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tube newbie needs guidance

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hey everyone,

I just stumbled across an old pair of monoblocks that where in pretty rough shape (They did work just looked hideous and had seen better days) so I salvaged what I could and was looking for suggestions on what to use the parts for

the salvage list is as follows

a pair of hammond1609 transformers
a hammond 270ex transformer

4x 6v6GT's (sylvania, signet, marconi and rogers)
2x 6sc7's (phillips and rogers)
1x 5y3gt (marconi)
1x 5y4gt (westinghouse)
1x 6sc7 (rogers)

and 1 unidentified tube made by rogers but looks very similar to the 6sc7 in terms of the size

I have built a few small headphone amps without any issues (although reading schematics isn't a strong point but is becoming more clear), and look forward to reading a fair bit more into tubes but any direction would be great!

from what i've read so far it seems a 6v6 pushpull amp would be the best use of the 1609's
 
MM,

Read the "El Cheapo" saga. The 1609 O/P trafos will work in a triode wired EC. Keep the "28" Hz. high pass freq., to protect against core saturation.

Save the 270EX power trafo for a preamp or SE amp project, as it comes up short in current capability, when the needs of a PP "12" W. O/P tube stereoblock are considered.

The salvaged tubes are "all over the place". Properly matched pairs of O/P tubes are appropriate in PP amps. You could do a DECWARE SE84 style SE stereoblock that employs the 6V6s and 270EX power trafo already in your possession.

The 6SC7 is a twin triode whose electrical character resembles the 6SL7, 5751, and 12AX7, but it has a single, shared, connection for both cathodes that limits its utility.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I've got a lot of reading ahead of me before I can begin understanding a lot of what is said (especially in the el-cheapo thread you linked that I skimmed through a bit)

Ideally I want to find the best fit to use the available parts to keep costs down (being a poor student with an audio hobby isn't the easiest thing to manage 🙂 )
 
MM,

Both the 1608 and 1609 are rated for 10 W. You can expect approx. 12 W. from a UL mode PP pair of "12" W. tubes. Pentode mode will yield a bit more.

Approx. 6 WPC is what you get from triode wired 6V6 family tubes set up as PP pairs. That works very well with the O/P "iron" you already have.

Allied Electronics has all the power magnetics needed to construct an "El Cheapo". Look here to get the stock #s.

Jim McShane sells all the small parts needed to construct an EC, at fair prices.

All that's left is a chassis. That requirement can be filled by purchasing a large/deep plain Aluminum baking pan at your "local" WalMart.
 
I printed off the most recent schematic for the EC and think I have a decent idea of how it works minus the specific technical aspects but did have a few questions.

Link to schematic I was looking at.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5079/elcheapo23jun06mapqc3.gif

First thing is how the circuit actually is setup, mainly where components are soldered in. Are they soldered just on the black dots or do they also get joined when the lines cross (see right below the 4.7 uF cap between b2+ channels 1 and 2)

I know the Amp section is for one channel, but is the power supply also? And would it need to be duplicated for the second channel of the amp (essentially doubling the cost of the iron necessary)?

Also where does the LTP Cathodes section of the CCS connect to? I'm guessing somewhere on the tubes themselves since everything else is matched up from power to amp.

Also I wasn't able to ocate the symbol at the very leftmost side of the amp section where there is a circle with a bend below it.


Still have lots more reading to do, but these questions should put me a bit closer to understanding.
 
Thanks, the RCA jack makes sense and I should have thought have that while looking at the schematics, as does the connection points which is what I had initially thought.

But in regards to the CCS, I see where it connects up to the B- supply (at the bottom of the schematic listed as B-) but where would the other end connect up to?
 
MoxMonkey said:
Thanks, the RCA jack makes sense and I should have thought have that while looking at the schematics, as does the connection points which is what I had initially thought.

But in regards to the CCS, I see where it connects up to the B- supply (at the bottom of the schematic listed as B-) but where would the other end connect up to?


MM,

The 2 interlocked circles on the signal schematic stand for CCS. 😀 The 10 KOhm Carbon film resistor connects to the cascoded MOSFETs.

Ohm's Law tells us that 90 V. get dropped in cathode circuitry resistance. Why so much? Remember, "El Cheapo" is a highly frugal project. It's hard to better the cost effectiveness of the little Allied brand power trafo used in the B- circuitry. 😉 That trafo energizes the B- rail and powers the 12AT7 heaters.
 
Awww that makes a lot more sense now, I can at least now piece together each piece of the schematic and get a general idea of what's going on.

Now the only question (fow now) that remains unanswered is regarding the power supply. Since B2+ channels 1 and 2 connect to each of the 12AT7's, is a second power supply section needing to be built?
 
MoxMonkey said:
Awww that makes a lot more sense now, I can at least now piece together each piece of the schematic and get a general idea of what's going on.

Now the only question (fow now) that remains unanswered is regarding the power supply. Since B2+ channels 1 and 2 connect to each of the 12AT7's, is a second power supply section needing to be built?


MM,

"El Cheapo" uses single supplies, for both B+ and B-. The wiring associated with the 12AT7s is known as pseudo-dual mono. It's inexpensive, yet improves channel separation. 😉
 
If I understand you correctly the "psedo-dual mono" is essentially taking both channels of the power supply to power half of the amplifier section?

Now if that's the case it looks like the power supply list of components on Jim's site also needs to be doubled.
 
MoxMonkey said:
If I understand you correctly the "psedo-dual mono" is essentially taking both channels of the power supply to power half of the amplifier section?

Now if that's the case it looks like the power supply list of components on Jim's site also needs to be doubled.


You have it reversed. 😀 A B2+ leg from the PSU feeds each of the 2 channels' 'T7.

The parts lists on JM's site are complete.
 
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