I have built two SEL guitar amps...one with a 6V6, another with a 6SN7GTA.
I had some strange problems with the second amp. It ate preamp tubes!
Then it burned up a resistor on one preamp tube cathode. Then a resistor started to burn on the B+ to the output transformer.
I double checked the bias on the 6SN7...no problem, running a little cold (67% dissipation by the calculations).
Then, I noticed that the pilot light was flickering!
Just a little, it may have been doing this all along. It flickered even when on standby. Is there any possibility that a bad bulb was interrupting the filaments? Causing these other issues?
It seems to be working fine now...after changing the bulb.
Faulty Bulb causing filament problems?
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
Re: Faulty Bulb causing filament problems?
If there's any one thing I've learned about troubleshooting it's that anything is possible.
I'd bet that the bulb was dragging the filament voltage down. Low filament voltage can kill tubes.
I'd bet that the bulb was dragging the filament voltage down. Low filament voltage can kill tubes.