( h�lJet :I Puhihh,d CJ!Jwi'Jfly :JP/Jll;} J :lrJij p/;.;!;! J!J.OO Big Triodes ... Big Sound! 300 Watts of Badass Bass Great Tube Sound on a Budget Restoration of an A.tee 287W I'll'. EDITOR.S P AGE AND INDUSTRY NEW S El Nino washed OUl the vimage elec­ vrvIn The News - Again! tronics flea market on Saturday, a crowd As a result of our Tube Enthusiast's VTV Issue # 9 of almost 500 new and familiar tube enthusiasts showed up or our tube Weekend, most of the editors were Table of Contents: f vrv trade show and display show. We also interviewed by the Sa" Frallcisco presented Tube School III with John ChTOllic'� newspaper for a major article Anvood, vrvTech Editor, as class that appeared in rhe February 7, 1998 Legacy of the 50 Watter•..... 3 leader and Evan Aurand wilh Terry Business Section. VI"V's "lech Ediror, Buddingh handling rhe Guitar Amp John Anvood, was pictured on the front TransmittingTube Test Amp •• 7 School. page of the article . o : Business Week Mag'J.zine also gOt into Dumpster: 2CS 1/5670........ 1 0 New York Tube Sch ol FaJl1998 the act and was interested in the �tube If we get at least 50 pre-regis[(�red listening to SE 211/8455 .... 11 audio� phenomenon. They interviewed sign-ups (by 8/15/98), will present vrv yours truly and lOok a picture of me sit­ Practical Tube Audio School in the ting in the'.VTV test lab. The final arti­ Ampeg SVT History••••••••••••• 13 New York area during September or cle was three pages in the subscriber edi­ October 1998. This is an intensive tion of the March 30 issue. The Firs. Tube PCs ••••••••••••••• 18 eight hour class covering the basics of tube electronics, tube amp circuit th eo­ for Articles caU Winter 1998 CES Report ..... 21 ry, tube testing and grading, repair & VTV is always seeking quality articles troubleshooting techniques, equipment on audio and electronics histor y, good Vintage Audio in Japan •..•.. 22 mods & upgrades and listening tesrs. sounding mbe hi-fi projects, pro-audio Tubr School is d�signrdfor attrndm at history a d related subjens. We accept Distortion Analyzers ••••••••25 rhl' bl'gimll:r to imum�diau kv�' ofskifL n 11 articles only in simple text format on will also present a four hour vrv 3-112 inch floppies. Any photos should Altec 287W Giant Amp••••••• 28 Guitar Amp School in the afternoon, be clear and sharp. Schematics should again, if there are at least 30 sign-ups. be clearly drawn with all component Bargain Tube Hi-Fi•••••••••••••• 30 John Atwaod, MSE£ and vrv values listed. We do pay authors for their work if it is pu lished in VI\/, Metallic Rectifiers ............... 32 Technical Editor, is Tube School class b leader. John has over 20 years experi­ Share your knowledge and passion ence in vacuum mbe amp design and about tubes with the world communiry Advertiser Section ••••••••••••••35 of tube enthusiasts-wrire for repair. Additional speakers will include; vrv. Pugliesi, The Fisher Docror; Charles Al vrv Subscription Price Increase Kittleson, vrv Editor and other nOta­ Tube School Update bles in the field of tube electronics. Due to increased rents, postage and has presented twO Tube Schools priming COSts, vrv is raising the sub­ vrv The cost for Tube School is $149 pre­ since last November. We presented scription COSt and per-issue COSt of the paid (before August 15, 1998) and Tube School 11 in Tempe, Ariwna wilh maga7.ine . Current issue news scand and $179 at the door. Price includes all the assistance of Antique Electronic diStribulOr COSt is $9.00/issuc, US sub­ class marerials in a binder plus coffee Supply. For the first time we included a scription Tate is now $36/yr-four issues, and tea in the AM. To guarantee that four hour presentation on guitar ampli­ $43/Canada, $56/Europe and $66 Asia this event will occur, please send or FAX fiers taught by Evan Aurand. In addi­ and world. This price increase is effec­ us your name, address, tele hone num­ tion, Ritchie Fle gler, of Marketing p tive with #9. i VP ber, whether you want the hi -fi or guitar vrv for Fender Musical Instruments, gave a amp class and credit card information to Changes in VIV ralk on the state of tube guitar amps at #9 reserve your seat in class. IfW� d() flOt Fender Musical Instruments. Due to space constraints Part 2 of the gn the rl'quirl'd numbtr ofciass sign lipS Bruce Moore interview and the 572-3 byAll ust 15, 1998, YOUT paymmt wiii be In February, VTV sponsored the first g push-pull amplifier project will nOt be annual Bay Area Tube Enthusiast's rl'fimded promptly. in this issue. They will be in vrv #10. Weekend. Even though the rains of EDI'FORrAL STAFF Vacuum Tube Volley is publi h d quarter­ Copyright 1998 s e Vacuum Tube Valley'" ond Big Tone'to ly for electronic enthusiosts interested in the Charles Kittleson • Edi r and Publisher of this publicotion may ep i colorful past, present ond of vacuum to No port be r r nted future or otherwi!