Need your advices & experiences

[bidon]

Greetings from Istanbul.

I'd like to introduce myself first, I'm a Electronic and Communication engineer who specialized about communication systems. But i also an electronic engineer. I want to say that i'm new on thermionics. Anyways, i always had curiosity about audio systems. I've made a push-pull transistor amplifier for my schoool project. I want to make something much bigger now. This curiosity brought me to the good ol' tube amplifiers. But i had no knowledge. I began to read and study the examples which i've found in here. Adventually, there are lots of questions came up to my mind. I've tried to find the answers and i've found some answers. But beyond these questions, what i need was 'experience'.

Here are some of my questions that i couldnt find the answer.

- First of all, what is this? I'm actually feeling shame for asking this one after saying that i'm an engineer. But never seen like this before. I've seen this around here like in 'El Cheapo'.



- Does all the tubes should supplied with DC voltages? Okay that was a silly question. Here is what i'm trying to ask. If you look closer at this hashimoto tube amp scheme all the tubes are supplied with DC voltages but i couldnt see any rectifier.

Edit: After triple-check i've seen the neon tube rectifier. But its in the primary windings of the transformer. If its rectified is it posible to transfer the voltage or current by transformer?



The main reason of asking this question is learning your thoughts about the arc rectifiers. I saw some of them in this video and i think they are add some theatrical beauty to the amplifiers.

YouTube - 1000W Amplifier Philips EL6471 at full power

- I worked with push-pull AB class amplifiers before. And i experienced output distorsion due to non-linear working characteristics. Under the operating voltages of the transistors or etc, output will be distorted. Is this phenomenon occurs in the tube based amps? What are the posible solutions of this?





At point of asking advices from experience of yours i think i should describe what i want.

- I want something in the middle range. I'm going to use my amp at home that means i cant give full power to my amp if i'd make something big.

- I like loud kinds of music like metal (brutal, scream vocal). And ' easy listening' sometimes.

- I want to use my amp everyday and everything like playing video games, i want to see the arcs when im shooting on call of duty. Or watching tv shows (Doctor Who fan here) etc... I mean im not going to just listen a song and turn it off. I dont even like turn my amp off. Some people says 'look at this, its working over a decade' if you are using it once or twice in a year. it should work over a decade. Thats rubbish.

- You might say okay but what kind of loudspeaker you have? Well, i dont... I need your advices at this point either. I like the feel of bass rythms on my chest. But using a subwoofer and two of two-ways could be expensive. Still need advices.

- I saw some posts and threads about using a pc as signal source is not good if you are using tube amps. Is this true? Because thats what i want. I can easily add a opamp based buffer for solving this but that would make it hybrid. I'm not sure.

- How much money you want to spend on this 'love', you might ask. I'd say i'll spend as i earn. I'm unemployed at the moment. But i have lots of time for design of this project. When i finished the complete desings, i'll begin to buy parts as much as i can afford. I mean i have no hurry to make. I want to make something that i can left as heritage to my grandchilds. I dont care how much money or time it costs to me. Oh btw, i want your suggestions for tube sellers who can ship international.

These are what i want from my amp. I need your advices for circuits or systems you made, you seen or anything. Any idea, any solutions anything could help.

And, I would like to thank all of you for being such a great community like this. I hope, someday, i'll post pics of my works, share my knlowlege in here.

Bidon

[SY]

That's a symbol for "constant current source or sink." There are many ways to implement it,

Welcome to the forum!

[Frank Berry]

The neon device on the primary is a power indicator. Not a rectifier.
There is a half wave rectifier on the B+ secondary of the transformer.
It is marked as S30A145H.

[M Gregg]

A few answers,

The Neon is an indicator not a rectifier.

The rectification looks like half wave and its the diode by the standby switch.

You cannot transform DC unless its chopped. eg square wave.

Mercury arc rectifiers emit UV and mercury is dangerous. They may look good but I would not use them. Some people like them I would give them a miss.

You can use any source of music you want, it's just an input.

I think you need to research and learn a bit more on the dangers.

Posted at the same time Frank

Regards
M. Gregg

[firechief]

I understand your confusion about where the rectifier is, but frank spoke correctly "There is a half wave rectifier on the B+ secondary of the transformer.
It is marked as S30A145H." Its just non standard way of doing things. Electricity follows the absolute rules of physics, but humans tend to impart conventions for their own convenience. (fishing )

[bidon]

Thanks for all of your kindly helps.

I think the symbol is the constant current source. At least it looks like that way on 'el cheapo'.

You guys are right S30A145H is the rectifier. Just never seen before.

About the arc rectifier. M Gregg might be right. Because i looked at them only the theatrical point of view not in efficiency, safety or something.

I actually was asking your advices for a tube amp topography (i'm not sure the word) due to what i want.

[M Gregg]

Originally Posted by firechief

I understand your confusion about where the rectifier is, but frank spoke correctly "There is a half wave rectifier on the B+ secondary of the transformer.
It is marked as S30A145H." Its just non standard way of doing things. Electricity follows the absolute rules of physics, but humans tend to impart conventions for their own convenience. (fishing )

Are we talking non conventional or conventional current flow here?

LOL

Regards
M. Gregg

[firechief]

Yep!

[bidon]

Originally Posted by firechief

" Its just non standard way of doing things. Electricity follows the absolute rules of physics, but humans tend to impart conventions for their own convenience.

I think that is the point of electronic begins. Mean of electronic is the manuplating electric current. Somebody put a grid on a diode and made the first transistor. It's how it started. Of course we cant ignore the semi-conductors but i think this was the first idea of controlling the current like this way. And now, we have i7 microprocessors.

[Frank Berry]

Originally Posted by bidon

I think that is the point of electronic begins. Mean of electronic is the manuplating electric current. Somebody put a grid on a diode and made the first transistor. It's how it started. Of course we cant ignore the semi-conductors but i think this was the first idea of controlling the current like this way. And now, we have i7 microprocessors.

You've got it a bit wrong. When Lee De Forest put a grid on a diode tube in 1906, it became the first triode tube.