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Tube DIY Asylum Do It Yourself (DIY) paradise for tube and SET project builders. |
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Tube DIY Asylum Do It Yourself (DIY) paradise for tube and SET project builders. |
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In Reply to: RE: If it's not all of those DC-Link caps I replace that require breatk-in... posted by tube wrangler on June 3, 2021 at 14:29:47:
Throwing a socket away? Then you must be using cr@ppy Chinese knock off with rubbish metal as springs.
When building an amplifier the first quest is to find quality tube sockets befor starting to hunt for quality tubes.....
In days past there were tube testers left right and center, even the pharmacy had one. Those sockets were rated for many thousands of insertions. They are build a tad different too, not the normal fork but it is like a small tube around the pin and around that tube is a little spring.
However the advise to carefuky straght inserting / extracting is not totally wrong for the small 7 and 9 pin tubes: you want to use a pin straightener so there is no pressure on the pins. Similarly the tube sockets should not be soldered onto with stiff wiring - the pins should be able to move freely. I remember having to use a dummy holder representing the pins of the tube while soldering the socket to ensure the socket is aligned for receiving a tube. Not so important when using Octal but crucial when using 7 & 9 pins all glass tubes. I still use an old tube with straightened pins when soldering a 9 pin socket in place.
Which also reminds me of a stufy by the military: more 7 & 9 pin tubes suffer an early death because of cracked (glass) bases as the result of rough inserting / removing tubes for "testing". Better to measure around the tubes while the piece of equipment is working. No longer do I have a tube testr because testing while working is far better (especially if no global negative feedback is being used and only local feedback).
Omron still makes octal tube sockets (for relais) that are rated for 1000 insertions. Belton is not too bad either. Unfortnately I do not like the fork receptables, there are still some of the old tube like pins receiving sockets around but hard to find ad normally require some outlay. For driver sockets I like to find those that have a central soldering tube for ground - in case of double triode it shields one triode from the other side (and get cross talk down).
Don't bend the lugs on the socket - they have to move freely. Octal is a tad more forgiving but even then when done incorrectly then you run the risk of breaking off the orientating stud on the tube base. Keeping tube temperature down is important too, it can extend the life of the tube by a considerable factor. Spacing, ventilation around the tube and even tube coolers make a difference.
AM
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Follow Ups
- RE: If it's not all of those DC-Link caps I replace that require breatk-in... - AmadeusMozart 06/4/2110:44:15 06/4/21 (1)
- RE: tube testers - deathtube 667 11:40:21 06/4/21 (0)
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