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Tubers hate me?
- Thread starter HomerBB
- Start date
I see in the upper left hand corner of your message it says "professional amateur". I've never seen a "professional" amateur radio operator before. Buncha morons
For a Guy that don`t like it around here, you sure come back a lot.
It is entertaining though
A...... JR ... Z...... M.... Duks?
M ...... an`t .... no ..... Duks!
S .... M .... R ...... Z.... M.. wings?
:drool::drool:
Yuck Yuck Yuck
73
Jeff
Homer, if he had started with a different attitude it might have been helpful
Yes, often old Radio`s and Amps have paper capacitors in them that dry out with time, change value, go bad, leak and/or explode.
The first thing to do with old equipment (...should I say Vintage equipment? ) is to pull the bottom and covers off and eyeball everything, look for Caps that are bulging, leaking, have fuzzy looking stuff around the end, they need to be replaced before you even think about plunging the cord in the wall.
Next, look at the condition of the wiring, is it dry looking and cracked?
Is the insulation falling off of it leaving bare wire showing?
That needs to be fixed.
Then, do you see the evidence of Smoke?
Smokey looking marks on the underside of the case, wires that look burnt? you should use your nose, do you smell something like socks that have been sitting on the stove drying and you forgot them? or burnt plastic.....yep need to fix that too.
Very carefully pull the tubes, do they rattle? did the glass come out, but the base stayed in the socket?
Are there strange pieces loose inside them?
Do they have flaky looking white stuff inside of the glass? Do the pins look shiny and clean? do they fit nice and firm in the sockets, or are the loose and sloppy?
A good tube will often have a shiny mirror like coating on the inside of the tube, this is the "getter" material when the tube heats up, this adsorbs and gas remaining in the tube after it is vacuumed out when it was made, or any gas that has made its way into the tube after sitting for years ( or decades)
that leads to another thing.
Old Radio equipment should be brought online slowly, the best way is to bring it up on a Variable Transformer, called a Variac.....this plugs into the wall, the radio or whatever plugs into it, and you can slowly bring the voltage up from 0 to full 110 volts to avoid damage and high inrush current.
Then, the tube`s, if it a Amp or a Transmitter should be allowed to sit with Just the Heater switch on, or in "stand by" mode.
This allows the tubes to heat up, the Getters do what they are supposed to do and get rid of any gas that might be in the tube before you hit them with high voltage.
And the Last thing my friend.
If something blows the fuse......do your very best to try to find out WHY it blew. The fuse is your friend, it is a cheap thing that is easily replaced before more expensive or non obtainable things burn up, like transformers and such.
The Last resort( and I do mean last) is what you already did.....the smoke test, that is where you have exhausted all ideas and test`s to figure out what is wrong.....so you shove a big fuse in it.. (Or the one pictured below)...something goes Poof, and then you get to replace what burned up INSIDE the radio, AFTER you figure out WHY it went POOF.
Now, if you have already spent 6 weeks doing all of the above and your 10 dollar swap meet/yard sale radio will still not work, grab the emergency Kit, pull out your Dehydrated Gun, add water, wait five minutes, And use it to blow holes in the thing before dropping it in the Trash can.
Have a great day!
73
Jeff
Yes, often old Radio`s and Amps have paper capacitors in them that dry out with time, change value, go bad, leak and/or explode.
The first thing to do with old equipment (...should I say Vintage equipment? ) is to pull the bottom and covers off and eyeball everything, look for Caps that are bulging, leaking, have fuzzy looking stuff around the end, they need to be replaced before you even think about plunging the cord in the wall.
Next, look at the condition of the wiring, is it dry looking and cracked?
Is the insulation falling off of it leaving bare wire showing?
That needs to be fixed.
Then, do you see the evidence of Smoke?
Smokey looking marks on the underside of the case, wires that look burnt? you should use your nose, do you smell something like socks that have been sitting on the stove drying and you forgot them? or burnt plastic.....yep need to fix that too.
Very carefully pull the tubes, do they rattle? did the glass come out, but the base stayed in the socket?
Are there strange pieces loose inside them?
Do they have flaky looking white stuff inside of the glass? Do the pins look shiny and clean? do they fit nice and firm in the sockets, or are the loose and sloppy?
A good tube will often have a shiny mirror like coating on the inside of the tube, this is the "getter" material when the tube heats up, this adsorbs and gas remaining in the tube after it is vacuumed out when it was made, or any gas that has made its way into the tube after sitting for years ( or decades)
that leads to another thing.
Old Radio equipment should be brought online slowly, the best way is to bring it up on a Variable Transformer, called a Variac.....this plugs into the wall, the radio or whatever plugs into it, and you can slowly bring the voltage up from 0 to full 110 volts to avoid damage and high inrush current.
Then, the tube`s, if it a Amp or a Transmitter should be allowed to sit with Just the Heater switch on, or in "stand by" mode.
This allows the tubes to heat up, the Getters do what they are supposed to do and get rid of any gas that might be in the tube before you hit them with high voltage.
And the Last thing my friend.
If something blows the fuse......do your very best to try to find out WHY it blew. The fuse is your friend, it is a cheap thing that is easily replaced before more expensive or non obtainable things burn up, like transformers and such.
