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Tool Shed Audio - Genesis 6 & Exodus


Matthews

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Pots, switches, capacitors, and carbon comp resistors are the biggest offenders in old gear. I have seen just as many bad transistors as bad tubes, tubes are much easier to replace IMHO. Some people even build "tube rollers dreams" amps so replacing tubes is actually a positive feature. As mentioned by Maynard if one isnt into "rolling" tubes a well designed amp using high quality tubes can function properly for a very long time, a lot longer than most audiopholes keep their gear for.

-Cindy

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The simple, low parts count, point to point wired amps are practically indestructible.  I guess I simply disagree with Craig's post, and felt Maynard was just putting the reliability/maintenance factor into perspective, rather than engaging in denialism.

 

I want a Horus in Tool Shed dress.  

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What do those beauties go for? $$$$$

Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk

I really enjoy this forum, and as such, I wish to observe the rules. Please either send me a "private message" or email to: toolshedamps@gmail.com

 

Thanks for your understanding,

 

TS Matt.

 

 

Ahm wink wink! Gotcha!

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Yup, Yup tube gear was so dependable that back in the day when they ruled electronics....

 

Tube testers were portable,

 

There was a thing called portable tube caddy....

 

tubes and tube testers were available on just about every street corner

 

Most towns had multiple local repair shops to fix the stuff.

 

Just about every single town of any population in the US had at least one repair shop...

 

and technicians made house calls...

 

 Some of you guys just crack me up....

Edited by NOSValves
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Pots, switches, capacitors, and carbon comp resistors are the biggest offenders in old gear. I have seen just as many bad transistors as bad tubes, tubes are much easier to replace IMHO. Some people even build "tube rollers dreams" amps so replacing tubes is actually a positive feature. As mentioned by Maynard if one isnt into "rolling" tubes a well designed amp using high quality tubes can function properly for a very long time, a lot longer than most audiopholes keep their gear for.

-Cindy

Nice bait JPM.... Don't think you'll be getting any more bites.

Edited by paul79
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Yup, Yup tube gear was so dependable that back in the day when they ruled electronics....

 

Tube testers were portable,

 

There was a thing called portable tube caddy....

 

tubes and tube testers were available on just about every street corner

 

Most towns had multiple local repair shops to fix the stuff.

 

Just about every single town of any population in the US had at least one repair shop...

 

and technicians made house calls...

 

 Some of you guys just crack me up....

This is giving people a very wrong impression about tube reliability!  As to portability of tube testers, I don't know of any service guys (including myself) who carried one.  All that was needed was a filament continuity tester for sets using a series string arrangement.  Yes, portable tube caddy's were needed as carrying a proper stock of replacements would have been a bit difficult using cardboard boxes!  And, yes, tubes occasionally had to be replaced in TVs as they were often intentionally abused by the manufacturers exceeding sensible ratings to fuel sales of replacements (the same applied to many audio amps of the day).  Having tube testers on almost every street corner was also a marketing device, especially since many were intentionally calibrated to read on the low side of "good" (there was a place in the neighborhood which rented such testers to drugstores, etc., and stocked them.  You can't imagine how much money these guys generated!).  I had many customers who tried to effect their own repairs by testing and replacing tubes (which was useful when the filament was open) only to wind up calling me in regardless.  Most of the time there was nothing wrong with the tubes they replaced and some simple adjustments restored normal operation of the set.  As to multiple repair shops to fix the stuff, sure we had to deal with failed caps and resistors, or an open flyback xfmr but that rarely was caused by the tubes.  House calls were, of course, necessary to repair console TVs.  Having to pull the chassis and bring it back to the shop wasn't all that common an event.  I was often able to pull a chassis in the customer's home and locate the "culprit" with nothing more than a meter and a can of component "freeze."  Oxidation of tube pins in sets which were used on a daily or near-daily basis was never an issue (and this was in a community on the ocean with intense salt spray in the air much of the time).  About the only part of TVs which was really affected by the salt was the tuner or, in the case of radios/audio equipment, controls which were seldom adjusted or slide switches which were rarely thrown.  And even the tuners were often repairable on premises.  One last point is that is it impossible to compare tube reliability in TVs to reliability in properly designed audio equipment.  Take, for example, the 6BG6 (electrically identical to the 6L6) which was used as a horizontal output tube in some sets.  In TVs, it was often prone to failure (as was the damper, vertical oscillator/amplifier, high voltage rectifier for the picture tube anode, and typical 5U4 rectifier for the lower voltages) because of the extreme operating conditions combined with a very hot environment.  That tube, or any 6L6 variant for that matter, if used in a conservatively designed amplifier can last beyond any reasonable expectation.  The same goes for the vertical oscillator/amplifier tubes popular with SET designers.  So, anyone contemplating getting into tube amps should not be dissuaded by Craig's arguments.  They are simply invalid if the equipment is properly designed.

Maynard

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Not at all this is simply a complete waste of time. What these guys are stating is so absurd it's bordering on insanity..I'm not kidding in the least bit. I mean the tubes themselves especially modern production output tubes have a limited life span and need periodic replacement that is in the 2 to 6 year range for most heavy users of their amplifiers. I mean denying this single fact alone is plain ludicrous..I'm not wasting any more of my valuable time on this subject.

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good greif.... I did not design the thousands of Scott, Fisher, EICO, Marantz, McIntosh, Grommes, Heathkit, Stromberg Carlson, Pilot and all the others that don't currently come to mind that I have PROFESSIONALLY rebuilt over the last 16 years and provide lifetime free technical support for after rebuilding them. My Statement is true for all of them....they all require and deserve periodic maintenance, 

 

 Pretty easy to peck away from the cheap seats 

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So what you are telling me is that those amplifiers were in service probably working great for 30+ years and then you "PROFESSIONALLY" rebuilt them and now they need to be serviced every few years? That doesn't sound right at all. What about your "VRD" amplifiers? Why use modern production tubes that only last a couple years in their designs?

 

-Cindy

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NOSValves, maybe you should design your amps around more robust tubes if you know they only last two years of service.

-Cindy

Perhaps you need to do more research into Craigs products and the services he provides before you continue trashing him. His reputation is pretty impeccable, which is much, much more than I can say about yours at this point.

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Not service minor maintenance please read....I rarely get an amplifier I have restored in for service with somewhere north of 3000 in the field. That is why my customers get a lifetime warrantee with complete restoration work the warrantee has cost me almost nothing,

Edited by NOSValves
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