the screen supply back to a CLC setup from the LC setup I was using. This gives about 240 volts screen voltage, out of spec for 6BQ6 but they'll just have to learn to live with that, life's tough sometimes, expecially for cheap sweep tubes, it's in spec for the others. If I did anything else, I can't think of it off the top of my head. I left the local negative feedback plate to grid (Schade) in place.
For now, I have a 560 ohm cathode resistor in place. This puts the grid voltage at about -24 volts, and about 400 volts on the plate with a 5Y3 rectifier, or about 19 watts dissipation with 6AR6/6098/6384. I'm using 5K plate load.
So far it sounds reasonably nice - a bit brighter than 6146 (may need to increase the current) and a bit less gain, but it's easy and inoffensive on the ears as is.
I've been giving some thought to 6146 SSE rev II and I'm not sure I'm going to go there at this point - I've been working on a chassis and have it partially cut, but now I'm thinking of working on a child resistant SSE in the immediate future and that may or may not be a 6146 based amp.
Having put many thousands of hours on the 6146 in single ended pentode over the last ten months, and at least a thousand hours or more on 2E26, my personal opinion is that, within their limitations, these are perfectly fine tubes for audio amp use, and the problems one often reads about being associated with these tubes are largely overblown. They are, as RCA originally described them, compact powerhouses. It was a fun run. My only regret is not getting around to giving them a run in triode - an early RCA data sheet allows 400 volts in triode mode.
Win W5JAG
So, in keeping with the oddball tube use, a hasty reconfig yesterday afternoon has brought 6AR6/6098/6384 to the SSE party. When it's safe to use plate caps, 6889, 6BQ6 and 6DQ6 can also be used. All of these are low screen voltage tubes, that really need to be run as pentodes. For anyone who has not seen a 6AR6/6098, just think of a (real) Tung Sol 5881/6L6WGB - they look identical. 6384 is a ruggedized variant made by Bendix, Tung Sol, and Cetron. 6AR6, 6098, 6384 and 6889 tubes do not drop in the SSE sockets -a pin adapter is required.
Now that I know how to do this, the reconfiguration was pretty fast and simple: I pulled the 180K resistor that was paralleled across the original 220K grid resistor; put the screen voltage back to pin 4, put the OPT lead back to the pin 3 trace on the pcb; and changed the screen supply back to a CLC setup from the LC setup I was using. This gives about 240 volts screen voltage, out of spec for 6BQ6 but they'll just have to learn to live with that, life's tough sometimes, expecially for cheap sweep tubes, it's in spec for the others. If I did anything else, I can't think of it off the top of my head. I left the local negative feedback plate to grid (Schade) in place.
For now, I have a 560 ohm cathode resistor in place. This puts the grid voltage at about -24 volts, and about 400 volts on the plate with a 5Y3 rectifier, or about 19 watts dissipation with 6AR6/6098/6384. I'm using 5K plate load.
So far it sounds reasonably nice - a bit brighter than 6146 (may need to increase the current) and a bit less gain, but it's easy and inoffensive on the ears as is.
I've been giving some thought to 6146 SSE rev II and I'm not sure I'm going to go there at this point - I've been working on a chassis and have it partially cut, but now I'm thinking of working on a child resistant SSE in the immediate future and that may or may not be a 6146 based amp.
Having put many thousands of hours on the 6146 in single ended pentode over the last ten months, and at least a thousand hours or more on 2E26, my personal opinion is that, within their limitations, these are perfectly fine tubes for audio amp use, and the problems one often reads about being associated with these tubes are largely overblown. They are, as RCA originally described them, compact powerhouses. It was a fun run. My only regret is not getting around to giving them a run in triode - an early RCA data sheet allows 400 volts in triode mode.
Win W5JAG
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