Announcement: Building Homebrew Vacuum Tubes and Homebrew Tr

H

hpf

Guest
Greetings, All.

For the last three years I have been engaged in writing a book on the
topic of homebrew amplification devices, including tubes, transistors,
and electromechanical devices. I'm happy to announce that this book,
"Instruments Of Amplification" is now complete.

I invite you to visit my web site to view images of some of the projects.

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/books/ioa/ioa.htm

In the event you might be interested in a copy of the book, I do not
sell them myself. However, the web site features links to a number of
organizations that either do, or will shortly carry "Instruments Of
Amplification."

From the back cover:

Instruments of Amplification

Are you interested in building sensitive audio amplifiers from magnets,
a shoe-polish tin and a couple of carbon rods? How about a working
triode vacuum tube built from candle holders and old glass ashtrays?
Perhaps you’d like to construct your own transistor from plumber’s
fittings, glass beads, and a tiny crystal. If so, you’ve come to the
right place.

Instruments of Amplification, written and illustrated by H. P.
Friedrichs, is jam-packed with nearly 300 pages of history, science
background, basic theory, and hard-to-find hands-on details pertaining
to the construction of an amazing array of homebrew amplifying devices.

Rooted in the same “build-it-from-scratch” philosophy that made his
first book, The Voice of the Crystal, a success, Instruments of
Amplification reduces complex devices to their essential elements and
then shows how they can be constructed from commonly available
materials.

In the process of building, you’ll also learn secrets that will find
application to other projects. Learn to drill a hole in glass, generate
high voltages, or create and measure a high vacuum. Learn how to
dismantle a lightbulb, harvest carbon from old batteries, or deposit a
layer of metal onto glass so thin that it is transparent! How about
creating your own primitive semiconductor materials from garden-shed
chemicals? The list goes on and on!

The wealth of information contained in Instruments of Amplification is
augmented by 150 photos, illustrations, and engravings, in addition to
numerous charts, tables, and formulas. Readers interested in further
exploration will appreciate the 120+ references to period books,
magazines, CDROMs and Web sites.
 
Hello All,

I have a copy of _The Voice of the Crystal_ . It is a delightful book which
I much enjoyed reading. I am looking forward to getting a copy of
_Instruments of Amplification_.

Sal


--
Sal D'Ambra
Blue Ridge Summit, PA
"hpf" <XpfriedrZ@mindspringX.com> wrote in message
news:T69db.5976$NX3.2166@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
Greetings, All.

For the last three years I have been engaged in writing a book on the
topic of homebrew amplification devices, including tubes, transistors,
and electromechanical devices. I'm happy to announce that this book,
"Instruments Of Amplification" is now complete.

I invite you to visit my web site to view images of some of the projects.

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/books/ioa/ioa.htm

In the event you might be interested in a copy of the book, I do not
sell them myself. However, the web site features links to a number of
organizations that either do, or will shortly carry "Instruments Of
Amplification."

From the back cover:

Instruments of Amplification

Are you interested in building sensitive audio amplifiers from magnets,
a shoe-polish tin and a couple of carbon rods? How about a working
triode vacuum tube built from candle holders and old glass ashtrays?
Perhaps you’d like to construct your own transistor from plumber’s
fittings, glass beads, and a tiny crystal. If so, you’ve come to the
right place.

Instruments of Amplification, written and illustrated by H. P.
Friedrichs, is jam-packed with nearly 300 pages of history, science
background, basic theory, and hard-to-find hands-on details pertaining
to the construction of an amazing array of homebrew amplifying devices.

Rooted in the same “build-it-from-scratch” philosophy that made his
first book, The Voice of the Crystal, a success, Instruments of
Amplification reduces complex devices to their essential elements and
then shows how they can be constructed from commonly available
materials.

In the process of building, you’ll also learn secrets that will find
application to other projects. Learn to drill a hole in glass, generate
high voltages, or create and measure a high vacuum. Learn how to
dismantle a lightbulb, harvest carbon from old batteries, or deposit a
layer of metal onto glass so thin that it is transparent! How about
creating your own primitive semiconductor materials from garden-shed
chemicals? The list goes on and on!

The wealth of information contained in Instruments of Amplification is
augmented by 150 photos, illustrations, and engravings, in addition to
numerous charts, tables, and formulas. Readers interested in further
exploration will appreciate the 120+ references to period books,
magazines, CDROMs and Web sites.
Click to expand...
 
