tube rectifier plug in s-s replacement

[pforeman]

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

[HollowState]

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.

[Nihilist]

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

[Colt45]

broken octal + two 1n4007s = $0.05

[Nihilist]

"broken octal + two 1n4007s = $0.05"


Huh ?

[gingertube]

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