Audio synthesis via vacuum tubes/Power supplies for tube synthesizers: Difference between revisions

m
no edit summary
(Created page with "'''Power supplies for tube synthesizers''' don't require special components. == Background == One of the major counts against the use of tubes in audio equipment is the fre...")
 
mNo edit summary
Line 2:
 
== Background ==
One of the major counts against the use of tubes in audio equipment is the frequent objection to the need for a "high voltage" power supply for the plates. This seems to be more of an economic objection than anything else, given that the capacitors and other components for operation at voltages above 100V DC tend to be more costly than low-voltage components used with solid state technology. Also, many hobbyists seem to have some fear of such voltages due to the danger of electrocution.<ref name="psfts">[https://web.archive.org/web/20111001172003fw_/http://cgs.synth.net/tube/ps.html Power Suppliessupplies for Tubetube Synthesizerssynthesizers] (archived) by Eric Barbour, 1997, with permission of the author</ref>
 
Personally, I've been working with "high" voltages for more than 20 years, and have yet to kill myself. In fact, dc is not the great danger that people often think. A jolt from a 150VDC supply can be painful and annoying, but is very unlikely to be fatal. (AC is another matter, although one is rarely exposed to it when building small-signal tube circuits.)<ref name="psfts"/>