New subscriber here within the last year. I primarily build small Class A guitar amps but lets face it, I basically build half your amp designs. I just built a amp in a military 30 cal. ammo box for traveling and camping, no case penetrations so it's waterproof and the tubes were shock mounted and retained. Your influence has improved my build quality 100%, under the deck it no longer looks like a basket of snakes, the layout and grounding schemes has my builds ultra quiet and dare I say it, very professional looking. The basic amp was a D-Lab design (thanks Terry) everything was just under the locking cover right down to the Tremolo control and power socket and I floated it to a couple people I know and with your tips and style of build I had a bidding war going on when finished. Pushed through a Bee Box enclosure with a Warehouse 12" veteran 30 the sound was amazing with a lot of sustain and chime I credit to wiring and sectional layout including using quality caps in both the power and signal circuits. Thanks so much.
Aluminum oxide chassis would be the boom. You can get them done in any color imaginable. Just saying, just an idea lol God I love you and this channel 🌹
Power resistors have flat surfaces so you can glu them directly to the top of chassis by thermally conductive glue. So the chassis will work as a radiator for resistors decreasing air temperature inside chassis. Resistors also can be located somwere on the side inside chassis away from other components like capacitors and can be coneccted by wire to other components of circuit.
I’m very curious/excited for this build! I was gifted a ChiFi EL34 SE amp, which I’ve stripped down as I plan to do a new build using all the parts (transformers) I found a schematic I was planning on building, but I’m putting that on hold until I see how your build comes together.
I'm in the same boat. A Chinese amp designed for 807 tubes. That I have adaptors to use KT66 types. I think the voltage needs to be higher or better output transformers. The sound is clear but a bit scratchy thin. The chassis looks good so will rebuild it
The one I was given was an Oldchen with 5U4G rectifier and 6SN7 pre/drivers. I’m really just using the transformers, choke and some other small bits. Sounded quite decent in its original form.
@ Skunkie. I couldn't wait for you to get started on this since I am probably going to build this as my first tube amp. I do have a good amount of the parts already as I was considering the build when you built your first EL34 amplifier with the octal tubes.
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Oh, I am not starting yet. I definitely can wait. But more than likely, I am going to stick with the Edcor output transformers right off the bat since I already have them. I bought them a long while ago when I wanted to put together a "Darling" amplifier. However, I abandoned that project given that the amp only puts out 3/4 of a watt and I have smaller speakers. In fact, I have the same ones you have, the RP-600M's.
@Skunkie Designs Electronics I wonder if there would be difference on the high end if you use thick film resistors instead of wire wound resistors. A couple of examples of thick film resistors are Mouser part nos. 652-PWR221T-30-5000F and 684-MP915-500. It might be a fun experiment, possibly worthy of another video 😉
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics And you can bolt a heat sink on those. If you use a non-conductive thermal pad, you could bolt those to the chassis to sink the heat.
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Here are a couple of heat sinks that could be bolted onto those thick film resistors: Mouser part nos. 567-274-2AB and 567-271-AB. A friend wanted to know some example heat sinks for the TO-220 package, and I thought I'd also pass along those examples heat sinks for those thick film resistors here, too 😉
Nice work! The parts market... don't even get me started on that, haha. I think your best bet could be old brick-and-mortar electronic parts or surplus stores like Ax-Man or Apex Electronics, to name two legendary ones.
Nice build and video as always. Looking forward to the next steps. Short thing re. your Cable-Colour-Scheme. You mix black and other colours for the ground windings. Isn't it better to use only black? Cheers Stefan
Glad you canned the painted resisters the paint will retain heat like putting on a jacket you can. Buy 10 watt black ones that are high quality with long leads
Contrary to what one might naturally think, the black paint will improve cooling of the resistor. The process is called black body radiation. The effect is substantial if the body is shiny metallic.
Great video. Able to slowly learn and grasp what each component is and what it does, and why they are where they are. What is the projected power output for the amp?
