rectification

[nhuwar]

Im inclined to go with diode rec's what I wanna know if there is any reason out there why I shouldn't.

I know alot of people out there say mercury vapor rec's .

What's your 2 cents

[Eli Duttman]

More than 1 enthusiast has sworn that Hg vapor rectifiers are sonically "the greatest thing since sliced bread". I'm highly biased against Hg rectifiers because of the toxicity issue. The choice is yours.

You can get excellent results with both vacuum and SS rectification. SWEAT the details.

[Miles Prower]

Originally posted by nhuwar
Im inclined to go with diode rec's what I wanna know if there is any reason out there why I shouldn't.

I know alot of people out there say mercury vapor rec's .

What's your 2 cents

The mercury vapour diodes score points for glowey bottle coolness. However, so far as properties are concerned, these are very much like silicon diodes. You'd do better going solid state since silicon diodes have a much lower forward voltage drop, don't require another heater xfmr or hole in the chassis, and aren't liable to RF oscillation.

[nhuwar]

your preaching to the choir, I,ve just heard things like mec's can pass more peak current and pass it faster at that.

I'm just not going to have room to spare.

[Bandersnatch]

Originally posted by nhuwar
Im inclined to go with diode rec's what I wanna know if there is any reason out there why I shouldn't.

I know alot of people out there say mercury vapor rec's .

What's your 2 cents

errrr...what orher kind of AC>DC conversion did you have in mind?

I am a bit all ova the place on this subject. Hg tubes like 866 are waaay cool, and they've worked well for me. The idea of one breaking around the house is a bit unsettling. Damper diodes are even easier, and warm up slowly too. Sort of like a super cheap GZ34 that has at least 2x the PIV.

I think I will leave all the 5V, 2 and 3 A twin diode traditional rectifiers to the folks who already have a hole pinned out for them.
cheers,
Douglas

[tubelab.com]

Top secret:

A 3B28 will drop directly into an 866 socket. It has the same (or lower) voltage drop, does not radiate RF "hash", and contains NO toxic substanes. The only drawback is the absence of the cool blue glow.

Unfortunately mention of this "secret" causes prices to rise. I used to get these for $5 to $10 each. Now they can bring $25, although I got 2 at the Orlando Hamfest last year for $10 each.

[rdf]

"Unfortunately mention of this "secret" causes prices to rise."

It goes in waves. 10 just sold for something like $20. I'll avoid buying more for a while until your mention is forgotten.

[jlsem]

Unfortunately mention of this "secret" causes prices to rise. I used to get these for $5 to $10 each. Now they can bring $25, although I got 2 at the Orlando Hamfest last year for $10 each.

You can still get new ones for less than $1 each on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LOT-OF-2000-...QQcmdZViewItem

[rdf]

Sounds like a group buy!

[Jeb-D.]

If you do go SS rectification use soft recovory diodes like Hexfred's. Especially in a single ended amp, since they have no noise rejection. Cheap SS diodes produce a spike-like ripple in the power supply that seems impossible to get rid of in an un-regulated power supply.

I perfer SS in the power supply for simplicity, and to save real estate on the amp for more important things, like more output tubes Most importantly, they can produce geat results if done right.