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How right highlight tubes?

post #1 of 16
10/16/09 at 3:56pm
Thread Starter 
Hello!

I want build my next diy project. This Cavalli Bijou Tube amp.
And i want illuminations tubes. How right illuminate it?

Thanks for advices.
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post #2 of 16
10/16/09 at 4:38pm
The output tubes on the bijou - whether you use the ecc99 or the 6n6p - glow brightly all on their own. Their heaters do, anyway.

If you use 6n1p for the input tubes, those are fairly bright as well.

usually people illuminate tubes that don't glow much by inserting an LED into the center hole of the socket the tube is plugged into. In the bijou I'm not sure how you would power those LEDs - but i don't think it's necessary in the bijou.
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post #3 of 16
10/16/09 at 6:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericj View Post
In the bijou I'm not sure how you would power those LEDs - but i don't think it's necessary in the bijou.
In any tube amp you can power LED with heater voltage, adding series resistor and diode for AC heater and only resistor for DC heater.
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post #4 of 16
10/16/09 at 7:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zigis View Post
In any tube amp you can power LED with heater voltage, adding series resistor and diode for AC heater and only resistor for DC heater.
Yeah - it's the physical arrangement i'm not sure of - but i haven't looked at the boards lately.

Some amps (with dim tubes) have holes in the board that facilitate the job. The bijou boards do not.

It's likely that you'd have to install the LED in the socket before installing the socket in the board. Replacement of the LED would thus be a little involved.

But like i said - these tubes glow all by themselves so i don't see why.
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post #5 of 16
10/18/09 at 2:57pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys.

I will build Bijou without special illuminations for tubes.
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post #6 of 16
10/18/09 at 8:41pm
Just to be contrary, it's true that most tubes are brighter than those used in the Millett Hybrid/MAX/MiniMAX, which is sort of where the tube-LED-lighting started, I guess. However, I've seen plenty of other tubes that were bright enough on their own. Yet, a little high-powered 3mm LED is amply sufficient to completely overwhelm even the brightest of tubes, IMHO. So if you want coloring, go for it - I'm sure it'll work.
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post #7 of 16
10/19/09 at 1:28pm
Could always use 866As for rectifiers
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post #8 of 16
10/19/09 at 5:16pm
Mercury vapor is cool - have a few 866 on the shelf, but nowhere near confident enough in my abilities to implement them... yet.
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post #9 of 16
10/20/09 at 8:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pabbi1 View Post
... yet.
Hehe the blue halo glow is too hard to pass up =]
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post #10 of 16
10/20/09 at 12:33pm
My SS millett is bright enough on its own. In a dark room it emits a warm glow that reaches most of the room.

If I were to put leds in my amp it would light up the entire room more than I want. I guess overly bright leds are a pet peeve of mine anyway.
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post #11 of 16
10/20/09 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Punnisher View Post
In a dark room it emits a warm glow that reaches most of the room.
Was it on fire or what? Never seen 12V tubes glow much at all...
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post #12 of 16
10/21/09 at 3:53am
ntrl, check out the pics of my Bijou at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5794976-post2682.html. It was pretty simple to do. I decided to power the LED from the 6.3v AC heaters conveniently available on the Bijou amp board (thank you Alex!). I extended the leads on 3mm LEDs, added 22AWG PTFE sleeving to insulate the leads, and inserted into the center hole of each tube socket. I then routed both of the LED leads between the tubes heater pins. It was important to route the leads between the heater pins because I wanted to reduce the chance for any induced noise.

I powered one of the LED’s using “LED1” on the amp board and I installed the second LED in place of “D7”. All you will need to do is properly size the “RLED” resistor based upon the your LED specifications. I would recommend verifying that you have installed each LED observing the proper polarity. Not doing so may reduce the lifetime or may even destroy either or both LEDs depending upon the LED’s reverse breakdown voltage.
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post #13 of 16
10/21/09 at 8:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimmyMac View Post
Was it on fire or what? Never seen 12V tubes glow much at all...
He's referring to the Starving Student Millett Hybrid - those are 19V tubes ... which brings up a good question - it's the heaters/cathode that brings the glow and for almost every tube we use around here, that's only 6 or 12V. Current may vary wildly, but still ... making comparisons to the plate voltages for tube brightness may be mis-directed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by balderon
ntrl, check out the pics of my Bijou at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5794976-post2682.html. It was pretty simple to do. I decided to power the LED from the 6.3v AC heaters conveniently available on the Bijou amp board (thank you Alex!).</snip>
Looks great to me and is a perfect example of what I was saying in my earlier post. The correct application of some modern super-brite LEDs will show up quite nicely, regardless of how naturally bright we may think the tubes are:

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post #14 of 16
10/21/09 at 6:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by balderon View Post
ntrl, check out the pics of my Bijou at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5794976-post2682.html. It was pretty simple to do. I decided to power the LED from the 6.3v AC heaters conveniently available on the Bijou amp board (thank you Alex!). I extended the leads on 3mm LEDs, added 22AWG PTFE sleeving to insulate the leads, and inserted into the center hole of each tube socket. I then routed both of the LED leads between the tubes heater pins. It was important to route the leads between the heater pins because I wanted to reduce the chance for any induced noise.

I powered one of the LED’s using “LED1” on the amp board and I installed the second LED in place of “D7”. All you will need to do is properly size the “RLED” resistor based upon the your LED specifications. I would recommend verifying that you have installed each LED observing the proper polarity. Not doing so may reduce the lifetime or may even destroy either or both LEDs depending upon the LED’s reverse breakdown voltage.
I forgot to mention I created the same RLED/LED1/D7 circuit when I illuminated the EZ81.
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post #15 of 16
10/22/09 at 11:26am
Hi balderon,
Could yoy please post a schem. of that circuit?
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