Hundreds of 6AL5s

mobyd · 12th August 2005, 10:33 AM

Can anyone think of any possible use for hundreds of 6AL5s ?
(The 1N4148 of the tube world) other than BB gun target practise.
M

SY · 12th August 2005, 11:01 AM

You could build a few hundred radios. They make fine detectors.

Or sell them to someone who repairs VTVMs. Every one I've ever seen has a 6AL5 in it.

Colt45 · 12th August 2005, 11:17 AM

detectors, tiny power supplies (bias supply generally), christmas lights, etc...

Sch3mat1c · 12th August 2005, 04:53 PM

Five or ten in parallel will be the envy of any 6X4 in the world. Only good for 330PIV though (330VDC max doubler, 165V full wave cap input).

Tim

SY · 12th August 2005, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sch3mat1c
Five or ten in parallel will be the envy of any 6X4 in the world.

Other than the unfortunate quadrupling of heater current....

PRR · 13th August 2005, 03:52 AM

> any possible use for hundreds of 6AL5s?

Vacuum-tube digital computer.

Oh, sure, you need some twin-triodes too. But early computers (vacuum, germanium, silicon, and even DTL and TTL chips) use diode-logic as much as possible.

It's been a while since I ran optimizations like this. I'm gonna speculate that "hundreds" of dual-diodes could build an 8-bit full adder. Two sets of 8 toggle switches, one set of neon-lamp outputs, and you can add any two numbers from 0 to 255 as fast as you can work the switches.

If you lived in the land of 120V: put about 20 heaters in series, all 40 plates in parallel, you could build a death-trap trickle-charger to keep your lawn-tractor battery topped-off all winter. "Death-trap" because you have a 50:50 chance of having 120VAC on the battery terminals. This is bad enough, I don't think you should consider 40 bottles for a 240V battery trickler.

> VTVMs. Every one I've ever seen has a 6AL5 in it.

Yeah, but I've never seen one fail? Unless you blow it by probing your 211 amp plate, the total ampere-hours is about zero per decade.

Eli Duttman · 13th August 2005, 05:24 PM

Build hybrid bridges using the paralleled sections of a 6AL5 in each "hollow state" leg. 30 mA./300 V. B+ rails are USEFUL in preamps.

Sch3mat1c · 13th August 2005, 07:25 PM

Why, so you get the worst of both worlds, a waste of SS with only all the voltage drop of tubes?

Tim

amperex · 13th August 2005, 09:15 PM

Pick out the Tung-Sol 6AL5. Best FM detector tube available, but most wont hear the difference anyways as their FM tuner may not be of true audiophile quality.

aletheian · 5th October 2005, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mobyd
Can anyone think of any possible use for hundreds of 6AL5s ?
(The 1N4148 of the tube world) other than BB gun target practise.
M

I'll take a few. I'll paypal you some cash if you are interested.

12th August 2005, 10:33 AM	#1
mobyd diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Auckland	Hundreds of 6AL5s Can anyone think of any possible use for hundreds of 6AL5s ? (The 1N4148 of the tube world) other than BB gun target practise. M

12th August 2005, 11:01 AM	#2
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Austin, TX Blog Entries: 1	You could build a few hundred radios. They make fine detectors. Or sell them to someone who repairs VTVMs. Every one I've ever seen has a 6AL5 in it. __________________ “Listening to records is like ****ing a picture of Brigitte Bardot.” - Sergiu Celibidache

12th August 2005, 04:53 PM	#4
Sch3mat1c diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Milwaukee, WI	Five or ten in parallel will be the envy of any 6X4 in the world. Only good for 330PIV though (330VDC max doubler, 165V full wave cap input). Tim __________________ See my Electronics webpage -- the home of Vacuum Tube Drag Racing. The key to being a successful Audiophile: "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

13th August 2005, 05:24 PM	#7
Eli Duttman diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Plainsboro, NJ	Build hybrid bridges using the paralleled sections of a 6AL5 in each "hollow state" leg. 30 mA./300 V. B+ rails are USEFUL in preamps. __________________ Eli D.

13th August 2005, 07:25 PM	#8
Sch3mat1c diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Milwaukee, WI	Why, so you get the worst of both worlds, a waste of SS with only all the voltage drop of tubes? Tim __________________ See my Electronics webpage -- the home of Vacuum Tube Drag Racing. The key to being a successful Audiophile: "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

12th August 2005, 11:17 AM	#3
Colt45 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Canada	detectors, tiny power supplies (bias supply generally), christmas lights, etc...

13th August 2005, 03:52 AM	#6
PRR diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA	> any possible use for hundreds of 6AL5s? Vacuum-tube digital computer. Oh, sure, you need some twin-triodes too. But early computers (vacuum, germanium, silicon, and even DTL and TTL chips) use diode-logic as much as possible. It's been a while since I ran optimizations like this. I'm gonna speculate that "hundreds" of dual-diodes could build an 8-bit full adder. Two sets of 8 toggle switches, one set of neon-lamp outputs, and you can add any two numbers from 0 to 255 as fast as you can work the switches. If you lived in the land of 120V: put about 20 heaters in series, all 40 plates in parallel, you could build a death-trap trickle-charger to keep your lawn-tractor battery topped-off all winter. "Death-trap" because you have a 50:50 chance of having 120VAC on the battery terminals. This is bad enough, I don't think you should consider 40 bottles for a 240V battery trickler. > VTVMs. Every one I've ever seen has a 6AL5 in it. Yeah, but I've never seen one fail? Unless you blow it by probing your 211 amp plate, the total ampere-hours is about zero per decade.

13th August 2005, 09:15 PM	#9
amperex diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: MI	Detector Pick out the Tung-Sol 6AL5. Best FM detector tube available, but most wont hear the difference anyways as their FM tuner may not be of true audiophile quality.

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