• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

Self Inverting PP Stage Test Results

This odd phase splitter I had seen in RDH4 many years ago, so looked it up again today.
As usual, anything but HIFI but NTL interesting. Never tried it tho.
Probably work better using a 6CS6, a tube designed for that kind of app.🙂
 

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  • 6CS6 GE.pdf
    6CS6 GE.pdf
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  • Plate & Screen Trick Phase Inverter.jpg
    Plate & Screen Trick Phase Inverter.jpg
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  • 6AC7 GE.pdf
    6AC7 GE.pdf
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How about just putting a current mirror or emitter degenerated constant Beta PNP transistor up above the tube plate load resistor to B+. Then a load resistor down to Gnd from the current mirror output or PNP collector. Similar phase currents, but inverted direction, make for inverted outputs on the load resistors. Should be pretty darn accurate. An N Fdbk from a tap in the SS output load R to the tube cathode could linearize the tube's V to I function.
 
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This odd phase splitter I had seen in RDH4 many years ago, so looked it up again today.
As usual, anything but HIFI but NTL interesting. Never tried it tho.
Probably work better using a 6CS6, a tube designed for that kind of app.🙂
I seem to recall a 1950ies German desktop radio that featured the ECH81/6AJ8 heptode part in exactly this service. Presumably out of economics, as the ECH81 was found in any European radio as the frequency converter anyway, thus saving additional storage of a not so common tube.

Best regards!
 
Another variation from p585 in RDH4.
This one looks like it could be expanded to add either choke
or NFET versions in the cathodes.

Something to try in a Sim. 👍
 

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  • RDH4 p 585 Phase Inversion in Self Inverting Power Stage by Plate or Screen Connection.jpg
    RDH4 p 585 Phase Inversion in Self Inverting Power Stage by Plate or Screen Connection.jpg
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Dave McDonald, a.k.a 6A3sUMMER in another thread said that he built a self inverting amp using PP 6CK4s
But offers no schematics. results, photos or any other evidence.

He told me his lap top had crashed with all his files. C'mon Dave, you can do better than that.
No backup on a USB stick? No pencil & paper stuff? If I'd gone to my Glorious Leader with that story
I sure I'd be shown the door.

So here are the test results of a PP 6CK4 Self inverting amplifier in three modes.
The NFET version looks as good as with a choke. But the folks who were building
these circuits in the distant past didn't have NFETs. For them the choke was a
simple fix.

The resister only cathode impedance results fail badly. 🙂
 

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  • 6CK4 PP Self Inverting Stage C_0001.jpg
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  • 6CK4 PP Self Inverting Stage C_0002.jpg
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  • 6CK4 PP Self Inverting Stage C_0003.jpg
    6CK4 PP Self Inverting Stage C_0003.jpg
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I seem to recall a 1950ies German desktop radio that featured the ECH81/6AJ8 heptode part in exactly this service. Presumably out of economics, as the ECH81 was found in any European radio as the frequency converter anyway, thus saving additional storage of a not so common tube.

Best regards!
The only German radio I know of with an ECH81 as a splitter was the Koerting 430W from 1954.
But here the Heptode part is the gain stage and the Triode runs as a cathode coupled paraphase into a pair of EL84s.
This set is also remarkable as it abuses the triode of an EABC80 as an additional IF amplifier stage ...
 

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  • Koerting_430W.png
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Here's a self split I played with a while ago:
 
You might like to add the BBC C/9 (among others) to the list.
http://www.bbceng.info/ti/eqpt/C_9.pdf
Thanks Merlin. Interesting comments in that, including the microphony of the 12AT7 variants. And that C/9 module uses 29dB feedback for hi-fi performance, albeit for 100-150mW line driving. Perhaps a nice prototype option for a dedicated headphone amp, although once again it is also reliant on a damn good output transformer.
 
A picture of my 6CK4 amplifier. Notice the 5H choke, it is the CCS for the self inverting output stage. a resistor in series with the 5H 65 Ohm DCR is the common self bias for the 6CK4 pair. The input tube is a 6C45 pi, it is used as the gain stage.
 

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  • DSCF0629.JPG
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THX for the photo of your PP 6CK4 self Inverting Amp. Looks like the photo was taken in the last 24 hrs.
Why didn't you put this on DIY earlier as evidence of your work? That would have helped a lot.

Since the build seems to still exist is it possible to get some measurement date & a schematic? THX 👍