View Single Post
  #7   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
Patrick Turner Patrick Turner is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,964
Default Power Frequency Ripple Reduction in B+ Supplies


Others mentioned.....
I checked that in Aspen Pitman's ' The Tube Amp Book, 4th Edition'.
About half the amps listed showed some kind of choke in the HV section.
But seldom tell us how many 'Heinrichs'. So difficult to tell how
effective they are.


Typically 4H / 100R for a medium powered fenderish or marshallesque PP amp..
Up to 15H for some rare amps, 2H or so for cheaper models (ironically most
are SE and really need good CLC filtering).

Indeed a read of the Book will show lots of anode supply chokes. But in 'export models' they are often left out so that the majority of guitar amps I have serviced in Oz have no anode choke in a CLC type of B+ supply.
As Phil mercilessly points out, 50Hz hum in anode supplies is a largely minor concern not much affected by B+ rectifiers and filtering methods. Usually, the 100Hz ripple F + other H are by far the higher quantity of ripple and most prominent source of hum in amplifiers.

SOME guitar amp makers woke up to the fact that having a well filtered screen B+ supply was more effective at reducing hum than having a clean anode supply.

I have a Fender Deluxe here with a screen supply filter choke that is 1/5 the weight of an anode choke to achieve the same amount of filtering.
Such miniature screen chokes with far less Idc could use very thin wire so lots of turns could be put on a small core. Thus accountants chuckle with delight over reduced costs of production and shipping weight.

Quad was early to realize the benefit of screen supply CLC filtering so they had their Quad-II screens of KT66 well filtered with CLC but little filtering to anode B+. But with class AB operation, the CMR action ceases to obstruct the hum and the hum is in series with the load on 1/2 the OPT at each wave crest so you'll see lots of noise on wave crests as you come up tp clipping. Some guitar amp players like this because it injects mains related GROWL to a tone being created.

But boutique guitar amps often have much better CLC anode filtering so GROWL is not possible. In one, with 2 x EL34 output tubes, I recently was able to add a 1/2 an additional switch to allow B+ to be reduced from +500Vdc with CLC for 50W+ AB to operate as choke input, ie, LC filter, for +320Vdc and have other 1/2 switch to adjust bias for higher Ia. The anode load stays constant but the tubes then produce mainly all class A1 power = 22Watts. The owner was delighted. Is remarkable how many guitar amp users prefer a class A power amp which they say they prefer where huge sound levels are not wanted.

The guitar amp involved had 100uF - 5H - 100uF, and the switch just moved the C1 to be parallel to C2, so 5H - 200uF. 5H was actually a nice choke, not designed by accountants.

However, I did have to add a 68r x 10W resistor in series with HT winding CT and 0V to limit peak current from rectifier Si diodes and thus reduce working B+ to +480Vdc. This is necessary because the working B+ in CLC high B+ mode was +510Vdc, and just above the 500Vdc rating for electrolytics. Just when are amp designers ever going to realize it is bad practice to have B+ above capacitor Vdc ratings? Don't hold your breath.

There was no need to pay any special attention to 50Hz mains hum.

Patrick Turner.