Matt renaud usa flag to email matt, type out the email address. Vacuum tube calculators basic theory using 21stcentury technology to design vacuum tube preamps, power amps, and power supplies system design a professional methodology for crafting a complete. The schematic below is a pspice model of the supply. Keep those filaments lit, design your own vacuum tube audio. Power supply design for vacuum tube amplifiers matt renaud, january 2012 introduction its time for a little confession. Power supply for vacuum tube experiments c 202019, g. Power supply design tutorial february 8, 2018 jurgen hubner. The second part delves into the physics of gas tubes and phototubes, and also a bit of power supply design. Any convenient, safe connector can be used for the supply outputs. R5 and r6 actually represent internal resistance of the transformer.
The ultravalve has premium input jacks, 5way binding post output jacks on 34 centers for 4 ohm, 8 ohm, and 16 ohm taps, a line fuse, and an standard iec power jack and. A power supply should provide a precise voltage completely stabilized versus. Designing power supplies for valve amplifiers is a unique guide to the operation and practical design of linear power supplies, especially for valve equipment. The total output is rated at 75 ma, but the voltage regulator circuit uses 15 ma, so the main output is down to 60 ma. Where some of the tube audio community gathers, audioxpress. If you cannot prepare highquality 9v power supply, please use 006p 9v battery as power supply. Power supplies with electron tubes ced engineering. Modern solid state equipment utilises the highfrequency switchmode power supply design to both filter and regulate the output, however the extra complexity, cost and potential unreliability of a switchmode power supply may not be warranted for a tube hifi amplifier when a holistic view of power supply requirements is considered.
Beside that, el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes are used in many. Solid state, vacuum tube types 5ar4, 5r4ggygyagyb, 5u4ggagb, 5v3a, 5v4gga, 5y3ggagt, 5z3, 6au4gt, 6ax4gtgtagtb, 6ca4, 6d22s, 6de4, 6x4, 6x5gt, 6w4gt, 83. Many viewers of this site have found the regulated power supply and amplifier. A 40 minute presentation on how to design a vacuum tube rectifier. It is an allinone due to it holding everything, including the power transformer. Before working on a high voltage power supply, always follow these three steps.
As i understand voltage after bridge rectifiers across the. The transformer i have is 660 volts ac center tapped 120 milliamps. You probably never heard of this or considered it, but power factor causes some very strange effects in a power supply. Ever wonder what goes into the design of a vacuum tube audio amplifier. In the above pic the large valve at the right end corner of the chassis is the rectifier which converts ac from the power tranny to dc. Power supplies are vital in the world of electronics. This schematic uses only one diode and though only one half of the sine wave.
The amount of calculations to properly design a tube rectifier are more arduous than designing a preamp or power tube. The amount of calculations to properly design a tube rectifier are more arduous than designing a preamp or power. The circuits that use a 5y3 rectifier tube require a transformer with a 5 volt 2. Regular power factor is where the current and voltage are not in phase, and so the current times voltage no. Tube amplifier power supply unit designer electronic. The question is the amplifier i am building needs 300 vdc. A sideeffect of the design was that the receiver could in principle operate from a dc supply as well as an ac supply. The power supply on a separate chassis solves the problem of the power tranny external magnetic field contaminating the valve amps electronics, whereas a monoblock does not. I copied this design from a ham radio friend who has been using a similar power supply in his moonbounce amplifier vacuum tube of. The magnetron is the type of tube used in all microwave ovens. R1, r2, and r3 represent the load by external circuits, including voltage dividers and vacuum tubes.
The phono stage and power supply can also be placed sidebyside on a standard 17 wide equipment shelf, if you prefer. Well, radio building master greg charvat has you covered with his latest presentation, design your own vacuum. Oct 06, 2016 in this video, i show you how to modify the isolation transformer shown in the previous video so that way it can power a variety of different vacuum tube projects. Most power supplies are made up of four basic sections.
