monkey96692000 Posted June 20, 2004 Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 Hey im lookingto build a small tube amp. I can use schematics and ill make the casing but i want to have the schematics to do it. I want it to be about 6 by 6 bay 6 inches or some where near that and prefenerably a battery powered one. If no battery power ok but it needs to be very small to travel with. I just need schematics so if you can help please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabidmoose171 Posted June 20, 2004 Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 http://ax84.com/media/ax84_m37.pdf right click->save as Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey96692000 Posted June 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 that will fit in a 6by6by6 Oh and i already have that schematic. Thanks though. Im trying to find a whole bunch then find the one that looks best for me to do. So send me any tube amp schematics or now can anyone send any amp schematics that will be battery powered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 20, 2004 Report Share Posted June 20, 2004 Building a tube amp is simple enough, if you're going to use a proven circuit and take the basic precautions necessary when working with high voltage. However, building a battery operated tube amp in a 6x6x6 chassis is going to be a challenge, to say the very least! Most tube circuits are designed to run at high voltages (above 200 volts), making battery operation problematic, especially in the power amp. Also, building any tube amp in a tiny chassis is inviting problems with noise and oscillation, because the parts will have to be packed in so close together that making them "play nice" without interacting badly (like a room full of hyper 6 year olds ) is also going to be challenging. Addressing the battery powered issue, you're unlikely to "...find a whole bunch..." - the only recent works I've seen are Fred Nachbaur's Tea Tin Amp (sorry, no schematic, but you could email Fred for details - he seems like a nice guy) and Stephane LaJeune's Sopht amp (check out his schematics page). And of course there's the old original Pignose (Google should find that one for you), and the occasional fluke like this Blaupunkt Tube Hearing Aid that i have on my Oddity bookmarks page, and this page on old radios. You could also do a Google search on "space charge tubes" for more info, and check this thread on Aron's DIY Stompbox Forum. As for the small chassis, you might get away with it, since you won't have a power transformer to worry about. Remember that even at low voltage you're going to have to deal with a lot of heat from the tubes, so they'll have to be vented and have enough air space around them to keep cool. Good luck! If this is your first tube project, you might want to consider building something easier first before you set out into uncharted waters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Lovekraft, you forgot one more mini amp, the ZVex Nano Head. very impressive amp, runs off a 12 volt adaptor. it uses a solid state DC to DC convertor inside it to turn the 12 volts into about 200. its got two sub miniature tubes, both dual triodes. it has 3 as the preamp andthen one that operates in class A and powers the amp through what i believe is an old fender reverb output tranny. there are pictures of the inside of it on the site tho there's no point in trying to work out a schematic from that, the board is a 4 layer PCB lol. monkey, if you want an amp thats tiny and sounds amazing then i cannot recomend this more, it can actually run of a 12 volt car battery and would have a decent enough battery life like that (the amp draws about 1.5 amps at startup and then 0.5 for the rest of the time that its on. if you were gonna build a tiny tube amp then id try to get hold of some sub miniature tubes and investigate the whole DCtoDC convertor (since thats the only way youd be able to run it off a car battery, and i should probablly mention that the electronics for them can be a bit mind boggling lol) like lovekraft said, id start on something a bit simpler before you start trying to contend with the multiple problems of making tiny tube amps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Do the dimensions include the battery??? solid state is cheaper and smaller... Tube amps aren't terribly portable...they tend to be heavy and not like moving too much at least compared to solid state... I hope you're not planning on doing a combo that size??? it would look a little silly sitting on a stack alone ....although 2 of them (1 pre amp 1 power) would probably look sweet As for batteries...car batteries are about the only option...the kind for RV's would be best as the voltage doesn't drop as much as it drains...Deep cycle batteries I believe they are called.... Also I believe some areas use higher voltage batteries...I think nissan was working with a 36 volt for their luxury models or something....a car audio place could probably tell you more about using that as a power source...maybe even wiring them in series You'd likely want to run it off the outlet as well...so you'd need an AC and a DC power supply section....I'd imagine you'd also want to charge the battery....I mean you could disconnect it to do it but