The Last resort( and I do mean last) is what you already did.....the smoke test, that is where you have exhausted all ideas and test`s to figure out what is wrong.....so you shove a big fuse in it.. (Or the one pictured below)...something goes Poof, and then you get to replace what burned up INSIDE the radio, AFTER you figure out WHY it went POOF.
Now, if you have already spent 6 weeks doing all of the above and your 10 dollar swap meet/yard sale radio will still not work, grab the emergency Kit, pull out your Dehydrated Gun, add water, wait five minutes, And use it to blow holes in the thing before dropping it in the Trash can.
Have a great day!
73
Jeff
Attachments
Thanks.
My voltage on the house AC is 118 - 119 volts.
Both transformers seem to be bad. The one on the Eagle 200 is what smokes.
I can fine do other physically visible evidence of anything else burnt, scorched, blown or otherwise bad.
I will have to look around for some more old stuff to rob for parts, or vice-versa, I guess.
My voltage on the house AC is 118 - 119 volts.
Both transformers seem to be bad. The one on the Eagle 200 is what smokes.
I can fine do other physically visible evidence of anything else burnt, scorched, blown or otherwise bad.
I will have to look around for some more old stuff to rob for parts, or vice-versa, I guess.
I opened it up and looked again. This I found in the Eagle 200. With this out there seems to be no smells or smoke with it warming up on standby. Not seen in the photo is a crack around the tube's circumference, and the shiny spot is is a dull white flaky texture. There seems to be some white discoloration around a couple of the bottom pins.
I opened it up and looked again. This I found in the Eagle 200. With this out there seems to be no smells or smoke with it warming up on standby. Not seen in the photo is a crack around the tube's circumference, and the shiny spot is is a dull white flaky texture. There seems to be some white discoloration around a couple of the bottom pins.
Avatar material.
You may have gotten lucky, I would try to find another tube and see if it will run....
The white flaky stuff is what happens to the getter when exposed to air.
That Tube may be the only thing wrong hopefully.
73
Jeff
Wow. I guess it's time to really give you something to bitch about azz hol.
Well that takes care of spelling and name calling both for starters. Secondly, although I have no need to explain anything to you, you are the fucking moron. The word "amateur" has several meanings one of which means "non-professional" as in amateur sports. Since I partake in a lot of different things and am not a professional in any of them I am therefore a professional amateur in nearly everything I do. Ever hear someone called a professional student because they spend so many years in school? It was used in the same way. I don't know what your problem is but you better find out fast and solve it.For a Guy that don`t like it around here, you sure come back a lot.
It is entertaining though
A...... JR ... Z...... M.... Duks?
M ...... an`t .... no ..... Duks!
S .... M .... R ...... Z.... M.. wings?
:drool::drool:
Yuck Yuck Yuck
73
Jeff
There are ways to fix that little problem too.
Agreed. That tube obviously has been extremely hot and the glass envelope has failed. Perhaps the tube was run too hard or perhaps an internal element failed and shorted causing the heat. Check for voltages and make sure they are within reason before replacing the tube. Like Jeff said, you may have gotten lucky and it may fire up again properly with a new tube. I have only seen tubes hot enough to soften the glass a couple times. Once was an 807 driver tube and another (twice) was an 833modulator tube in a broadcast transmitter when things went really bad one night. It had a hole the size of a pencil on the outside and the glass was sucked in making a small funnel shape. The tubes was completely blackened and had a mirror like finish on the inside from the metal elements inside vaporizing and coating the glass.
Then what things should he check out - specifically - before he goes the distance to find and get another tube? Lest he risks more by the expense and trouble - ya see?
Were you referring to the feed voltages to that tube; or all of the voltage points on the board? Sounds like a schematic is needed pretty quick. Any other things he should look into? We are talking about a pretty old rig here . . .
Were you referring to the feed voltages to that tube; or all of the voltage points on the board? Sounds like a schematic is needed pretty quick. Any other things he should look into? We are talking about a pretty old rig here . . .
The very basic voltages. Those being plate and filament as well as any grid voltage if any is used. Tubes are forgiving when it comes to plate voltage as long as it is within tube spec but the filament voltage should be pretty much dead on. The filament voltage may be a bit high with the tube socket empty as it won't be drawing any current but it should be very close.
I have dug around and so far can not find a schematic.
C/K is correct, you can use the tube spec sheet to get close
Here is the Spec sheet for the 20LF6.
it will give pin out, and Approx voltage used by the tube.
73
Jeff
C/K is correct, you can use the tube spec sheet to get close
Here is the Spec sheet for the 20LF6.
it will give pin out, and Approx voltage used by the tube.
73
Jeff
Judging by the tube, it appears as though there was an internal short within the tube, probably between the plate and one of the grids. If this was the case, it directly shorts the HV off the plate to ground (depending on what grid it was), and it *can* cause the tube to do what yours did. Looks like it's burned around the getter of the tube, so it must have had HV on or near that getter. I'm not super familiar with the Eagle 200, so I'm not sure if the HV is switched (standby switch or otherwise), but it sounds like that by removing the tube, you're removed the short in the amp, and therefore, no smoke rolling. You'll have to be extremely careful, but you can check the HV plate voltage with a DVM that reads up to 1kV DC. Plate voltage should be in the neighborhood of 600-800V. Good luck getting it going!
~Cheers~
~Cheers~
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