In article <T69db.5976$NX3.2166@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
XpfriedrZ@mindspringX.com mentioned...
Greetings, All.

For the last three years I have been engaged in writing a book on the
topic of homebrew amplification devices, including tubes, transistors,
and electromechanical devices. I'm happy to announce that this book,
"Instruments Of Amplification" is now complete.

I invite you to visit my web site to view images of some of the projects.

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/books/ioa/ioa.htm

In the event you might be interested in a copy of the book, I do not
sell them myself. However, the web site features links to a number of
organizations that either do, or will shortly carry "Instruments Of
Amplification."

From the back cover:

Instruments of Amplification

Are you interested in building sensitive audio amplifiers from magnets,
a shoe-polish tin and a couple of carbon rods? [snip]
Click to expand...
Shoe polish tin? Those went extinct with the advent of Reebok, Nike
and Adidas. Not to mention B-K, Converse, etc., etc.

And carbon rods? With most batteries being alkaline, I'd guess
they're hard to find, too.


--
@@F@r@o@m@@O@r@a@n@g@e@@C@o@u@n@t@y@,@@C@a@l@,@@w@h@e@r@e@@
###Got a Question about ELECTRONICS? Check HERE First:###
http://users.pandora.be/educypedia/electronics/databank.htm
My email address is whitelisted. *All* email sent to it
goes directly to the trash unless you add NOSPAM in the
Subject: line with other stuff. alondra101 <at> hotmail.com
Don't be ripped off by the big book dealers. Go to the URL
that will give you a choice and save you money(up to half).
http://www.everybookstore.com You'll be glad you did!
Just when you thought you had all this figured out, the gov't
changed it: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
@@t@h@e@@a@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@m@e@e@t@@t@h@e@@E@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@
 
In article <T69db.5976$NX3.2166@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
XpfriedrZ@mindspringX.com mentioned...
Greetings, All.

For the last three years I have been engaged in writing a book on the
topic of homebrew amplification devices, including tubes, transistors,
and electromechanical devices. I'm happy to announce that this book,
"Instruments Of Amplification" is now complete.

I invite you to visit my web site to view images of some of the projects.

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/books/ioa/ioa.htm

In the event you might be interested in a copy of the book, I do not
sell them myself. However, the web site features links to a number of
organizations that either do, or will shortly carry "Instruments Of
Amplification."
I forgot to mention to check my .sig below for a ULR to compare prices
Click to expand...
of new and used books. Also try www.abebooks.com for lots more.


--
@@F@r@o@m@@O@r@a@n@g@e@@C@o@u@n@t@y@,@@C@a@l@,@@w@h@e@r@e@@
Don't be ripped off by the big book dealers. Go to the URL
that will give you a choice and save you money(up to half).
http://www.everybookstore.com You'll be glad you did!
Just when you thought you had all this figured out, the gov't
changed it: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html
@@t@h@e@@a@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@m@e@e@t@@t@h@e@@E@f@f@l@u@e@n@t@@
 
In article <MPG.19e0bb7f84065c03989718@news.dslextreme.com>,
Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun" <alondra101@hotmail.com> wrote:

In article <T69db.5976$NX3.2166@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
XpfriedrZ@mindspringX.com mentioned...
Greetings, All.

For the last three years I have been engaged in writing a book on the
topic of homebrew amplification devices, including tubes, transistors,
and electromechanical devices. I'm happy to announce that this book,
"Instruments Of Amplification" is now complete.

I invite you to visit my web site to view images of some of the projects.

http://www.mindspring.com/~pfriedr/books/ioa/ioa.htm

In the event you might be interested in a copy of the book, I do not
sell them myself. However, the web site features links to a number of
organizations that either do, or will shortly carry "Instruments Of
Amplification."

From the back cover:

Instruments of Amplification

Are you interested in building sensitive audio amplifiers from magnets,
a shoe-polish tin and a couple of carbon rods? [snip]

Shoe polish tin? Those went extinct with the advent of Reebok, Nike
and Adidas. Not to mention B-K, Converse, etc., etc.
Click to expand...
Don't get out much, do ya? :) Or if you do, you don't get anywhere near
anything that resembles a decent shoe store... Walk into one of those,
and you have a hard time dodging the Kiwi shoe-polish rack. They *WANT*
you to trip over it, y'see...

