Re: Aluminum windings?

in article
eec3b16c-68d6-4db2-9047-f03eceb31203@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, RickH at
passport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote on 11/18/07 4:14 PM:

On Nov 17, 12:12 pm, RickH <passp...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The single biggest complaint about tube guitar amps is their weight.
That weight comes from, the speaker, the OPT and the power
transformer. Neodymium speakers will easily solve the speaker weight
issue as they are amazingly light. I have a question about the
transformers though. Is there any reason to not be able to make
transformers out of aluminum wire instead of copper? An aluminum
torroid for power xformer would weigh next to nothing. As for the OPT
why couldn't aluminum wire work there too? And as for the core iron
is there another material (possibly neodymium) that can be
substituted, assuming a torroid cannot also be used for the OPT? I
would think that with todays advanced polymers a coating could be
bonded well enough to the aluminum wire, better than enamel on
copper. Do you think custom winders have already gone down this path
and failed? Other ways to reduce weight would be an aluminum chassis,
and 1/2 inch braced plywood cabinets. The xformers are really the
last hurdle to be able to produce a tube amp whose weight is
comperable to solid state amps.

Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Many telephone pole transformers are aluminum wound but I guess thats
to reduce weight on a pole top, but they do wind up being
dimensionally larger than copper ones. This is what prompted the
question in the first place.

I think a switching PSU to reduce the power transformer weight, and
possibly a power stage designed to use a torroid OPT instead of a
heavier standard transformer seems the best route in my mind. Not
looking to make a hybrid but stay as true to form as a classic tube
amp with neodymium speaker.

And yes anyone who has schlepped a Fender Twin along with a guitar
case and peripheral gear knows the hassles, weight is a valid
complaint.


The best plan might be simply to figure out a better way to carry your gear
around.

Switching power supplies have their own issues when used with power audio.
They generate all kinds of high-frequency spectra and are often a challenge
to shield. They are nowhere near as reliable as simple step-down transformer
supplies.

The toroids that I've bought for audio don't strike me as being much lighter
than their rectangular cousins. Plus toroids have their own issues with DC
imbalance and core saturation. I would imagine that stage performance would
be one of the worst scenarios for toroid applications.

If minimum weight was your goal, I'd check into Class D designs along with
tube-sound emulation products. However, I doubt emulation would help at all
in any mode that goes into high distortion, because of the different ways
that SS behaves vs. tubes under those conditions.

The Fender Twin sounds like it does because of what it is.

Maybe Lord Valve will have some advice for you . . .

Jon








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