[Amps] Learning about Amps

[Will Matney]

Daniel,

In my opinion, the ARRL handbooks from 1950 to the early 1980's. The Radio Handbooks by Bill Orr (There's several editions with different info in each edition). The tube handbooks by RCA, and Sylvania. The Care and Feeding book from Eimac, and their spec sheets from the yellow catalog books (full spec sheets). The Radiomans Guide by Audel, and one by Terman (I think is the authors name) which I think is named the Radio Handbook also. Most all these can be bought off eBay at a good price.

This brings up a point I mentioned on here a long time back about education in schools. I dont see how anyone going on to higher education in electronics can not be taught the basics of vacuum tube technology. Anything handling large amounts of RF power still use tubes to a good degree. However, there is some solid state coming out. To me, I consider not teaching this a sad and unexcuseable thing on the part of schools today. Now days, theyr'e too concerned with computers and their associated circuitry than anything concerning power electronics or vacuum tube technology. Fortunately, when I was in school, we still had tubes and tube theory. Of course I'm 40 now too! I was right in the tail end of the schools that still taught it. We had television trainers made by Motorola on our big bench which I learned on. Plus, the instructor had me to build a Heathlit SB-220 which had been bought and mothballed for several years. That was a real learning experience. It's like in a song by Merle Haggard, "are the good times really over for good"? Course the title of the song was "like a snowball rolling down hill headed for hell", I think was it's name.

Best,

Will


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 3/30/05 at 8:59 PM Daniel Hileman wrote:

>Ok,
>I think I got it, just leave the 811a's alone, not enough gain for the 
>expense.
>While I'm bugging everyone of you great amp guru's, I'm a  relatively
>young 
>ham (26) and have now been licensed for over 10years, that's not tooooo 
>shabby is it?? lol. Anyway, I think my generation and obviously the ones 
>younger than myself, do not have much knowledge of tubes and such, and I'd 
>really like to learn more about Amps and how tubes work in general. Even I 
>know there's something quite magical and romantic about a tube. Soooo, do 
>you guys (and gals) know any good reading material for someone like myself 
>that wants to learn more about amps and tubes in general that is written
>for 
>the newbie (such as "Amps and tubes for Dummies " :-)
>
>Thanks,
>Daniel N9WX
>
>
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