In addition to the standard solidstate regulated external power supply, we also. I have been asked to provide some information on power supply design for tube gear, particularly the tradeoffs. If you are down with bode plots and circuit diagrams, though, it could serve as a nice introduction to building a class ab amplifier circuit. Power amplifier load line a few basic guidelines should be followed even in simple minimalcomponent vacuum tube transmitters. Dec 29, 2014 a 40 minute presentation on how to design a vacuum tube rectifier. Adagio vacuum tube phono stage mm mc tavish design. See more ideas about vacuum tube, tube and valve amplifier.
Audiophiles, guitarists and general hobbyists alike will find this book an invaluable source of detailed information on transformers, rectifiers, smoothing, highvoltage series and shunt. It would be more accurate to say that in the beginning there were vacuum tube based power supplies, so lets call this the quote on quote. Premium vacuum tube power supply unit greatly improving the already pristine performance of the woo audio wa7 fireflies is the wa7tp power supply, using classic vacuum tube circuitry. The most common power source is the household 110v to 120v ac outlet 240v in some other countries. Vacuum tube power supply design diy audio projects. Therefore, a stepup power transformer is first needed to bring the mains voltage up to the. For example, if the input voltage to the regulator is 330 v, and the output is set to 180 v, with a load current draw of 40 ma the beam power tube dissipates 330 150 v. Tube amplifier power supply unit designer software psu designer ii is designed to help you with the design of simple linear unregulated mains power supplies, as often found in tube amplifiers. A timehonored practice is to use a chicken stick a wooden dowel or pvc tube, with one end attached to a grounded wire to make sure filter. In this video, i show you how to modify the isolation transformer shown in the previous video so that way it can power a variety of different vacuum tube projects. The 6ax5 does not require a separate filament winding. To offer you a unique high quality, rationally priced pure vacuum tube amplifier, we designed a lovely polished stainless steel chassis and added a double anodized faceplate. Vacuum tubes power page 3 antique electronic supply.
It is also useful for powering qrp low power transmitters, audio preamps and other small tube circuits. A vacuum tube devices heater filament can be supplied with either dc or ac, the tubes work the exact same way with either type of supply. With true vacuum diodes, the voltage varies depending on the current passing. Theres a lot of material on tube design, but these are my personal favorites. Allinone tube power supply the ps10 is a new allinone power supply kit for tube lovers. The more current the circuit draws, the brighter the purple glow from the tube.
Figure 4 load current bottom beam, regulator figure 5 supply output voltage bottom beam, regulator figure 6. My transformers were mostly harvested from old gear with vacuum tube rectifiers. Trace the flow of ac and dc in a power supply, from the ac input to the dc output on a schematic diagram. This is a very interesting and unique electronic project kit. I copied this design from a ham radio friend who has been using a similar power supply in his moonbounce amplifier vacuum tube of course for years without. If you want to learn more of the technical details behind vacuum. You construct a power supply, featuring a lowvoltage, purple glow, argon gas vacuum rectifier tube. I have been asked to provide some information on power supply design for tube gear, particularly the tradeoffs involved in solidstate versus vacuum rectification, chokeinput versus capacitorinput filters, and various types of capacitors.
There are several different power supply designs for converting ac to the necessary dc for most electronic circuits. Class a2 also requires a special driver circuit, that can supply power to the grid. Tube power supply design its time for a little confession. Jun 04, 2014 schematic of 120 vdc power supply with regulation. The pstube kit was designed for those who wish to build a tubebased line stage or phono stageusing a tuberectifierbased power supply that uses a classic tubeamplifier power transformer that holds a. Power supply design tutorial february 8, 2018 jurgen hubner this series of tutorials explains indepth design steps for the buck and the boost topology dcdc switching regulators, supplemented by dedicated sessions on pcb layout and signal edge control for emi that apply to all switching regulators.
