I want to make some art out of 12ax7 vacuum tubes. Does anyone know how to wire them just to glow?

Question

I am a musician but I also dabble in art and I would like to do something creative with vacuum tubes. I want to take 200 or so Ecc83s and build something with them. I have a little electronics know-how but i dont want to get involved to the point where i have to build an amplifier circut around that many tubes. They dont need to actually function, just to glow for the visual effect. If you have any tips or know how to do this write me an email at [e-mail]. Thanks a bunch. Dan

Answer 1

I'm with cdf-rom. You'll get some good dough from selling the tubes.
Also, you will probably be disappointed with your project because the tubes do not glow very brightly but get very hot. Also it will use a lot of electricity.
I recommend you illuminate the tubes with LEDs. They are inexpensive, run forever, and use practically no current.

Answer 2

World of change among designing in an extra tube and enhancing an current piece of gear. First query raised is your energy deliver able of the multiplied energy? Additional energy regularly has to come back from the energy deliver. Then you ought to ask if there may be room for the further tube. Power tubes regularly want well air flow and striking one other tube subsequent to the prevailing one would spoil usual ventilation across the fashioned. Possible penalties would comprise melting envelopes and far angst and lack of reliability. Class A amplifiers are very inefficient on the first-class of instances. This approach they produce large quantities of warmth for little or no energy output. Let's keep in mind what you may also achieve, if you happen to do placed the tube in. You would get two times the energy (after a complete rebuild). This quantities to a legitimate degree develop of 3dB, an quantity you'll simplest simply be capable to determine. Maybe ditch the amp and appear for whatever with truly grunt?

Answer 3

In vacuum tubes, the first number is the filament voltage, for a 12AX7 that is 12 volts. I would poke around with an ohmmeter to find what pairs of pins give continuity. Since the filament voltage is the lowest in the tube, you can put the 12 volts about anywhere without damage. The correct pins will light the tube up. It shouldn't damage teh tube to use it this way.

Answer 4

I sort of wish you wouldn't do that. Tubes are getting more expensive and harder to find every day. You could probably get a nice bit of change from people who can use them. If it's just the effects you want, use LED's with batteries, or little 4 watt nightlight bulbs and run the bulbs at lower than usual power (like through a small step-down transformer) to make them glow just red instead of too bright to look at.

6 NOV 06, 0618 hrs, GMT.

Answer 5

put 6.3 vac across the "filament" termianals

I *think* they are numbers 1 and 2 ... take a meter
and read resistances between adjacent pins and where
you find a sorta small R-value, you will likely have located
the 'filament'

the 6.3 vac should come from the secndary of a transformer since it will draw considerable current

(the pins will be teh "first-two" or the "last-two" depending on how you count from the "gap" in the circular arrangenement of pins on the bottom of teh tube

for safety's sake, put a fuse in the circuit (or a ckt breaker) you figure out the value depending on how many tubes you light up

good luck