And carbon rods? With most batteries being alkaline, I'd guess
they're hard to find, too.
Click to expand...
Betcha I can come up with a battery you can tear apart to get a carbon
rod from in less than 10 minutes - given 5 bucks and a town with more
than a gas station, a mom-and-pop store, and a post office, that is...
Carbon-zincs are still around, and can be had from anyplace that sells
almost any brand other than Energizer or Duracell.

--
Don Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net <--- Preferred Email - SpamAssassinated.
Hate SPAM? See <http://www.spamassassin.org> for some seriously great info.
I will choose a path that's clear: I will choose Free Will! - N. Peart
Fly trap info pages: <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/Horses/FlyTrap/index.html>
 
Don Bruder wrote:

Betcha I can come up with a battery you can tear apart to get a carbon
rod from in less than 10 minutes - given 5 bucks and a town with more
than a gas station, a mom-and-pop store, and a post office, that is...
Carbon-zincs are still around, and can be had from anyplace that sells
almost any brand other than Energizer or Duracell.
Click to expand...
Yup!! and if for some silly reason you can't find a battery, you should
be able to get carbon rods from a welding supply house. They use them as
electrodes in carbon arc welding attachments for arc welders.

--
regards from ::
John Bartley
43 Norway Spruce Street
Stittsville, Ontario
Canada, K2S1P5
( If you slow down it takes longer - does that apply to life also?)



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
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In article <18Fdb.25222$dk4.794924@typhoon.sonic.net>, Don Bruder wrote:
Don't get out much, do ya? :) Or if you do, you don't get anywhere near
anything that resembles a decent shoe store... Walk into one of those,
Click to expand...
No kidding. Hell.. I can even get tins of shoe polish at one 99 cent
store.

Black or brown? :)

I really should shine up my black shoes.....they're looking kinda
dull. Must be all the wire snippings falling on them and scratching...

Carbon-zincs are still around, and can be had from anyplace that sells
almost any brand other than Energizer or Duracell.
Click to expand...
4 D or C cell carbon zinc heavy duty panasonics for one dollar at the same
"five & dime" as the shoe polish. I believe they're in adjacent bins
too!!!

--
Sven Weil
New York City, U.S.A.
 
Carbon-zincs are still around, and can be had from anyplace
that sells almost any brand other than Energizer or Duracell.
Click to expand...
Energizer (Eveready) makes carbon-zinc batteries. Heaven knows why, but they do.
They probably never closed down the production line and still sell enough to
justify keeping it up and running.
 
I see them as OEM in a lot of cheap (and not so cheap) flashlights.

jak
"William Sommerwerck" <williams@nwlink.com> wrote in message
news:vneabi1b4lcjea@corp.supernews.com...
Carbon-zincs are still around, and can be had from anyplace
that sells almost any brand other than Energizer or Duracell.

Energizer (Eveready) makes carbon-zinc batteries. Heaven knows why, but
they do.
They probably never closed down the production line and still sell enough
to
justify keeping it up and running.
Click to expand...
 
Betcha I can come up with a battery you can tear apart to get a carbon
rod from in less than 10 minutes - given 5 bucks and a town with more
than a gas station, a mom-and-pop store, and a post office, that is...
Carbon-zincs are still around, and can be had from anyplace that sells
almost any brand other than Energizer or Duracell.



I thought carbon zincs were banned by the EPA. Too much trash or
Click to expand...
something.....
 
In article <3F77381F.1090501@ix.netcom.com>, Robert Casey wrote:
I thought carbon zincs were banned by the EPA. Too much trash or
Click to expand...
Nah....go to your local 99 cent store. They sell four-packs of D cells and
C-cells for a dollar. Ditto AA cells and occasionally AAAs.

Sometimes you can get two 9 volts for a dollar. The biggest brands are
Eveready and Panasonic but there's one place I know in the Civic Center
neighborhood here in Manhattan that sells 16 AA batteries for like 3
dollars. Some sort of Duracell knockoff. Same sleeving design as
Duracell but with a name like Enercell or Plenticell or Duvacell.

Why would C-Z batteries have been banned? I know for certain that
manufacturers stopped adding mercury to these things though. Why was
mercury added to the battery? Does it improve performance?

--
Sven Weil
New York City, U.S.A.
 
