Anyone know of any books/websites where I could read up on this, or care to share their knowledge of the subject with me?
Be very careful - there are high voltages inside. What sort of problem are you having? What is your present level of electronics knowledge? If you are not already pretty advanced in electronics theory and repair, I advise leaving it to a professional.
From what I understand, the tubes need to be replaced. I don't have any intentions of tinkering with it until I was sure I knew what I was doing, and am aware of the risk associated with the high voltage. So I was just wondering if anyone could reference an article or book about the subject for me. I promise I won't kill myself
Replacing tubes is very similar to changing light bulbs. They get pretty hot, more so if they are old and failing, so don't handle them straight after powering down. Leave them for 30 minutes. Sometimes as tubes age they take other components with them, eg screen grid resistors, and some capacitors may be getting leaky, depending on how old the rig is... http://www.kbapps.com/tubeamptips.html http://www.amazon.com/How-Service-Your-Own-Tube/dp/0962817007
It's actually quite simple. I replace the tubes in my Messa Boogie bass amp every few years, to ensure reliability.(they would last for about 10+years but i'm picky)Very simple yet important tip dont handle the tubes with your bare hands, use a clean cloth or even the cardboard box that it comes with, oil from your fingers or anything else will cause the globe to get hotter then usually and can usually burn your bulb in a matter of seconds. Have fun.
I am from the old school of Vacuum Tubes and i still repair them today..power the amp off,and change the tubes with the correct tube identification.. How Vacuum Tubes Work http://www.vacuumtubes.net/How_Vacuum_Tubes_Work.htm Tube Electronics http://www.ccdemo.info/SportsAndHobbies/TubeElectronics/TubeElectronics.html The Vacuum Tube Audio Page http://www.austinstereo.com/vacuumpage.html 2 x 50 watts Tube Power Amplifier http://www.klaus-boening.de/html/tube_amp.html Vacuum Tubes Frequently Asked Questions http://www.vacuumtubes.net/faq.htm The-ResistorPage what the colors mean on the resistors http://www.williamson-labs.com/resistors.htm ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS http://www.faradnet.com/deeley/book_toc.htm and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor
I must admit that when I worked in a TV repair workshop in the 1970s we never worried about touching the replacement tubes with our fingers.
Indochine i also admit this will give my age away..i worked on a CT-100's Color Television Receiver when i worked at RCA.15GP22 picture tube
I was in England, we got colour TV in 1967, and for about 8 years after that a lot of chassis were hybrid - transistors up to frame, line and audio output, then pentodes of various sorts. I believe you call frame output "vertical output" and line output "horizontal output" in the US? I remember a British made GEC chassis, the 2040, that had colour difference drive to the CRT grids, with a pentode for each colour, they were a nightmare to set up if the tubes had aged. they had to be replaced as a set. We called them "valves" by the way. Also a beefy pentode with a top cap for line output, a similar sized booster diode valve, and a directly heated tube EHT rectifier in a lead glass sleeve to keep the X-rays in... Delta gun tubes with convergence boards that used to fry the potentiometers and burn up the tracks... happy days. Now we don't have a domestic TV manufacturing industry, or a repair industry to speak of, all the old terms are fading away, and the US terms are used more and more.