Super project. I have built 3 single ended amp so far, they're great. I'll follow your project and will learn, I'm sure. EL34 are great tubes. Please, tell us about the wiring color code. Is there a 'standard' to refer to? Like green for filaments, red for HT, black for brown? Are all output trans color coded the same? Thanks for your great work. Very inspiring. Sylvain, Quebec
Honestly, there isn't really a color code that I know of that is universal. I try to used red or orange for HT and black for grounds but the transformers seem to be all over the place lol
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Thanks. As a rule, I built my amps using 'black for ground, 'red/orange for high voltage, and 'green for feelaments. But that's 'my' way of identifying things, and always wondered if there was 'one' good way, a convention.. Electricity applied building code seems different and well defined though. I might give a try to your amp project ;-)
While you get more power out of push pull amps, there are many downsides. Being more complex is one. But more so, canceling of the even harmonic distortion is what put me off on them. Also, many designs have heavy feedback, which usually leads to a very sterile sound. In the end I found many tube push pull amps sound a lot like transistor amps. A well designed single ended amplifier, preserves the second harmonic, which is what most believe what gives that 'tubey warm sound'. So I have grown much more interested in SE (single ended) amplifiers, rather than push pull.
I have KT88SE, EL34SE, EL84SE. 6BG4SE, GU50SE and they all sounds worse than my sansui PP amp.34 years of building amps teach me much more than audio voodu people:)@@jukingeo
New subscriber here within the last year. I primarily build small Class A guitar amps but lets face it, I basically build half your amp designs. I just built a amp in a military 30 cal. ammo box for traveling and camping, no case penetrations so it's waterproof and the tubes were shock mounted and retained. Your influence has improved my build quality 100%, under the deck it no longer looks like a basket of snakes, the layout and grounding schemes has my builds ultra quiet and dare I say it, very professional looking. The basic amp was a D-Lab design (thanks Terry) everything was just under the locking cover right down to the Tremolo control and power socket and I floated it to a couple people I know and with your tips and style of build I had a bidding war going on when finished. Pushed through a Bee Box enclosure with a Warehouse 12" veteran 30 the sound was amazing with a lot of sustain and chime I credit to wiring and sectional layout including using quality caps in both the power and signal circuits. Thanks so much.
awesome reply
Aluminum oxide chassis would be the boom.
You can get them done in any color imaginable.
Just saying, just an idea lol
God I love you and this channel 🌹
Very Kool 😎. Been procrastinating on a E180F - EL34B all pentode amp. Will be interesting to see how it all works out :)
Power resistors have flat surfaces so you can glu them directly to the top of chassis by thermally conductive glue. So the chassis will work as a radiator for resistors decreasing air temperature inside chassis. Resistors also can be located somwere on the side inside chassis away from other components like capacitors and can be coneccted by wire to other components of circuit.
I’m very curious/excited for this build! I was gifted a ChiFi EL34 SE amp, which I’ve stripped down as I plan to do a new build using all the parts (transformers) I found a schematic I was planning on building, but I’m putting that on hold until I see how your build comes together.
I'm in the same boat. A Chinese amp designed for 807 tubes. That I have adaptors to use KT66 types. I think the voltage needs to be higher or better output transformers. The sound is clear but a bit scratchy thin. The chassis looks good so will rebuild it
The one I was given was an Oldchen with 5U4G rectifier and 6SN7 pre/drivers. I’m really just using the transformers, choke and some other small bits. Sounded quite decent in its original form.
top side design looks awesome, hope it goes well.
Happy New Year from north Georgia.
Same to you!
@ Skunkie. I couldn't wait for you to get started on this since I am probably going to build this as my first tube amp. I do have a good amount of the parts already as I was considering the build when you built your first EL34 amplifier with the octal tubes.
Realize I am already thinking of changes I will be making... If you start now, don't be made when the 2nd or 3rd one is laid out differently!
