Project End

I finally put the amp completely together, and this project is at an end. Through many mistakes, mostly with wiring, I managed to build a working amplifier.

The bias board that I had originally built on perfboard was rebuilt. I was not happy with the quality of the work on this board. I decided to cut up some panelboard and mount some eyelets to the board, using a layout that I quickly drew up on graph paper, as a guide. The result is a more uniform look, as well as studier construction. I don't have to worry about the hot glue coming off, or perfboard becoming brittle and breaking off while in use.

I also added another PI filter after the choke in the power supply, for the 7591 grids (pins 4/8). With the bias voltage sitting around 23V, I was able to monitor the voltage while adjusting a potentiometer for that voltage. I mounted the extra sub circuit on terminal strips, mounted to the main fiberglass board.

Tomorrow (and beyond the time frame of my electronics class) I intend to make further investigations into the workings of this amp. I am overall satisfied with the outcome of my hard work. This is a far cry from the quality of my first tube amp project. As with anything, good practice makes for better results.

The last few days were probably the most intense. Building the amp (actually putting the pieces into place) is very time consuming. More so than anyone would first assume. There are commercial kits one can buy, costing anywhere from $800-$1500. I'd say, based on the time it takes to get everything together, that price is actually quite fair. I am happy that I laid this amp out from my own layouts, however. It gave me the advantage to use parts that I had and to make arrangements for custom circuitry.

Sat 12/4 (6HRS)

Sun 12/5 (4 HRS)

Mon 12/6 8:30-12:30 & 8:30PM-12AM (7.5 HRS)

Tues 8PM-12:30AM (4.5 HRS)