In article <3F77381F.1090501@ix.netcom.com>,
Robert Casey <wa2ise@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

Betcha I can come up with a battery you can tear apart to get a carbon
rod from in less than 10 minutes - given 5 bucks and a town with more
than a gas station, a mom-and-pop store, and a post office, that is...
Carbon-zincs are still around, and can be had from anyplace that sells
almost any brand other than Energizer or Duracell.



I thought carbon zincs were banned by the EPA. Too much trash or
something.....
Click to expand...
In three words: You thought wrong.

Unless some new danger from them has been discovered that I haven't
heard about yet, nothing about carbon-zinc batteries is of any
particular interest to the EPA.

Some of the earlier alkalines were pretty evil due to high mercury
content, but your basic carbon-zinc battery is nothing more than a
carbon rod, some manganese dioxide "filling", and a zinc "can" wrapped
around the whole mess. Variations from maker to maker might include a
few other things in the manganese powder/paste, but none of them (that I
know of, anyway) are more "dangerous" than a handful of sand.

Carbon-zincs do make one serious *BUTTLOAD* of a mess if you spill the
lovely black manganese powder/paste indoors. You'll be wiping what looks
like soot off everything in the area for months, if not years, after
such an incident. Even so, it's basically harmless. It might be an ugly
mess, but "ugly" isn't really the province of the EPA, an outfit that's
primarily interested in stuff that's actually a danger of some kind.

--
Don Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net <--- Preferred Email - SpamAssassinated.
Hate SPAM? See <http://www.spamassassin.org> for some seriously great info.
I will choose a path that's clear: I will choose Free Will! - N. Peart
Fly trap info pages: <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/Horses/FlyTrap/index.html>
 
Sometimes you can get two 9 volts for a dollar. The biggest
brands are Eveready and Panasonic but there's one place
I know in the Civic Center neighborhood here in Manhattan
that sells 16 AA batteries for like 3 dollars.
Click to expand...
If that's a carbon-zinc AA, it's a bad value. Costco sells its house brand
(actually Toshiba) for less than 25 cents each.


Why would C-Z batteries have been banned? I know for certain that
manufacturers stopped adding mercury to these things though. Why
was mercury added to the battery? Does it improve performance?
Click to expand...
Carbon-zincs never had added mercury. Alkalines did. It improved efficiency, for
reasons I don't remember.
 
In article <slrnbnef5v.b3p.sven@gordsven.com>,
sven@gordsven.com (Sven Franklyn Weil) wrote:

In article <3F77381F.1090501@ix.netcom.com>, Robert Casey wrote:
I thought carbon zincs were banned by the EPA. Too much trash or

Nah....go to your local 99 cent store. They sell four-packs of D cells and
C-cells for a dollar. Ditto AA cells and occasionally AAAs.

Sometimes you can get two 9 volts for a dollar. The biggest brands are
Eveready and Panasonic but there's one place I know in the Civic Center
neighborhood here in Manhattan that sells 16 AA batteries for like 3
dollars.

Some sort of Duracell knockoff. Same sleeving design as
Duracell but with a name like Enercell or Plenticell or Duvacell.
Click to expand...
Found some of those out here in California just the other day -
"Superdeer" is the name on mine. They look exactly like a Duracell,
complete with a fake "tester" gizmo printed on the side, except for the
"Superdeer" name, and a stylized deer head up in the "copper" part of
the label. These may be the most bizarre batteries I've ever met... If
you grab 'em too hard, you can literally squish them with your fingers -
Almost like the can is made of tinfoil or something. For what it's
worth, I've had a pair of them tucked into my MP3 discman player for
three days now (probably 20 hours worth of run-time so far) and they're
still going strong, which is pretty impressive to me. Especially for the
price! That "squishability" leaves me wondering a bit, but... <shrug> If
it takes making them squishy to get 20+ hours of relatively heavy use
out of a 30-something cent pair of batteries, I'll live with it. :)

FWIW: "Enercell" is Radio Shack's house-brand battery. If the article I
read a couple years ago was right, they're just rebadged Duracells,
which are made by Mallory. Ditto "Kirkland" (Costco/Price Club's
house-brand)

Why would C-Z batteries have been banned? I know for certain that
manufacturers stopped adding mercury to these things though.
Click to expand...
I would've sworn that mercury was only used in the early alkalines...?

