What is the most powerful AF tube amp ever built?

[ak_47_boy]

What is the most powerful AF tube amp ever built? Just interested

[tubelab.com]

That depends on the purpose. The modulator section of an AM radio transmitter is essentially a large audio amplifier. Power levels of 10 to 50 killowatts were built in the 1950's. The largest amp that I can remember that was intended to drive a speaker, was a 1 killowatt guitar amp using 4 X 813's in parallel push pull.

[ThSpeakerDude88]

hey wasn't that the one in back to the future?

[EC8010]

As Tubelab says, modulation amplifiers were pretty big. The Mullard data sheet for their equivalent of the 212 power triode is something like 1200W - used to allow workers in factories to hear the Light Programme as they worked.

[Zen Mod]

Bereskin

[d2134]

Here is the 1000W guitar amplifier with 4 x 813 tubes in parallel push-pull.
http://www.chambonino.com/construct/const9.html

[Zen Mod]

http://www.webace.com.au/~electron/tubes/amps.htm

http://www.audiophool.cjb.net/Misc/3Kpdf.pdf

[Colt45]

I'll tell you one thing, whatever it was, it was a class B amp for modulation. And fidelity was not priority #1... efficiency was.

[soundbrigade]

I saw an amplifier using some VERY big tubes driving a voice coil (loudspeaker) in a vibration tester at RIFA. Don't know the tubes nor the otput power with the thing made a SUB sound like a tweeter ...

[jackinnj]

Originally posted by tubelab.com
That depends on the purpose. The modulator section of an AM radio transmitter is essentially a large audio amplifier. Power levels of 10 to 50 killowatts were built in the 1950's. The largest amp that I can remember that was intended to drive a speaker, was a 1 killowatt guitar amp using 4 X 813's in parallel push pull.

You needed somewhat over 50% modulator power for high quality a.m. in ham radio land.

While broadcast power in the U.S. was limited to 50kW, you could pick up stations from Mexico in the upper Midwest as they operated like a.m. blowtorches.