Homemade tube socket adaptor

[Koonw]

Have you ever make tube socket adapter? If you have please share your ideas. Here I want to share the way I made it. The pins are pulled from wafer connector and square pin, one side is grounded round to ~1mm diameter (on press drill or hand drill). The ceramic tube socket has a small recess on top so a M3 nut can be fitted level to the socket. M3 screw hold the 2 sockets together tight spaced so the pins are 2mm apart. The square end of the pin tinned and then push into one of the socket receptor, and soldered. I wired it up for pentode strapped triode of a pentode triode tube, such as 6f12p so the tube pins are compatible with 12ax7, but G2 is wire directly to plate in adaptor so that pin 9 will be freed. It's a great way for comparing tube sonic without rebuilt another circuit.

12ax7 6f12p
1 3, 8
2 6
3 7
4 4
5 5
6 9
7 1
8 2
9 -

 

[mcandmar]

Here is a compactron to octal adapter i made.

 

[davorin]

6JB5/6JC5/6HE5 (compactron) to 6V6/6L6 (octal) adapter.

 

[davorin]

RS1003 to EL34/6CA7 adapter.

 

[davorin]

6BG6GA ("Super-tube"; Sylvania and Philips-ECG with large plate) to 6L6GC/7027/7027A/7581/7581A

 

[Parafeed813]

Not as pretty as the others here, but it works
4699N/EL3/EL6 to octal.

Hmmm, something is different

 

[Magz]

Made these a few years back to convert a 6SN7 preamp to 2C22 single triodes.

 

[kaputt]

What are you guys using to glue base and socket together?

 

[merlin el mago]

Here is a compactron to octal adapter i made.

Made these a few years back to convert a 6SN7 preamp to 2C22 single triodes.

Did you got better SQ using 2C22?

 

[Trajan]

Superglue has work for me well.

 

[crazyfrog]

Cool! I have also a handmade adaptor to use a 5Z3 (or similar 4 pin) in an octal socket.

 

[jcmusic]

What would I need to make an adapter from 12AU7 to 6SN7, parts wise?

 

[kodabmx]

Pins, PCB, socket, collar, set screws, nut and bolt.

Or just buy one made already...

1PC 6SN7 6SL7 ECC32 ECC33 6N8P 6N9P B65 TO 12AX7 12AU7 ECC82 ECC83 7025 DIY Audio Vacuum Tube Amplifier Convert Socket Adapter|Amplifier| - AliExpress

 

[Francois G]

Here I want to share the way I made it. The pins are pulled from wafer connector and square pin, one side is grounded round to ~1mm diameter (on press drill or hand drill).

@Koonw is the only one on this thread (post #1) that showed a noval adaptor, and grinding square pins to fit a noval socket seems tricky (and a lot of work). He did not explain what exactly he does with the pins, but I assume the square side of the pin is soldered onto the bottom socket, with the rounded pins sticking out to form the plug-side of the adaptor Couldn’t one buy round pins of the correct diameter and solder them into the bottom socket to create that plug?

Does anyone else have easier noval adaptor building techniques to show, and where you sourced parts for the adaptor.

My interest is to build an adaptor for sub-mini tubes on top to a noval plug at the bottom. That noval plug has been a problem to do.

 

[kodabmx]

Subminiature like 6N16B? Use a DIP 8 socket, make a small round board for it, and modify these to fit the 8pin board where the top socket is?

NEW 9 PIN TUBE SOCKET SAVER for 12AX7 EL84 12AU7 5751 12AT7 etc- FAST USA SELLER | eBay

Someone already makes a PCB for it. 10pc Subminiature8 B8D tube adapter bare PCB For GE6021 6N16B 6N21b 2.0Round ver | eBay

You could also just plug the submini tube into the socket saver like this guy: Subminiature Tubes (6111, 6021) on 9-Pin socket (6DJ8, ECC88, 6922 etc) << FET Audio | Hi-End Audio & Electronics

 

[smoking-amp]

DIY tube adapters

 

[Francois G]

Thanks for your suggestions, gentlemen.

Hehe, @smoking-amp, I like your spud adaptor! Does it work? What are the Ua, S, mu and current of this “device”?

Subminiature like 6N16B? Use a DIP 8 socket, make a small round board for it, and modify these to fit the 8pin board where the top socket is?

Koda, what I would like to do is to have an adaptor/base-plug that I could solder the sub-mini leads to and have noval pins, so that I could tube-role say a 6N16B instead of a 6CG7 that have similar mu and S (of course be cognizant of the plate voltage and dissipation which are different).

I already soldered subminis to an octal plug and that works fine in an amp with octal sockets. Like these:
Plug - 8-Pin octal tube base, Black Plastic | Antique Electronic Supply

However, I can’t find similar noval plugs. Does anyone know of any? Hence my quest to make such an adaptor. Koda’s suggestion to solder the leads to a noval socket saver will probably work OK. The noval socket savers I have have “terminals” that go straight through from socket to pins out the other side.

Ideally, if I have a PCB that the submini leads could be soldered to AND have holes to solder the pins for insertion into a noval socket, I’ll be in business. This PCB should be at least 2mm thick (to support the pins) and preferably 3mm. Then I just have to find the correct pins.

 

[jhstewart9]

What would I need to make an adapter from 12AU7 to 6SN7, parts wise?

The 9-pin to Octal adapters allow 6BQ7/6BK7 to be inserted where 6SN7 or 6SL7 would normally go. The adapter to 6SN7 has one K resistors in the cathode leads to reduce the gain a bit, more like 6SN7. All the grid leads have One K CC resisters to dampen any RF. And the label is incorrect!!

The other adapter is a pick off that allows cathode current to be monitored in a Peavey 120W guitar amp. One of my Grandsons is a sometime Rock Guitarist.

 

[JMFahey]

I see those unsupported house of cards so called "adaptors" and cringe.

Personally I would decide once and for good WHICH type of tube I will use, remove the offending socket and install the proper one, enlarging hole if necessary or adding a small piece of sheet metal to partly close it, which does not add height, beyond its own thickness.

I mean, I can see its usefulness for testing, but using them in any permanent build is ludicrous.

 

[Francois G]

….but using them in any permanent build is ludicrous.

I’m with you brother . Just wanted to see if I can hear (and perhaps measure) a difference between the submini and correspond noval tubes in the same amplifier.