Possible Tube Head Conversion?

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mustangboy

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Helped my dad last year clean out some abandoned storage garage just willed with industrial radios and what-not. most of it was scrap metal, but i kept all of the vacuum tubes and made about 600 bucks off em. (not to mention all the gold scrapped off the circuit boards) but unfortunately, it all has to come to an end. i have a few remaining radios and test equipment and this one looked like the best candidate for a tube head. my plan (if possible) is to make a proper volume knob, tone controls, and a speaker out in the back. it's called a "noise generator" and all it has is one output. I've contacted some tube buissnesses around my area, but i wanted some of you guys-es input. i know there are some 12ax7 preamps in this as well as a 5y3 rectifier. weather i can do anything with it... well we'll see.
 

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My inclination is that this would not be a good first project. It would be a really cool chassis though. I Googled Polarad and got a lot of hits but did not find a schematic (you'll want one). I don't see an output tranny. You'll need to know the specs on your power tranny. It may not be able to supply an amplifier output stage.

You might find some help here:
http://music-electronics-forum.com/home.php
 
You might be better off hitting some pawn shops or yard sales to see if you can find an old tube based tape recorder, phonograph, radio, or similiar and doing a conversion from that. Even with that you'll need a fair amount of knowledge of electronics and soldering, not to also mention that the voltages in a tube amp could potentially kill you. If you've got the skills, it could make for a good project.

This is one I did a few years ago from an old tube tape recorder. It had the needed basics and it was just a matter of rewiring things to come close to a guitar amp.
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=155132&highlight=silvertone

The chassis you've got could concievably be converted to a preamp, but may be better to just salvage parts from.

Thanks for the input. i have pleanty of different parts from other strange radios and millitary surplus. i've done some asking around, just no answers yet. i'll try to get some proffesional help
 
My inclination is that this would not be a good first project. It would be a really cool chassis though. I Googled Polarad and got a lot of hits but did not find a schematic (you'll want one). I don't see an output tranny. You'll need to know the specs on your power tranny. It may not be able to supply an amplifier output stage.

You might find some help here:
http://music-electronics-forum.com/home.php

sounds good. i have quite a few different power trannys. just a matter of how much power. well, in the mean time, my epiphone 5 watt project gets here today. :D and then there's the matter of a cabinet... i have another strange idea for a cab... perhaps you could help me there?
 
"Polarad Precision Noise Generator"

Priceless!!!! :)

I can't think of a better name for a guitar amp. :D
 
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