Vacuum Tube Amplifier Basics

Book excerpt: This book is written for electronic hobbyist interested in working with vacuum tube circuits. A wide range of reference material related to vacuum tubes and audio are concise with examples and illustrations.Principles of vacuum tube operation includes function of grids, effect of tube capacitance, tube resistance, heat dissipation and voltage gain. A table of component values for the popular 12AX7 in various operating parameters simplifies amplifier stage design. Power supply sections cover vacuum tube and solid state rectifier conversion of AC to DC and DC filtering. A sample power supply is used to explain calculating loads, determining required transformer ratings and component values. Includes high voltage, bias and filament supplies.For the novice not versed in electronics several sections cover electronic basics. Includes how capacitors work, voltage, current, ohms law and reading circuit drawings.Working with electronics and vacuum tube circuits requires some math. Circuit calculations in this book use various forms of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Formulas are all solvable using a standard 12 digit calculator. Calculations are presented with examples.The last part of the book has amplifier project circuits with parts list and component layout drawings. Projects include a line amplifier with 25db gain, triode balanced-unbalanced input stage, tone control stage, turntable pre-amplifier, 6V6SE Class A stereo amplifier, 6V6SE Class A monoblock amplifier, 30 watt monoblock amplifier and a 5 watt guitar amplifier with adjustable overdrive. The 30 watt monoblock amplifier is designed for tube rolling using various type output tubes.Current version of book was updated in April of 2017.