The completed prototype, highlighting the construction of the output filter (L4 & C9). The positive lead is threaded through a small toroid 5-6 times before being soldered to the rear of the output terminal. The capacitor is soldered directly across the positive and negative terminals as shown.

Valve circuits are not yet dead. While transistors are undoubtedly superior in most applications, the valve still offers several unique advantages. This applies first and foremost to its use in power circuits.

There exists a substantial body of opinion that valves outperform transistors in high-quality audio amplifiers, especially in the power output stages. The seriousness of these claims is reflected in the fact that some very reputable manufacturers offer valve amplifiers at the top end of their audio range. For the home constructor, reasonable-quality valve audio amplifiers can be made for a modest outlay using designs available freely on the Internet. These amplifiers are generally based on an EL34 or KT88 valve pair in the output stage, with both valves being readily available in Australia.

Another common application for valves is in the output stages of RF power amplifiers. They will operate satisfactorily at frequencies of up to about 30MHz, delivering up to 50W per valve. Their main advantage over RF power transistors, apart from being somewhat cheaper, is that they are much more tolerant of fault conditions.

When tuning a new power amplifier design, parasitic oscillations are often encountered which can easily destroy expensive RF power transistors. The valve, however, will live to see another day. Valves are therefore much more suitable for experimentation in new designs.

Although valves are readily obtainable, one of the main problems in their exploitation is the lack of suitable power supply transformers. Both the EL34 and KT88 are rated at a maximum plate voltage of 800V, with supply voltages in the order of 500-600V needed to extract maximum power and linearity. However, the only readily available high-voltage power transformers are isolating transformers, which deliver 240V, and magnetron transformers from microwave ovens, which deliver 1500V or more.

Clearly, both of these are unsuitable for our application.

The easiest way around this is to modify the switchmode power supply of a personal computer (PC), as explored in a previous issue of SILICON CHIP (October 2003). The older AT power supplies are readily available and have now become a surplus item. They are designed to produce about 200-300W, which is in the right ballpark for our application. For little cost, they include a ready-made PC board and almost all of the components we need for a HV switching power supply.

Moreover, due to its high operating frequency, the switchmode power supply offers much better regulation and far less ripple than can be obtained from a traditional valve power supply based on 50Hz AC rectification and smoothing.