Author: Ale Moglia

"A mistake is always forgivable, rarely excusable and always unacceptable. " (Robert Fripp)

300B SE Amp: build part V (Fixed Bias)

Last year I developed a voltage reference using an HV LED. Unfortunately these devices from OSRAM seem to be discontinued. I managed to buy enough parts for my own use though. What is interesting from these LEDs is that the dynamic resistance is low. About 150Ω with good current, or between 300Ω to 500Ω.  Tempco is very low and with such a low dynamic resistance, they are great for creating a voltage reference with a stable CCS:

The LEDs are extremely bright and found that with a 1mA current are dim enough whilst retaining the stability needed. I have a cap multiplier arrangement and the LED array is fed by a stable CCS. Jumpers on the board allow bypassing LEDs and there is also the option to use a trimmer for variable voltage adjustment. Very handy for screen grid supply and phono stages. The reference voltage is extremely quiet with more than 100dB PSR.

OSRAN 67V LED curves

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300B SE Amp: build part IV (Board 1 finished)

Board 1 completed

Wiring job is done. The fixed bias supply delivers from +50V to -300V. It has more voltage capability as am planning to use this same supply for future builds (e.g. 845 SE). The filament supply set to minimise power dissipation on the filament regulators for the 300B. All working fine, so am happy with this board. Filament noise is 0.3mV.

300B SE Amp: build part III (Layout)

Playing with the layout a bit, here is a view of potential layout of the amplifier board. The PCBs for mounting sockets, turrets and switches are very handy. It accelerates the build process and provides full flexibility.

You may not like the open look and feel, but who cares! I love the aesthetics and those OPTs are enormous!

300B Amp board layout

300B SE Amp: build part II

Slowly making progress during the lockdown period. Over the past few weeks I managed to achieve quite more than I was expecting. The fixed bias and 300B filament supply board (board 1) needs to be wired. On the other hand, the driver filament supply plus the HT supply board is completed (board 2):

Board No. 2: HT Supply and DHT driver filament supply

I tested the HT supply and can deliver over 430V. It has more voltage capacity, however the filtering capacitors are 450VDC.  The DHT filament supplies can do 8V to 15V to accommodate different filament requirements (including some level of filament bias). It works beautifully!

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300B SE Amp – here we go

A Brave New World

Surely you’re as tired as I’m with COVID-19. One of the best things I can do to distract my mind is to keep myself away from social media. Every stone you turn, there is COVID or a statement about it. I won’t moan as I have a job for now and a healthy family. Some members of my family were infected but nothing major. I can only say is that the world has change. And so my day to day life looking after the young family whilst working is a real challenge. Starting my fifth week of lockdown, I have to distract somehow my mind at times, otherwise will go mad.

A New Concept

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3 versions of the gyrator board

Three hybrid mu-follower (aka gyrator) board generations

From left to right: 1) Standard Rev08 PCB with full flexibility of FET and TH components. 2) Rev 1.0s board with SMD except Rmu, protection drain resistor and LED as well as space for any nice big PIO capacitor. 3) the smallest version of all, all SMD except Rmu, film cap and standard TO-220 top FET and multiturn trimmer.

Very happy with the results in the board development. It does take more time and precision (you will need a microscope) to work with the MELF resistors and the SMD components in general. However, it’s worth the trouble if you’re looking to reduce the footprint.

46 driver

I love the 46 DHT. To the extent that I went on the crazy idea to implement it in filament bias. It was my winter heating indeed. Stupid idea, but sounded brilliant.

I had several questions about the 46 lately. As I’m rebuilding my 300B amp, I’d love to play with the 46 again. Here is how I’d implement it today:

The gain of the stage is about 40. The 46 has a mu of 5 in triode mode. Instead of burning loads of heat in the filament bias arrangement, I use a degenerative cathode resistor (unbypassed). The input set up transformer is the brilliant LL7903 wired in 1:8. I have a PCB made for this which it’s very handy. A zobel arrangement (C1+R2) helps taming down the frequency response at HF. Running the valve at 30-33mA is ideal. 200V at the anode is ok and the HT may be adjusted depending on the swing you need here. The stage has all the bearings to drive whatever output stage. I will add a source follower prior to the 300B as I run the 300B in fixed bias mode.

Hope this helps

Ale