Why was
mercury added to the battery? Does it improve performance?
Click to expand...
Your guess is as good as mine...

--
Don Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net <--- Preferred Email - SpamAssassinated.
Hate SPAM? See <http://www.spamassassin.org> for some seriously great info.
I will choose a path that's clear: I will choose Free Will! - N. Peart
Fly trap info pages: <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/Horses/FlyTrap/index.html>
 
William Sommerwerck wrote:
Sometimes you can get two 9 volts for a dollar. The biggest
brands are Eveready and Panasonic but there's one place
I know in the Civic Center neighborhood here in Manhattan
that sells 16 AA batteries for like 3 dollars.

If that's a carbon-zinc AA, it's a bad value. Costco sells its house brand
(actually Toshiba) for less than 25 cents each.
Click to expand...
16 for $3.00 is only 18.75 cents each.

--


Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
 
Sven Franklyn Weil wrote:

Why would C-Z batteries have been banned? I know for certain that
manufacturers stopped adding mercury to these things though. Why was
mercury added to the battery? Does it improve performance?



I got a C in chem 101 back in college 30 years ago, so I can't say I
Click to expand...
know anything
about batteries. Like why do they put corrosive crap in batteries?

That chem class: They selected a text book written by a Nobel Peace
prize winner.
One he thought appropriate for college freshmen. Turns out more
suitable for
grad students. (I don't know why the text book selection committee
picked it)
Anyway, nobody understood it very well. Grades were give out: If you
at least
*took* (not passed but took) all the hour tests, and did the labs, you
got a C.
If you displayed any knowledge of chem at all, B. And if you actually
understood
something, A. As I said, I got a C. To me, any chemical that I can't
pronounce
is cancergenous or mutenigenous or smells bad.....
 
Don Bruder wrote:

Found some of those out here in California just the other day -
"Superdeer" is the name on mine. They look exactly like a Duracell,
complete with a fake "tester" gizmo printed on the side, except for the
"Superdeer" name, and a stylized deer head up in the "copper" part of
the label. These may be the most bizarre batteries I've ever met...

Look around on ebay a bit, and you'll find vintage (dead) "Flying Bomb"
Click to expand...
9V transistor
radio batteries. The logo shows what looks like the "fat boy" nuke bomb
with added
angel wings.
 
In article <3F775F96.4010602@ix.netcom.com>,
Robert Casey <wa2ise@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

Don Bruder wrote:

Found some of those out here in California just the other day -
"Superdeer" is the name on mine. They look exactly like a Duracell,
complete with a fake "tester" gizmo printed on the side, except for the
"Superdeer" name, and a stylized deer head up in the "copper" part of
the label. These may be the most bizarre batteries I've ever met...

Look around on ebay a bit, and you'll find vintage (dead) "Flying Bomb"
9V transistor
radio batteries. The logo shows what looks like the "fat boy" nuke bomb
with added
angel wings.
Click to expand...
Seen those. The design on the label isn't what struck me as bizarre with
the Superdeer cells... It was the fact that with almost no effort, I can
crush the things practically flat. Almost like the "can" is made of
tinfoil, or maybe it's just plain empty. Practically no resistance to
any sort of pressure you apply to it. But as I mentioned, the pair in
the MP3 player has given me close to 20 hours of run-time, so I ain't
complaining. Just puzzled! :)

--
Don Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net <--- Preferred Email - SpamAssassinated.
Hate SPAM? See <http://www.spamassassin.org> for some seriously great info.
I will choose a path that's clear: I will choose Free Will! - N. Peart
Fly trap info pages: <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/Horses/FlyTrap/index.html>
 
Robert Casey wrote:
I got a C in chem 101 back in college 30 years ago, so I can't say I
know anything
about batteries. Like why do they put corrosive crap in batteries?
Click to expand...
Because baby lotion doesn't work. :p

something, A. As I said, I got a C. To me, any chemical that I can't
pronounce
is cancergenous or mutenigenous or smells bad.....
Click to expand...
LOL! I enjoyed the chem classes but hated the labs. Too messy and
stinky. And I never got the expected result, so had to fudge. Made me
feel guilty and incompetent.

Cheers,
Fred
--
+--------------------------------------------+
| Music: http://www3.telus.net/dogstarmusic/ |
| Projects, Vacuum Tubes & other stuff: |
| http://www.dogstar.dantimax.dk |
+--------------------------------------------+
 
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