Just got an old Ampeg Gemini VI restored to good working condition, which turned out to be a LOT of work. The amp was pretty much destroyed when I got it(for free.) It had a shoddy AC filter 'repair' job from a previous owner, suggesting a prior power supply failure. Whoever 'fixed' it did a lousy job, with lower-voltage caps and diodes, complete with a 25A fuse instead of a 3A fuse. When a power tube shorted it took down the filter caps, diodes, some resistors, and the power transformer--which is why I got it for free. From what I've read, these amps frequently had power supply reliability issues, and that is the main knock against them(It sounds GREAT.)
So my question is..has anybody ever fused the output tfx primaries or the power tube cathodes of an amp? I have heard of some home hi-fi guys doing this. The 3A main fuse is necessary to charge the filter caps on startup, but would allow tons of current to pass through it if a tube ran away and started conducting heavily. By my seat of the pants calculation, a 0.5A fuse on either the cathodes of the power tubes, or on the primaries of the OPT would not interfere with normal operation but would protect components in case of a power tube shorting. Thoughts or suggestions from anybody who has ever done this would be appreciated. Thanx!
So my question is..has anybody ever fused the output tfx primaries or the power tube cathodes of an amp? I have heard of some home hi-fi guys doing this. The 3A main fuse is necessary to charge the filter caps on startup, but would allow tons of current to pass through it if a tube ran away and started conducting heavily. By my seat of the pants calculation, a 0.5A fuse on either the cathodes of the power tubes, or on the primaries of the OPT would not interfere with normal operation but would protect components in case of a power tube shorting. Thoughts or suggestions from anybody who has ever done this would be appreciated. Thanx!
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