ECL80/82/83

[Jewellworks]

does anyone have any experience with ECL80/82/83 triode/pentode (combo) tubes? I recently built a 1 tube SE amp using an ECL86 and I love it. Sounds great, especially with a booster pedal. But now im looking to build another in PP, w the triode section used as the PI.
It'll be a very low wattage amp, w/the 80 putting out about 1.4w (in PP), the 82 about 10.2w, the 83 about 7.5w. all in PP.
What I'm wondering is are there any issues w microphonics? Or mounted upside down? I'm not seeing anything about that on the tube data sheets. I'm assuming that no specifc point on that means No Problems.

I recently picked up a bunch of 6AQ5A tubes as well. From what I gather, about 10w in PP. I read on another thread they're not microphonic. The only thing is I need to watch my plate voltage on these tubes. When they say 250V Max, they mean it. About 270/280 is as much as they can take.

 

[TobyZ28]

hI @Jewellworks i have no experience with those tubes at all, but I'm curious what your 1 tube amp looks like, would you be willing to share the schematic and/or layout if you have it?

 

[Nickfl]

does anyone have any experience with ECL80/82/83 triode/pentode (combo) tubes? I recently built a 1 tube amp using an ECL86 and I love it. Sounds great, especially with a booster pedal. But now im looking to build another in PP, w the triode section used as the PI.
It'll be a very low wattage amp, w/the 80 putting out about 1.4w (in PP), the 82 about 10.2w, the 83 about 7.5w. all in PP.
What I'm wondering is are there any issues w microphonics? Or mounted upside down? I'm not seeing anything about that on the tube data sheets. I'm assuming that no specifc point on that means No Problems.

I recently picked up a bunch of 6AQ5A tubes as well. From what I gather, about 10w in PP. I read on another thread they're not microphonic. The only thing is I need to watch my plate voltage on these tubes. When they say 250V Max, they mean it. About 270/280 is as much as they can take.

I've used the ECL82/6BM8 and like it a lot. I did a "tweed overdrive special" with a power amp design lifted from the Bassman mini (not to be confused with Robs 12bh7 bassman micro).

See my build thread here.

Fyi, there is a Russian equivalent to the ECL82, the 6f3p, that can be found NOS pretty cheap. The "winged C" with the OTK markings are excellent, they are what I'm running in the tweed ODS. I stocked up on them a while back with the intention of eventually building some other amps with them.

 

[Jewellworks]

hI @Jewellworks i have no experience with those tubes at all, but I'm curious what your 1 tube amp looks like, would you be willing to share the schematic and/or layout if you have it?

the ECL86 is about 4 watts SE. if you want to use any of the other aforementioned ECLs, they are not interchangeable. the pinouts are different, so check that.
i didnt use the CT on the PT because i messed up and got the wrong PT type. using the CT would have given me over 500VAC! instead i used a full wave bridge rectifier on the PT, then knocked it down a tad to keep it around 270 at the plate. see my load lines for reference.

i used a tone switch, rather a knob. its mostly clean with a nice growl even without a booster pedal in front. i use a Bad Monkey pedal and i think it sounds great. its up to you if you want to use a tone pot, but depending on what you use, it could decrease the drive if you do.

 

[Jewellworks]

I've used the ECL82/6BM8 and like it a lot. I did a "tweed overdrive special" with a power amp design lifted from the Bassman mini (not to be confused with Robs 12bh7 bassman micro).

See my build thread here.

Fyi, there is a Russian equivalent to the ECL82, the 6f3p, that can be found NOS pretty cheap. The "winged C" with the OTK markings are excellent, they are what I'm running in the tweed ODS. I stocked up on them a while back with the intention of eventually building some other amps with them.

ill look for those tubes. and your build thread. im guessing the tweed ODS is Dumble-like? thats also on my to-do list, either w the ECL82 or the 6AQ5a's on the power end.
is your amp a combo? im looking to put this new PP build into a small combo and thats why im concerned about microphonics, or if theres a problem with mounting upside down.

 

[Nickfl]

ill look for those tubes. and your build thread. im guessing the tweed ODS is Dumble-like? thats also on my to-do list, either w the ECL82 or the 6AQ5a's on the power end.
is your amp a combo? im looking to put this new PP build into a small combo and thats why im concerned about microphonics, or if theres a problem with mounting upside down.

Yeah, it's Dumble like but with single knob tone controls instead of TMB amd a small signal pentode in the overdrive channel.

That build was a head, I don't know of any particular tendency for these tubes to be microphonic, but with a high gain circuit like that you could be asking for trouble building it as a combo even if the tubes aren't prone to microphonic issues.

As for tube orientation, I'd assume any is fine unless a datasheet says otherwise. Especially if you are just wanting them to be upside down, I don't think I've ever heard of any tubes that have a problem with hanging upside down, usually it's mounting then horizontally that is the issue. Sometimes you need to make sure they are rotated a certain way to prevent internal elements from sagging if mointing in a horizontal position.

 

[Jewellworks]

I noticed the ECL80 has a shared cathode. I'm beginning to wonder if that would be a problem with the triode side as the PI. I kinda like the 1.5w output... A little low, but the cabinet is pretty small w 2, 6" Jensen's I got it for nothing, so I'm trying to find a use for it.

ive got 2 more ECL86's, but that'll put me around 14 watts in PP. id like to keep this around 5, ideally... the ECL83 seems closer, provided i can find the right PT. ive got another 260CT on hand, which will work well with the 86, but too much for an 83. the https://www.vtadiy.com/loadline-calculator doesnt like much more than 200V on the plates, w/an 8K , 8.5k load, tops.
ive only seen 1 tube chart for an ECL83