Re: Tubes + SCR's has no class!

["Christopher Boden" <chrisboden-at-hotmail-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

Comments and passions interspersed...


>Original poster: "Area31 Research Facility" <rwstephens-at-hurontario-dot-net>
>
>Tube Coilers,
>
>I just read..."An SCR can act as a switch to ground the cathode of the 
>tube,
>thereby turning the oscillator on.  They are the preferred device for doing
>this" ?!!!!  Sure this might work but it surely is sacrilegious no?

lol, I know how you feel. With all the high tech toys I play with I have a 
facination for collecting tubes. From a musician point of view, there's no 
rock without glowing glass :) Tubes have a feeling, a warmth, and a level of 
...hmmm..-dot-comfortability that modern solid state devices lack. Though I love 
the look of a beautiful new 133Mhz motherboard, with all SMT-SS technology 
and incredibly precise traces. It's nothing compared to an old 100W 4 tube 
amp I play my Ibenez through. There is a place for Tube technology, and 
there are applications that SS gear can never replace. They are both 
valuable in their uses. Mixing the two can be ugly, or productive, depending 
on what your doing.

In coiling, a mixture leads to the best of both worlds, though I would have 
to agree with you on tube coils. They just look better with ALL tube 
technology and point to point wiring. In the studio, I use a mixture of tube 
and SS, Analogue and digital. Digital audio is great, and nonlinear editing 
beats razor blades anyday. But just running the drums, bass, and vocals 
though a generation of tape adds a soft compression and warmth that ADATs or 
DA-88 Digital decks can never accomplish.

There has been 50 years of wonderful new technology to play with, we should 
use everything we can to make bigger and better arcs. Depending on the look 
and feel of what we want to accomplish. Look at the differences between the 
13M and Electrum. Same destination, vastly different paths. The 13M was 
build true to Tesla's works (mostly), Electrum was built as art.


>
>Wouldn't it be 'more proper' to keep it all half a century old technology 
>and
>all tubes by going to a mercury or gas thyratron tube between the 
>oscillator
>tube cathode and the system ground. Forget the modern SCR. If you think an 
>833A
>looks more macho than a cold bank of power mosfets, you're gonna absolutely
>love a big thyratron tube plugged in next to it!
>

Oh yeah:)....beefy

>I've experimented along this vein and found the mercury thyratron to be
>extremely easy to implement and trigger, not to mention indestructible.
>You don't need a large one either.  One smaller one I tried was the same
>envelope size and shape as an 807 and worked well on the bottom of four 
>811A's.
>
>Robert W."You can have my tubes when you can pry them from my cold dead
>fingers" Stephens
>Director
>AREA31 Research Facility
><http://www.area31-dot-org>www.area31-dot-org
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>Tesla list
> > To: <mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> > Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2000 21:42
> > Subject: Re: More tube coil stuff (Carl Willis)...
> >
> > Original poster: <mailto:cwillis-at-guilford.edu>cwillis-at-guilford.edu
> >
> >
> > An SCR can act as a switch to ground the cathode of the tube, thereby 
>turning
> > the tube oscillator on.  They are the preferred device for doing this, 
>from
> > what I have heard.  (In Staccato mode, the oscillator is pulsed every 
>few
> > cycles to keep duty cycle low.)  What is needed is an SCR that can 
>handle
> > about
> > 20 - 40 amps and 600 volts...that kind of fat.  (I don't understand why 
>they
> > don't need to stand up to the full plate potential, since it seems to me 
>that
> > the floating cathode would lose electrons to the plate until it was at 
>the
> > same
> > voltage.  Can someone explain?) This kind of part is usually a 
>stud-mount
> > thing.  I tried to order one a while back from a surplus joint, but 
>first
> > they
> > wanted $17 for it and secondly they didn't have it in stock.  They're 
>not
> > hard
> > to come by, I just don't feel right spending more for the SCR than I did 
>for
> > my
> > tube (ten bucks).
> >
> > >>>(One of these days I will get around to putting together a true 
>staccato
> > >>>driver and I'll put a big fat SCR in the cathode lead for it.)
> >
> >
> > >I've got a big fat SCR....ideas?
> >
> > Make a tube coil and use it for staccato.  Or, give it to me!!

I think Mark has one of mine still. I have a whole set of them from a bunch 
of 3KW lighting controllers. Ask him and he'll probably send it to you if 
you'll cover the shipping. I don't mind not getting it back. Consider it a 
donation from the Geek Group :)

And Mark, if you want another one I'll give ya one. or 2...or 6


I gotta make ME a tube coil....first I gotta learn how the darn things work 
.......how you guys can take something so elegant and simple as a Tesla coil 
and muck it all up with bias and plates and grids and ra ra ra.....sheesh :) 
What are ya, a bunch of weirdo SCIENTISTS or something? lol


Have fun guys!



> >
> > Christopher A. Boden Geek#1
> > President / C.E.O. / Alpha Geek
> > The Geek Group
> > <http://www.thegeekgroup-dot-org>www.thegeekgroup-dot-org
> > Because the Geek shall inherit the Earth!
> >
> >
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