the Poor Man 660 support thread

[lolo-m]

There's something noone noticed. Those tubes have been shipped and people know how postmen and shipping can be violent with parcels...

 

[bockaudio]

[/quote]
One other thing.  These aren't not just normal tubes; they are JAN (Joint Army/Navy) tubes and, as such, they undergo more strident testing procedures and are built "tougher" for the military.
Cheers,--
Don
[/quote]
You should be advised that the JAN spec doesn't necessarily mean ANYTHING for audio. Some pro audio mfg's have purchased large lots of JAN tubes only to discover they were just noise generators...........

 

[MartyMart]

I hope that I have better luck with my valves, bought from Watford Valves and an Ebay UK source !!

They were quite expensive I must add !!

MM.

 

[mrclunk]

I've some of the PHILIPS ECG 5687WB from Watford too. Different data code tho, I'm sure Watford tests all its tube pretty thoroughly.
Also have a set of supposedly 'matched' GE 5 star's from some guy in Hong Kong (ebay) They were only a couple of pounds each so worth a punt...

Haven t powered mine up yet, maybe at the weekend.

 

[noulou]

noulou,

now where are the pics ;D ;D ;D

this tube thing is scary. my tubes are from just the same eBay seller ...
and I don't have this problems 8)

anyhow it seams there might be something wrong with some 5687 tubes.

I'll try to make some pics soon. I'd love to get a completed pm670 banner of my own. 

Weird that those 5687s are working for you. The second batch I got from that ebay seller was the same bad as the first.

noulou  Could you post the datecode and brand on the tubes you bought?
 

Sorry Gus, I do not know how to interpret date codes. The only number I can see is etched on the tubes bottom, number 14. Brand is "Electronic Enterprises"

 

[[silent:arts]]

...
I'll try to make some pics soon. I'd love to get a completed pm670 banner of my own. 

you will get one ;D

Weird that those 5687s are working for you. The second batch I got from that ebay seller was the same bad as the first.

mhm, I'm not sure if I tried them. I bought about 20 5687s, different brands, different sources.
actually I looked in my tube stock and 8 of those tube boxes are still well packed as received, I must have used others in the prototype.
will try to make some fotos of the tubes "in question", some of them really look rebranded

 

[noulou]

 

[[silent:arts]]

noulou, nice and clean build, congratulations.

didn't want to do any banner / banns for this kind of frontpannel, case
but as promised:

hope you like it ;D

 

[khstudio]

Volker,
I think I read it before but can't remember...
Does the Bypass draw current in Bypass or ON?
I hope it draws when in bypass, since the unit will be ON 99% of the time.
Bypass is just for a quick reference.

If it does draw when ON... is there a way to wire it the other way?

Thanks,
Kevin

BTW, Edcore is sending me a new Power TX, with beefed up heater windings.
Hopefully that will take care of the hot PT.

 

[[silent:arts]]

the Bypass needs current in the ON position.
bypass is with no current / voltage.
this is for safety reasons.

 

[veermaster]

Volkers Bypass Boards are designed to bypass when relays are NOT active. So when in compression mode they will draw current. You might think about buying low current versions, for example Omron G5V-2-H11.

 

[khstudio]

noulou,
Nice build!  ;D

Finally someone else with the same problem... I'm not crazy after all.
glad I didn't change my posts now & that I was able to help with your unit.
Somehow I don't think we'll be alone.

BTW, I see "United" Tubes in your unit, they are Tung-Sol's & the exact same tubes I bought to replace the Philips in my unit.
They worked for me as well.

The one tube test seems to be a good one.

Is your PT still getting hot?
Measure the voltage drop across your heater resistor then divide it by the resistor value...
This will give your the current draw of the heaters.

Mine is:
2.52 / .48 ohm = 5.25 Amps

 

[khstudio]

Thanks Volker, I thought I remembered reading that before.

Volkers Bypass Boards are designed to bypass when relays are NOT active. So when in compression mode they will draw current. You might think about buying low current versions, for example Omron G5V-2-H11.

Thanks for the tip. I just ordered them (Coil Current = 12.5mA)
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=Z109-ND
The first one's I was looking at were Coil Current = 41mA

 

[[silent:arts]]

The first one's I was looking at were Coil Current = 41mA

well, we overrated the dual 15V windings at 1A each rail
(at least the PSU transformer bernbrue sold has this specs, and the specs posted for other manufactures have been the same)
should be enough for 4 x 41mA + some Illumination etc

 

[khstudio]

cool... that's good to know.

I guess it can't hurt to get the lower current Relays unless there's a downside to using them?

 

[noulou]

noulou, nice and clean build, congratulations.

didn't want to do any banner / banns for this kind of frontpannel, case
but as promised:

hope you like it ;D

Hahaha, I knew you wouldn't like my case. 

Thanks for the banner, love it!

noulou,
Nice build!  ;D

Finally someone else with the same problem... I'm not crazy after all.
glad I didn't change my posts now & that I was able to help with your unit.
Somehow I don't think we'll be alone.

BTW, I see "United" Tubes in your unit, they are Tung-Sol's & the exact same tubes I bought to replace the Philips in my unit.
They worked for me as well.

The one tube test seems to be a good one.

Is your PT still getting hot?
Measure the voltage drop across your heater resistor then divide it by the resistor value...
This will give your the current draw of the heaters.

Mine is:
2.52 / .48 ohm = 5.25 Amps

Thanks.

Yes, the tubes are from here:

http://www.tubedepot.com/nos-5687-ts.html

lovely price.

Last time I measured the heater current it was 5 point something amperes, yes.
I remember it fully agreeing with the specs on the 6bc8 and 5687 data sheets.

 

[vitopower]

Fascinating thread and work to all contributors...newbie here, this is my 1st post.  ??? Pardon my ignorance, but is this build compatible with the 6386?  Has anyone attempted to mod it or build a single channel version using the 6386? 

 

[Moby]

Fascinating thread and work to all contributors...newbie here, this is my 1st post.  ??? Pardon my ignorance, but is this build compatible with the 6386?  Has anyone attempted to mod it or build a single channel version using the 6386? 

If you want to make it work like real F670 with just the tubes change answer is no  ;D

 

[Grooveteer]

Hi Guys,

Since I never could get heater voltages higher than 3,4V with the slow start PCBs I decided to go with a resistor instead.  Heater voltage is now 6,37 V BUT...
Metering was all over the place, compressor was acting weird. Until I pulled one 5687 on each board.   

My 5687s are 5 star GE's from Tubedepot.  Maybe there's a different problem than a bad batch of Philips tubes?

Would there be any problem running this beast with just one 5687 per channel?

Cheers,

G

 

[lolo-m]

Hi Guys,

Since I never could get heater voltages higher than 3,4V with the slow start PCBs I decided to go with a resistor instead.  Heater voltage is now 6,37 V BUT...
Metering was all over the place, compressor was acting weird. Until I pulled one 5687 on each board.   

My 5687s are 5 star GE's from Tubedepot.  Maybe there's a different problem than a bad batch of Philips tubes?

Would there be any problem running this beast with just one 5687 per channel?

Cheers,

G

The comp will have a really slower attack  :'( ...

With the SCAB in "a la Fairchild" mode, it shouldn't change anything... But there will be the same problem (slower attack) with the stock Analag network....