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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:05 pm
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I haven't heard of "electronic fracture"...what is a VMT and what does he work on?
Those might be stupid questions,but they're new terms to me.


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:34 pm
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I've worked with, around, and on vacuum-tube electronic gear for close to fifty years -- ever since age ten when I built my first "All-American Five" superheterodyne AM radio (under my Dad's vigilant and careful supervision). I've never heard of anything remotely akin to "electronic fracture" involving dust build-up on the glass envelope of a vacuum tube.

I would however concede that keeping one's gear clean is generally beneficial. To quote one of my radar maintenance instructors in military tech school some forty years ago when his students asked why they were required to achieve proficiency with a broom and dustpan, "Because, gentlemen......a clean radar is a happy radar."

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:48 am
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Yes,it help to keep tubes clean, specially finger grease . This help to evacuate heat.


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 5:50 am
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Another thing that resides on electronics especially if you play in bars and that's nicotine,that gummy crap that stains and stinks up gear....I've seen more than one screaming match at recording studios here in Nashville regarding smoking in the studio.


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:36 am
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The "best" thing is to keep dust off of it? :roll: Dust build up on a tube in a guitar amp to any degree, is probably the "least" concern for tube life. The "best" thing that you can do to prolong tube life is to set up the bias properly, next would be to use the standby switch. Yeah sure, if your amp has been constantly exposed to dust storms, or has spent a long time sitting in a room where Pigpen works out, then clean it, otherwise I wouldn't worry at all about dust. Does everyone need to have "technician" in their title these days? Bathroom Technician, Broom Technician, Lawn Technician, sheesh! Are you sure that the V in VMT doesn't stand for vacuum cleaner? :roll: Besides, it wouldn't be an "electronic fracture" anyway (sounds made-up), it would be heat fracture if from dust build up (what does dust have to do with electronics? Nothing).

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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:27 am
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I think amps sound their best when the tubes plates are cooking, just as the amp catches on fire :!:

Oh ya the main topic,
"Electronic fracture" has nothing to do with normal electronics or tubes.
Someone trying to blow smoke and obfuscate tube amp mythology even more than it is.
Quote:
1. Electronic fracture
Introduction. In 1966 R.B. Oswald, Jr. discovered the new phenomenon – brittle fracture of solids under the action of irradiation by powerful pulsed beams of relativistic electrons.

If you are really interested you can read the whole paper on the topic here http://www.ipme.ru/e-journals/MPM/no_2910/melker3.pdf

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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:48 am
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Peter, 1.5 MILLION electron volts is a crapload of energy. If one shot that much into anything, you'd expect some kinda damage. As for keeping the amp's tubes clean, to a certain extent it prolly doesn't hurt. I wouldn't go overboard and get compulsive about it. The crazy lettering on the tubes should be kept intact. If they are NOS tube, the original lettering can increase resale value. And they are sometimes easily wiped off. Whenever I see an "NOS" Telefunken tube that has perfect lettering, I suspect a fake. So be careful.


I've seen plenty of old TV's and table top radios whose tubes have never been cleaned and the units work fine. In fact, I'd strongly suggest not diving into an old tube TV and start cleaning things, unless you've discharged the main filter caps and have the unit unplugged.


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:15 am
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In my world of dealing with some high voltage power line equipment,I've been told that dust on what we call a "pogo stick"....(a long telescoping fiberglass pole to trip transformers on/off),can be conductive...I've never had a problem,but when dealing with over 7,200 volts on the other end of something you're holding on to...you have to remember some things people tell you.
Dust on my vacuum tubes,naw that doesn't bother me.


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:22 am
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Mebbe you should think about hiring some "professional" help to keep your amps in tip-top condition, Reb. This cleaning lady could likely do them justice......

Image

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:12 pm
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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:23 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Mebbe you should think about hiring some "professional" help to keep your amps in tip-top condition, Reb. This cleaning lady could likely do them justice......

Image

:mrgreen:

Arjay

Oh yeah! she can take care of anything she wants to here..amps,tubes,me!! great looking lady...Arjay ,you can come up with some beauties.


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:29 pm
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Shim...I haven't laughed that hard in a long time :!: :!: :!: That just might be one of the funniest replies I have ever seen here :!: :!: :!:

As for Arjays "Professional" help...If she was dusting my amps, I would live outdoors in west Texas!

Classic replies :!:

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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:55 pm
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stratofiedmind wrote:
hey wait a minute... thats my mom!!!!


In that case, any one of us might be your father.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 5:26 am
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What happened to the OP of this thread?...I'm not him...he bailed out I guess. :?


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Post subject: Re: Tube Life
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:45 am
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I thought something had changed. :? I thought that maybe my mind was acting up or something, I thought that I remembered the OP, and looks like Rebelsoul's post was a response to something.

Now that I know I'm not losing it, I also wonder what happened. I thought that once an post was replied to, it couldn't be deleted by it's poster. :?:

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