Comment by JKCalhoun
3 months ago
Echoes of vacuum tubes in my memories: seeing tube testers in drug stores as a child (thinking they looked like either scientific equipment or else science-fiction props—and accidentally left just feet from the penny-candy), as well as peering into the back of our small B&W TV growing up (and marveling at the "city of light" inside there: all the orange glowing filaments from the tubes…).
And gone by the time I was old enough to be interested in electronics.
Nonetheless, my curiosity about them remained and I did eventually seek out books to understand how they worked. I have since built perhaps a dozen hi-fi stereo and mono-block tube amplifiers—some from kits, some from scratch. I've built a handful of guitar amps as well (even sold some as kits for a bit). Point to point, tagboard, PCBs…
Anyone that likes to tinker in electronics I recommend they try their hand at at least one tube project (probably an amp of some kind).
>Anyone that likes to tinker in electronics I recommend they try their hand at at least one tube project (probably an amp of some kind).
Only if they are aware of the voltages and current often associated with tube setups. One bad move can be painful, or fatal in some cases.
I used to work on guitar amplifiers, doing modifications on tube amps. Messing around with the internals demanded my focus, a level of attention most "tinkerers" aren't likely ready for. Not trying to gatekeep here, just suggesting it may not be something for "anyone that likes to tinker".
This is what has kept me from working on amps. I'm comfortable working inside of pedals (9v) or with USB-powered circuits, but anything with a large transformer just seems a lot scarier.
It depends on the "power" of the project. I was building ½ Watt Darling hi-fi amps that never had more than about 225 VDC or so running through them.
But by all means, you never touch it when plugged in, you use chopsticks if you need to poke/debug a live circuit (you keep one hand in your pocket, etc.).
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