Curve Tracer Design For Power Vacuum Tubes Testing

No matter of the legendary attributes that are all far too normally attributed to vacuum tubes, they are even now factors that can be broken and put on out over time. Significantly like with transistors and kin, they occur with a stack of datasheets, containing numerous curves detailing their qualities and general performance. These curves will modify as a part ages, and validating these curves can assist with debugging a vacuum tube-dependent circuit. This is the place one particular can possibly expend an monumental sum on a professional curve tracer like the Tektronix 570, or develop your personal, as [Basin Street Design] has done.

A semi-retired electronics layout engineer by trade, he has beforehand coated the improvement of the curve tracer on Instructables for the version 1 and model 1.1. What this product fundamentally permits you to do is sweep the connected tube by means of its input parameter ranges, while observing the resulting curves on an attached (external) oscilloscope. Right here a storage oscilloscope (or DSO) is immensely helpful to capture the curves.

In the job pages, the in-depth concept and operating of the circuitry is described, together with the schematics and a selection of builds. The venture has been all-around considering that right before the VBA tracer which we covered very last 12 months, both of those of which are infinitely a lot more very affordable than a legitimate Tektronix 570.

Thanks to [Fernando] for the tip.