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Parts layout:
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Connection diagram:
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R1______________1M 1/4W Resistor
R2______________3K3 1 or 2W Resistor (See Notes)
R3_____________10K 1/2W Trimmer Cermet (See Notes)
R4_____________33K 1/4W Resistor
R5____________150K 1/4W Resistor
R6______________2K2 1/4W Resistor
R7_____________22K 1/4W Resistor
R8______________4K7 1/4W Resistor
C1,C2__________10nF 63V Ceramic or Polyester Capacitors
C3_____________10pF 63V Ceramic Capacitor
C4,C6_________100nF 63V Ceramic or Polyester Capacitors
C5______________2µ2 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
C7____________100µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
D1,D2,D4_____1N4148 75V 150mA Diodes
D3_____________5 or 3mm. Red LED
Q1,Q2,Q3,Q5___BC547 45V 100mA NPN Transistors
Q4____________BC557 45V 100mA PNP Transistor
L1_________________ (See Notes)
L2_____________10mH miniature Inductor
Hook_______________ (See Notes)
BZ1___________Piezo sounder (incorporating 3KHz oscillator)
SW1,SW2________SPST miniature Slider Switches
B1_______________9V PP3 Battery
Clip for PP3 Battery
Circuit operation:
Circuit description
The
preamp circuit, based on a design in the 1975 RCA Receiving Tube
Manual, uses a 12AX7 tube as a two stage, voltage gain amplifier.
This “generic” circuit is similar to what you will find in most guitar amp rpeamps.
The
12AX7 (6N2P and ECC83 are equivalent tubes) is probably the most common
tube used in the music business. Almost all current tube effects use
this tube, as do most vintage tube amps.
The 12AX7 was designed for
use in audio applications requiring exceptionally low hum and noise
levels. It is a high gain, twin triode device, having tow identical
sections sharing a common heater filament.
The guitar or other input feeds J1 and goes to the grid of the first tube stage, which produces a voltage gain of about 30.
This boosts the guitar’s 40 mV (nominal) input up to about up to about 1.2V.
Coupling
capacitor C2 picks off the amplified signal while blocking the high
voltage plate supply. The signal then goes through the tone control
circuit (R5-R9 and C3-C6) before feeding the second stage’s input.
Potentiometer R10 is a voltage divider that sets the drive.
The
second tube stage provides a gain of ten. The output signal couples
through blocking capacitor C8 to the load resistance (R13 and R14).
Control R14 varies the output signal level at J2, up to a maximum of
about 1.5V. this should feed a relatively high impedance stage; 600ohm
mixer inputs are not recommended. Resistors R4 and R12 are bias
resistors that allow the tube cathodes to develop a positive potential
with respect to ground. Capacitors C1 and C7 filter any ripple appearing
across these resistors.
POWER SUPPLY.
Transformer is a dual secondary type rated at 250VAC center-tapped for the tube’s plate supply and 6.3VAC for the tube filament.
The
output from a full-wave rectifier is 0.7 times the input AC voltage, so
about 185V appears across C10 and under load, about 140V appears
across.
Any transformer that produces 150 to 275VAC should work fine.
You
can also use a transformer with a 12VAC filament winding by grounding
ground pin 9 of the 12AX7 and running the 12VAC into pins 4 and 5.
PARTS LIST
R1, R5, R13------------47K 1/2W
R2----------------------1M 1/2W
R3, R8----------------100K 1/2W
R4---------------------2.2K 1/2W
R6, R9, R10-------------1M potentiometer
R7---------------------10K 1/2W
R11--------------------68K 1/2W
R12--------------------15K 1/2W
R14--------------------50K potentiometer
R15--------------------47K 1W
R16------------------220K 1/2W
C1, C7------------------25mf 62V
C2, C8-----------------220nf 400V ceramic disk
C3----------------------20nf 400V ceramic disk
C4, C6------------------1.2nf 400V ceramic disk
C5---------------------220pf 400V ceramic disk
C9, C10-------------33-47mf 400V electrolytic
D1 – D4------------------1N4004
F1-----------------------0.1A fuse
J1, J2--------------------phone jack
T------------------------2x250V 50ma 6V 1 A transformer