Sciencemadness Discussion Board

odd audio amplifier that isn't

Panache - 17-8-2011 at 03:51

Quickly,
Picked this very heavy thing up the other week for the singular reason of wanting the brass hex bar handles, as can be seen in the final photo. I assumed it was a defunct amplifier. When i got it back i opened it to realise that whomever made it was just using the casing and heat sink of a power amplifier. The pics following and the insides, anyone have an ideas, the transformer it a torriodal RS components number, 240-120 i think.
The entire thing had lead sheilding inside and out.


17082011317.jpg - 38kB 17082011318.jpg - 36kB 17082011319.jpg - 34kB 17082011320.jpg - 26kB

Not that strange.

The WiZard is In - 17-8-2011 at 06:51

A strange amp is one that amplifies in both directions.
I know they told you in school that amplifiers only work
one way, however, the problem is that when you give
an engineer who doesn't know the rules (in this case a
female carbon based unit) a job — they invent things
that shouldn't exist!

Lead case? Perhaps it came from a Tempest computer.

Bunch and half years ago on ye old NY Cities Radio Row
I bough a 1200 or 1500 VDC US Gov surplus power supply that
had a brass chassis. My thought over the years is that is was
used in a mine sweeper — who knows.

By da - it had a mechanical crow-bar switch that worked
when la power supply was removed form its rack or same such.


djh
----
Call letters.

The US Army ca 1964
had several tro-po radio
transmitters.

"This is radio station W-A-R
transmitting from near
Washington DC."

[Edited on 17-8-2011 by The WiZard is In]

watson.fawkes - 17-8-2011 at 07:27

Quote: Originally posted by Panache  
Quickly,
Picked this very heavy thing up the other week for the singular reason of wanting the brass hex bar handles, as can be seen in the final photo. I assumed it was a defunct amplifier. When i got it back i opened it to realise that whomever made it was just using the casing and heat sink of a power amplifier.
Sure looks like an audio amplifier: matched pair of circuit boards, polystyrene caps, power transistors in sets, big-can filter electrolytics, ceramic-case power resistors, even the toroidal transformer. Toroidal transformers are common in high-end audio gear because they greatly reduce stray magnetic fields from the transformer. That all said, it looks like a shop-built amplifier, not a commercially-produced unit.

Panache - 17-8-2011 at 13:56

Quote: Originally posted by watson.fawkes  
Quote: Originally posted by Panache  
Quickly,
Picked this very heavy thing up the other week for the singular reason of wanting the brass hex bar handles, as can be seen in the final photo. I assumed it was a defunct amplifier. When i got it back i opened it to realise that whomever made it was just using the casing and heat sink of a power amplifier.
Sure looks like an audio amplifier: matched pair of circuit boards, polystyrene caps, power transistors in sets, big-can filter electrolytics, ceramic-case power resistors, even the toroidal transformer. Toroidal transformers are common in high-end audio gear because they greatly reduce stray magnetic fields from the transformer. That all said, it looks like a shop-built amplifier, not a commercially-produced unit.


Ahh my mistake was that i hadn't ever seen inside an amplifier before, lol, well i still have the brass handle to use on something, maybe a door.
thnx very much

IrC - 17-8-2011 at 18:51

The transformer in it is worth a lot. Very well designed, a work of art and many hours by someone.