Mod'ing a tube circuit (from early 60's stereo turntable)

[Richard]

Not too sure how much music you listen to, but that stereo amplifier would probably sound pretty good through a decent pair of speakers.

Those EL95's are rated at 6.5 watts, Class A.

That thing's clean, too.

[eschertron]

If we're putting a switch on the mid control, why not have a 25k mid pot and a SPST lift control? That aught to give 'flexibility' to the tone stack
Maybe even a pot with a pull-switch?

[TubeNoob]

Not asking too much amplifier duty from a sixty year old turn table, are you?

ohhhh no! I would NEVER do that!!!

If we're putting a switch on the mid control, why not have a 25k mid pot and a SPST lift control? That aught to give 'flexibility' to the tone stack

right on!

@ Richard - yeah i need a nice pair of cabs for sure! And it being 'clean' is something i like, that's why i'm driving Chuck crazy with my 'flexibility' issues :-p

@Chuck - thanks for the schemo on that!!!

Ugh...10 days to go until my parts are due.

If you live near an actual electronics store, i just want you to know, i hate you.

[Chuck H]

If you live near an actual electronics store, i just want you to know, i hate you.

Here on Whidbey "Aint no 'lectronic parts." Well, we have a Radio Shack...(in case I need one of the twelve components they carry)

Anything I order has to get to me via a ferry or over a two lane bridge that also happens to be a tourist attraction in a county park (so it isn't used by commercial vehicles much). We also have very "small town" post office. That is, not fast or accurate. Neighbors get each others mail sometimes. Sometimes when a parcel is dropped at the post office they fail to notify me so I have to go in and ask if there's any mail for me.?. When I "track" orders on line they get across the country in a couple of days and into Seattle. From there it takes longer than it should to get onto the island and then longer than it should to get to my door or mailbox. In other words, Over night shipping is two or three days, three day shipping is a week, etc. And that's when everything goes right.

[TubeNoob]

man i remember back in the 80's when the guys at radio shack were EE's!! (at least where i was!) and they had a ton of DIY parts. i've thought for a long time they should go back to that DIY ethos (to, you know, avoid bankruptcy!)

yeah when i lived in the mountains in CA it was the same thing; but there was a radio shack for those 12 parts!

[eschertron]

man i remember back in the 80's when the guys at radio shack were EE's!!

RS had a good run from when they were founded until late 70s early 80s or so. I too got kits, parts, and supplies from the local store and was a very happy kid to have my 'geek' side stroked. There were other electronic supply houses in my area that also dried up and blew away during the 80s with the advent of VSLI and module-level repair (or DNR!). They didn't last as long as RS because they couldn't "pivot" into consumer toys and phones.
Not that diluting the Tandy/Radio Shack Brand did them any good. It was a slow painful corporate death. Reminds me of the demise of Sears and Roebuck. At one time I could walk into the hardware section and talk to knowledgeable people. Then it became staffed with schoolkids who knew just enough to avoid working fast food. But not really enough to know a bottom tap from a gear puller. Alas, most Sears stores are gone, too.
I guess the bottom line for me is that internet stores are the only real alternative left for most of us. Anybody who lives outside of Gothamopolis.

[TubeNoob]

here i go... i'm gonna say it!!! it was "back in the good ol days!!!!!"

anyway, i'll deal with the shipping delays, there's a lot more choice with the net so the truth is that i wouldn't trade backwards on that one.

on the prices of tubes, analog synths and cars from the 50's - yeah i'd trade back in a heartbeat!! :-)

[Justin Thomas]

And it being 'clean' is something i like, that's why i'm driving Chuck crazy with my 'flexibility' issues...

I thought Richard meant "ooooh, sparkly!"

And @ Chick & anyone else so lucky: you still have a Ritardio Shack in your town? Lucky! Our local "Components" shop quit selling components 10 years ago. In which case, I think they should change their name from Virginia Electronic Components to Something Else. I knew it was over when I called a few months after my last order of wire and asked, "do you sell oscilloscopes? As in, can you order me one?" The answer was "I don't know what that is."

Radio Shack was never a lot of help as far as parts went, but the people were always friendly and willing to learn about the "good old days," since nobody in there even knows what an electrolytic capacitor was, let alone why I'd need one rated at 500V... so even as their stock dwindled, I'd stop in and usually pickup solder or something silly. Now, they are no more, and 20 more young people are now working at Wally-Whirled...

