tube rectifier plug in s-s replacement
 

I've seen a 5AR4 replacement plug. It plugs into the tube socket for the rectifier tube. (Triode electronics has 'em)
It's only $10 bucks, anybody try them.
I am going to build the simple se, and I wondered if this was a good option to have (just in case). Also I think it would beat having another switch on my amp.
Thanks
Paul

Using these devices defeats the slow warm up and voltage rise that the 5AR4 will give you. The slow turn-on is a nice inherent feature. They also produce a higher B+ output then a 5AR4 that you may have to deal with. I'd stick with the tube for this application.

FWIW , I've used them in place of a 5Y3. In that scenario, I would highly recommend it . I have no experience with anything other than a 5Y3 , so I can't tell you how the "drop in" SS rectifier will compare to the 5AR4.

I do know that the B+ goes up quite a bit ( about 50V from the 5Y3), and you WILL have to rebias .

I've been using them in a Triode tied 6P6S (looks like 6N6C on the bottle , they are 6V6GT equivalent) Push Pull setup for about two years now.

I don't know when the effects of "Cathode stripping" are supposed to take place (due to lack of "slow" start up) , but my tubes have experienced no problems, and I'm running 405V on the plates/Grid2 with -30V cathode bias.



.................................Blake

broken octal + two 1n4007s = $0.05

"broken octal + two 1n4007s = $0.05"


Huh ?

What Colt45 was suggesting is get an old "broken" octal tube and salvage the base part.
Then solder 2 1N4007 into the socket, anodes to the pins which are the tube rectifier anode pins and the 2 cathodes tied together to the tube rectifier cathode pin. That gives you a "plug in" SS replacement for the tube rectifier.
Personally I would use UF4007 or similar Ultrafast Soft recovery diodes BUT all else is the same. Some people like to put a power resistor in series with each SS diode to emulate some of the internal impedance of a tube rectifier. You could place (for example) a 10 Ohm 5 Watt wire wound resistor is series with each SS diode. This will give you a small amount of the tube rectifier "character". A 10nF 2kV ceramic cap across each of the SS diodes also helps tame that SS diode switching noise.


Cheers,
Ian