>e reproduced without written tube electronics. ohn Technical Editor of the pvbli�her. J Atwood permi�sion Subscription US$36.00/year (4 issuesl Eric Borbour -Staff Edi or Send t circulation and editorial $43/Canoda and $66/Asia, $56 Europe to: Terry Buddingh . Guitar Editor correspondence Cosh, Bonk Check, or Credit Cords Vacuum Tube Valley us Sieve Parr - Art Director are accepted for payment 1095 E. Duone Ave., Suite 106 Julie P. Werner - Copy Editor Sunnyvale, CA 94086 USA phone - (650) 654 • 2065 e·mail [email protected] FAX • (650) 654 • 2065 Website . www.vocuumtube.com # 1095-4805 155N VACUUM TUBE VALLEY ISSUE 9 • LEGACY THE WATTER o F 5 0 Not many other types were so widely "p;,d,nd mod;fi,d. A,m"",;ng ofm- L egacy 0 f Ih e 5 0 Wa IIer: sians include the 203H for medical diathermy, with plate and grid caps; 303A P was the United Electronics version; ', Tarlor's T-125 was a 150w version with 211 & 845 __ mu of20 and plate and grid caps; laylar's By Eric Barbour 303C/HD203A had a piate cap and mu G fi of25;29 5A was the Western Elec[fic ver- 4AZ ©��1��9�8�A�I9 �I �R�; g�h:"�R:"�':�:.d::: sion from 19 33: T-203Z was a Taylor ver- __ � sion with mu of 85; and there were coo I large transmitting cubes in mass produc- lntro ____,-:-_ ____--===== ==-:-_� many other versions from other firms to I- rion. The plain- tungsten 203 , was also " liH here. This helped cement the 4-pin As usual, we have a Story for you that made under various proprietary numbers, jumbo base as a major industry standard doesn't unfold in a rational way. Once , such as PG 132 again, a tube family in common use today and HWI5. sprang from a line of industrial triodes, and became audio gold by sheer accident Unlike most and random chance. other power rubes of thc era, History it was equipped It begins with an experimental triode with a standard from 1917. General Electric had devel­ base for easy oped the "Type U PliotTon" for use in change-out; . Navy radio transmitters; it was called CG- preVIOUS power 1144 when it was PUt into radios aboard triodes were seaplanes during World War I. After the usually mount­ war, the Type U became the UV-203. ed on framcs Introduced in March 1921 by RCA and and attached to made by GE, for use in AM radio rrans­ theiT circuits mittc�Ts, it had a mu of25 and a pure with flying tungsten filament.In short, it was primi­ leads. This large tive. Yet the 203 was one of the earliest bayonet-lock base with 4 in the very early days of radio broadcast­ stubby pins, originally ing. Note: WE's203 series of tubes were developed by Western much smaller than industry-standard203 Electric and often called rypes and not compatible. the �jtlmbo," became a standard for power tri­ Eventually this led to the2 I 1. It was odcs. developed by Western Electric from their experimental series G, with the first ver­ Thorium was a big sion21 1Acompleted in late 1921 , then improvement. The UV- copied in lare 1923 by Westinghouse, and 203A, introduced in marketed by them and by RCA. With a June 1923 by RCA and mu of 12.5, it was intended for RF dielec­ Westin house, was one g tric hearing and audio modulators. A dull of the first powcr mbes and pedestrian tube for dull everyday to be introduced with a jobs. (If a radio engineer of the 1920s moriated filament. Its lived to sec what old 21 Is are selling for dissipation, rated at today, he would probably die laughing.) lOOW, made it popular. 21 1 rypes were widely made by otber Later it was doned by firms, as they caught on in mundane Amperex, Deforest, GE, industrial and medical applications. Sylvania and Taylor. 1921 RG4 VACUUM TUB E VALLEY ISSUE 9 LEGACY THE 5 0 WATTER o F with a plate cap; 211 H was Amperex ver­ sion with a plate cap; United made a 311 series (311CH with plate cap), mainly for RF heating; RCA's 835 of 1937 was a Iow-capacitance version for the Iow end of the VHF band; and RCA's 838 was a variabIe-high-mu version for zero-hias Class B use.