whats the best Hiwatt clone?

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bb5000
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by bb5000 »

M Fowler wrote:Weber uses that bias meter system in their 200w amp kits as an option.

Mark
Yes, I have the Weber AB200 also, and I included the bias meter system in the Weber 6S100 and now the DR201. I find it useful.
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El Chiguete
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by El Chiguete »

Structo wrote:I love the little LCD meter on the back.

I have one of those that I ordered from China that I intended on putting in a build. :shock:
So where are you ordering that from?
bb5000
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by bb5000 »

El Chiguete wrote:
Structo wrote:I love the little LCD meter on the back.

I have one of those that I ordered from China that I intended on putting in a build. :shock:
So where are you ordering that from?

I use the PM128A from http://www.futurlec.com/Panel_Meters.shtml .

It's basically the same meter that Weber sells in their bias kit, but you have to fix a 9VDC supply that's galvanically isolated from the amp. This is due to the fact that the meter can't measure any voltages if it shares common ground with the supply voltage. That's easily fixed. I use a small transformer (100V 1:1, like the WBALUN transformer found at Weber) and connect it to the filament, rectify it on the secondary side of the transformer and use that as voltage supply for the meter (a voltage divider may be necessary to get ~9VDC).
<b>LF Audioservice</b>
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bb5000
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by bb5000 »

<b>LF Audioservice</b>
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Noval_novice
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by Noval_novice »

There's something odd about seeing that massively powerful Hiwatt clone sitting in front of the floral drapes :D
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Structo
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by Structo »

bb5000 wrote:
El Chiguete wrote:
Structo wrote:I love the little LCD meter on the back.

I have one of those that I ordered from China that I intended on putting in a build. :shock:
So where are you ordering that from?

I use the PM128A from http://www.futurlec.com/Panel_Meters.shtml .

It's basically the same meter that Weber sells in their bias kit, but you have to fix a 9VDC supply that's galvanically isolated from the amp. This is due to the fact that the meter can't measure any voltages if it shares common ground with the supply voltage. That's easily fixed. I use a small transformer (100V 1:1, like the WBALUN transformer found at Weber) and connect it to the filament, rectify it on the secondary side of the transformer and use that as voltage supply for the meter (a voltage divider may be necessary to get ~9VDC).
The one I got has a blue display and is marketed by Sure Electronics.
I made a mistake on the specs and got the wrong one.
But it was to see if I could order from China and get what I paid for.
It is a 12v supply and a 20 volt meter, so probably not ideal for bias.
Last edited by Structo on Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tom

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Structo
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by Structo »

Tom

Don't let that smoke out!
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Re: whats the best Hiwatt clone?

Post by bb5000 »

I use the 200 mV (default) scale on these meters (as Weber do). The cathode voltage over the 1 ohm resistor is within the right range, and the plate voltage that's displayed is actually only 1/10000 of the real plate voltage (~67 mV in my case). When I switch to plate voltage display, the meter's decimal point is switched off, displaying 670 instead of 67.0 mv.
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