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Oh, I am not starting yet. I definitely can wait. But more than likely, I am going to stick with the Edcor output transformers right off the bat since I already have them. I bought them a long while ago when I wanted to put together a "Darling" amplifier. However, I abandoned that project given that the amp only puts out 3/4 of a watt and I have smaller speakers. In fact, I have the same ones you have, the RP-600M's.
Well you've inspired me to revisit the all pentode amplifier. Would like to share results with you but I don't know how to initiate the PM.
@Skunkie Designs Electronics I wonder if there would be difference on the high end if you use thick film resistors instead of wire wound resistors. A couple of examples of thick film resistors are Mouser part nos. 652-PWR221T-30-5000F and 684-MP915-500. It might be a fun experiment, possibly worthy of another video 😉
Those look interesting too!
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics And you can bolt a heat sink on those. If you use a non-conductive thermal pad, you could bolt those to the chassis to sink the heat.
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Here are a couple of heat sinks that could be bolted onto those thick film resistors: Mouser part nos. 567-274-2AB and 567-271-AB. A friend wanted to know some example heat sinks for the TO-220 package, and I thought I'd also pass along those examples heat sinks for those thick film resistors here, too 😉
Nice work! The parts market... don't even get me started on that, haha. I think your best bet could be old brick-and-mortar electronic parts or surplus stores like Ax-Man or Apex Electronics, to name two legendary ones.
Or just stick with quality brand name products throughout. Trying to save some money ALWAYS ends up costing more in the long run.
Very cool!
Happy New Year!
🎉 Woot!
Nice build and video as always. Looking forward to the next steps.
Short thing re. your Cable-Colour-Scheme. You mix black and other colours for the ground windings. Isn't it better to use only black?
Cheers
Stefan
Those other color wires are the transformer center tap wires made onto the transformer.
Glad you canned the painted resisters the paint will retain heat like putting on a jacket you can. Buy 10 watt black ones that are high quality with long leads
Not sure about paint trapping heat, Lots of air cooled engines are painted etc. But mainly just cheap China parts lol.
Contrary to what one might naturally think, the black paint will improve cooling of the resistor. The process is called black body radiation. The effect is substantial if the body is shiny metallic.
Great video. Able to slowly learn and grasp what each component is and what it does, and why they are where they are. What is the projected power output for the amp?
5-6W?
Super project. I have built 3 single ended amp so far, they're great. I'll follow your project and will learn, I'm sure. EL34 are great tubes.
Please, tell us about the wiring color code. Is there a 'standard' to refer to? Like green for filaments, red for HT, black for brown? Are all output trans color coded the same? Thanks for your great work. Very inspiring. Sylvain, Quebec
Honestly, there isn't really a color code that I know of that is universal. I try to used red or orange for HT and black for grounds but the transformers seem to be all over the place lol
@@SkunkieDesignsElectronics Thanks. As a rule, I built my amps using 'black for ground, 'red/orange for high voltage, and 'green for feelaments. But that's 'my' way of identifying things, and always wondered if there was 'one' good way, a convention.. Electricity applied building code seems different and well defined though. I might give a try to your amp project ;-)
More push pull amps please.
While you get more power out of push pull amps, there are many downsides. Being more complex is one. But more so, canceling of the even harmonic distortion is what put me off on them. Also, many designs have heavy feedback, which usually leads to a very sterile sound. In the end I found many tube push pull amps sound a lot like transistor amps. A well designed single ended amplifier, preserves the second harmonic, which is what most believe what gives that 'tubey warm sound'. So I have grown much more interested in SE (single ended) amplifiers, rather than push pull.
I have KT88SE, EL34SE, EL84SE. 6BG4SE, GU50SE and they all sounds worse than my sansui PP amp.34 years of building amps teach me much more than audio voodu people:)@@jukingeo
is that a 1.5 or 1.75 inch clamp on the 22uF Solen cap?
40mm is what I ordered.
amzn.to/3RWClRg
Where are you getting these chassis from?
These are from Hammond right now
Thankyou, great videos. I like the more detailed technical explanations as to the design, @@SkunkieDesignsElectronics