Justin

[TubeNoob]

hiya Justin... that was hilarious.

Am i crazy or would RS not do better if they just brought in some more DIY stock? I mean, can't be hard for them to source some typical hi-voltage caps, etc. i'd pay more in the store, often the same amount you'd pay extra for shipping anyway.

[Enzo]

No, because you and maybe one other guy would be the customer. They'd have to tie up inventory dollars and shelf space for low profit parts that don;t move well. That is why they stopped selling the parts in the first place. They don;t sell. COmponent level electronics is more or less in a coma, if not dead.

[TubeNoob]

I totally understand what you mean.

but who the hell goes to RS to buy anything anymore... like... a stereo? not my first choice.

But, with the net DIY is bigger than it has ever been (schematics, forums, videos to build a guitar pedal in 10 mins, arduinos, Chinese parts, etc). More than it was in the 90's, at least.

And to order hi-voltage caps online is still outrageous in terms of pricing (i paid like $6 a cap for some) so there's got to be some margin. and there are a lot of DIY'rs out there who don't want to wait 2 weeks for parts.

man, let me manage a store in Hollywood and i'd show a damn turn-around! :-p

think about it, RS from the 80's: caps, resistors, transformers, solder boards, wire, solder, irons, etc. i'd go there before i'd buy online - but this is just me ranting from a land far, far away...

[eschertron]

I totally understand what you mean.
but who the hell goes to RS to buy anything anymore... like... a stereo? not my first choice.

Right. Nobody. They stopped carrying anything but phones and toys to try and stop the hemorrhaging years ago. And then couldn't compete there either.

But, with the net DIY is bigger than it has ever been (schematics, forums, videos to build a guitar pedal in 10 mins, arduinos, Chinese parts, etc). More than it was in the 90's, at least.
And to order hi-voltage caps online is still outrageous in terms of pricing (i paid like $6 a cap for some) so there's got to be some margin. and there are a lot of DIY'rs out there who don't want to wait 2 weeks for parts.

Compare the price of a 12AX7 at your local guitar store. They all have 1 or 2, just for the case where you need one TONIGHT for a gig. And priced accordingly. I will never buy one locally, at least not until I can try it out and test it for myself before buying.
And I get parts from Mouser or Antique Electronics in days, anyway.

man, let me manage a store in Hollywood and i'd show a damn turn-around! :-p

I'd come to your store!

[Enzo]

DIY is shrinking, what is growing is its visibility. You see a few hundred or a few thousand people on these forums, but how many would really use Radio Shack other than for a quick odd part here and there. Buying parts at Radio shack is like buying groceries at the convenience store at the gas station. And how many millions would have to be customers for it to be profitable. If anyone can sell anything at a profit, it is Amazon, and how many electronic parts do you see there?

And for the guy who might have wired up some little circuit years ago, now he buys an Arduino and programs it on his laptop. No resistors or transistors involved.

Guys used to come into my store for a resistor or a fuse or something. I usually gave it to them, because the sales tickets cost more than the parts. A sales ticket was 10 cents. Why burn that for a 5 cent resistor?

Caps these days are low voltage, as are most modern circuits. if you think those things move slow, NOBODY needs 500v caps except the TINY community of tube amp guys. Maybe the occasional amateur radio guy into old school transmitters.

Places like AES have HV caps at reasonable rates, and I always got prompt service from them. For common parts, Mouser gets me most anything in two days.

[Chuck H]

I'm going to tell (a slightly abbreviated version of) a story I've already told here a couple of times. I was living in San Jose, Ca. when Quement Electronics was in an ENORMOUS corrugated building on a main drag with a big, 50's style script with a star type logo sign. Starting some time in the early 90's I watched it shrink a little at a time as they reduced inventory and the owner leased space and walled off the parcels. The last time I went in there was maybe 1999. The front entrance had been relegated to nothing but a man door on the side of the building. Probably the one they used to take the trash out to the dumpsters back in the day. The former entrance, dual automatic sliders, was now the entrance for Leslie Pools (I think). Anyway, entering that door I saw just a single room. Perhaps 12'x15'. There were shelves of catalogs and clerk at a counter where you could place your order. I think he was surprised to see someone.

[eschertron]

I'm going to tell...I think he was surprised to see someone.

I was going to 'like' your post, then thought it deserved a sad face thingy