It can be used for prototyping low power tube devices with one or more vacuum tubes. Psu designer ii is designed to help you with the design of simple linear unregulated mains power supplies, as often found in tube amplifiers. Hello im just starting to work with valves but have a question on the power supply side. When the top connection to the secondary is positive with respect to the bottom. Tube amplifier power supply unit designer electronic circuits. The next power supply is virtually identical to the one above except it uses a 6ax5 rectifier tube instead of a 5y3. I dont always spend as much time on my power supply designs as i should. Add only the numerical characters of the item number. Greatly improving the already pristine performance of the woo audio wa7 fireflies is the wa7tp power supply, using classic vacuum tube circuitry. When the top connection to the secondary is positive with respect to the bottom connection and center tap, the upper diode of the 5y3gt rectifier tube pins 4 and 28 conducts, allowing current to pass to the output. The cl38uc control amplifier and the mq88uc power amplifier are based on the latest technology and design, but the exterior styling evokes a classic image from the heyday of vacuum tube audio. Battery driven state is quite good from viewpoint of noise. How vacuum tubes work by eric barbour inside a tube why are tubes still used using tubes the basics.
Power amplifier load line a few basic guidelines should be followed even in simple minimal. The wa7tp power supply has all of the advantages of a separatechassis power supply, including the low noise that comes with physical separation. As i understand voltage after bridge rectifiers across the smoothing capacitor increases. He tested and comparated this topology versus a pure tube vacuum state power supply design with a 300b output tube amplifier and there was no difference both while listening and measuring the output. The heater is simply using the power for resistive heating. A vacuum tube, an electron tube, or valve british usage or, colloquially, a tube north america, is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric. This article presents various vacuum tube power supply designs and some. Sometimes i get excited about my latest circuit and after looking for just the right tubes, output transformers, coupling caps, and low noise resistors, the power supply design becomes almost an. A very unassuming title for a 617page engineering book. The transformer steps up the 120 volts ac in the primary to 540 volts ac in the secondary. Low cost argon power supply unbuilt kit vintage vacuum.
The kit also teaches basic regulated power supply design as explained below. Sometimes i get excited about my latest circuit and after looking for just the right tubes, output. Please, follow these basic instructions to place your order. Modern solid state equipment utilises the highfrequency switchmode power supply design to both filter and regulate the output, however the extra complexity, cost and potential unreliability of a switch. Back in 1904, british scientist john ambrose fleming first showed his device to convert an alternating current signal into direct current. Ultravalve vacuum tube amplifier audio by van alstine. Keep those filaments lit, design your own vacuum tube. Seta single ended tube amplifier audio design guide.
In addition, mains voltage is ac, while vacuum tubes require dc. Low cost argon power supply unbuilt kit vintage vacuum tube. I copied this design from a ham radio friend who has been using a similar power supply in his moonbounce amplifier vacuum tube of course for years without problems. The first electronic amplification of sound was done with vacuum tubes. Transformers used in vacuum tube rectification systems almost always have higher primary and secondary resistances than transformers used with solid state. Beside that, el34, el84, and 12ax7 vacuum tubes are used in many practical examples, to design the various parts of the circuits and to compute the values of the needed components. Apr 10, 2010 the slides are pretty heavy on engineering design terms, but give a good feel for what it takes to construct and tune an audio amplifier using vacuum tube technology. Solid state, vacuum tube types 5ar4, 5r4ggygyagyb, 5u4ggagb, 5v3a, 5v4gga, 5y3ggagt, 5z3, 6au4gt, 6ax4gtgtagtb, 6ca4. Vacuum tubes can be tested outside of their circuitry using a vacuum tube tester. It also warms up at the same rate as other tubes which many people feel is much easier on filter capacitors.
Allinone tube power supply the ps10 is a new allinone powersupply kit for tube lovers. According to their datasheets, current absorbed by the filament of one el84 is 0. Most small signal vacuum tube devices have been superseded by semiconductors, but some vacuum tube electronic devices are still in common use. The basic power supply figure 31 shows the block diagram of the basic power supply. For example, if the input voltage to the regulator is 330 v, and the output is set to 180 v, with a load current draw of 40.