that's a pain...SOoooo....things start looking complicated...and really expensive...batteries and power supplies aren't cheap... that and car batteries are pretty heavy... The 2 watt mini amps you get at the local guitar shop will cost less than a car battery and they are designed for portability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 You're right, Johnny, that's a great little amp, and Zachary Vex is the man, but he was looking for schematics, and most people respect Zachary enough that there aren't copies of his schematics all over the internet. Besides, street price on that thing is more than $400, not bad for what you get, but not cheap enough for me to afford to practice in the car with. Here's some more stuff for you to check out, monkey96692000 (I'm just gonna call you monkey for short from now on, if that's OK ):Schematic Heaven A comprehensive list of amplifier schematics in PDF format including Fender, Marshall, Vox and many less well-known models.PAIA Stack in a Box This project uses a 12 volt AC supply to generate +/- 15 volts for the SS and a voltage multiplier to boost the level for the tubes. They offer a kit with board(s) and components.The Ruby Tuby More low voltage madness from Stephane, this time with help from puretube (designer of the new EH Tube series fx) and Andrew the Tone God - a hybrid circuit with a tube preamp and a SS opamp power stage that runs on 12 volts.The Tube Driver A famous old-school low voltage tube preamp (from Jack Orman's Muzique site).M*tchl*ss Hotbox and Vibrobox Not low voltage, but a pair of classic stand alone tube preamps for your perusal (from Justin Philpott's site)The AX84 Projects Page The final word on small homebrew tube amps on the Internet, with schematics, layouts, sound clips, and links to all kinds of tube info, and a forum for all those questions you can't get an answer to at those other amp forums (coughcoughampagecoughcough). Only the best tube amp site anywhere!! Hosted by Chris Hurley of Doberman Amps. Well, that ought to keep you busy for a little while - hope some of it is helpful. Let us know how it works out, an' dammit, if you get something built, we wanna hear sound clips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 yy point lovekraft, i wasn't telling him to try and clone the nono head, not only do i respect Zach for being smart guy and making some of the sweetest effects around but i thinkthat he's probablly the only one who could understand whats going on inside it. the DCtoDC convertor uses a negistor oscillator which is a completelly origional design. god knows how he makes it work but it does lol the stack in the box looks interesting, i may have to have a look at that, talking about this is al of a sudden making me really want to design a tube amp that will run off a car battery lol, i might have to research this a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey96692000 Posted June 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Well ok. The amp is for when i go to camp i need something really portable, but i want the tuba amp sound. Now i dont care for a plug in because i talk to some people and they told me the converters wouldnt fit with the battery and the electronics. So any 6 by 6 by 6 tube amp with or without power cord will do. So any schematics i could have please send them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 i sell low wattage amp kits. drop me an email. austenfantanio@yahoo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 You know you can buy an original Pignose new for about $75.00, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey96692000 Posted June 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 well does anyone have a low volt amp kit for less then a hundred dollors, i would buy it. Or a small amp kit for that price too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Generally, even a bare-bones kit is going to cost more than that, so unless Ansil can help you out, or somebody on ebay is having a bargain basement day, your chances are slim and none. Most people probably drop more than that on a chassis and transformers. It's almost impossible to build a tube amp for less than the big guys can sell you that same amp for... if it was cheap, simple and easy, everybody would be doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 i do a version of the firefly.. not the actual amp persay just something along those lines. a 12au7 output and a 12ax7 preamp. i use a single ended output tranny. and it sells for 89 bucks. everythign but the speaker and the chasis. and i could probally find you a hammond box to throw it in. so all you need now is the correct speaker and a box for it. drop me an email if you like email address is above ...... i am trying to get people into the diy spirit. and my brother hosts my amp kits on ebay for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey96692000 Posted June 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 ok but i need to wait till i have the money. So can you hold on i might buy it but not in the next 2 weeks. 3 weeks is the earliest. I want to get my new LP and then build the amp. Ill pm you when i need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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