Is this worth anything? (tube amp on ebay)

[Dave_B]

According to this page, PEC stands for Packaged Electronic Circuit.  Sounds like they're subcircuits on separate boards.

[Joecool85]

So what would adjusting the PEC voltage do?

[runmikeyrun]

Do it.  Borrow money from your folks, friends, etc to get it.  Most likely a cool sounding amp w/ a little work.  Provided the circuitry is good, all you really need are some tubes and a 3 prong cord and plug from Home Depot.  I don't trust the old stuff to stick with the original non-grounded plugs.  The phono input is sure to yield some really good fuzz as they are much hotter than line or mic inputs.

I have an old power amp i snagged from a Conn organ sitting on the side of the road.  It's got a 2x6l6 power section w/ (2) 12ax7s.  Depending on what preamp tubes you put in there and where you set the volume you can get a cool dark clean sound to a really ragged fuzzed out 60's sound.  I paired it with 2 old Altec 12's from my friend's music store and it really nails the CCR "susie Q" lead tone when pushed.  I even added an extra switchable 12ax7 tube for even more fuzz.  At this point it motorboats, it's gotta go in for a cap job because its got multi section can style caps and i can't make heads or tails outta the schematic for them.  But it's a great sounding amp even without any tone controls.  And it's got this cool ass tube (OA3) that was for some other function in the organ but lights up really cool so it looks trick.

As for the schematic, even though its 2x6l6 it's only rated at 20 watts.  It's plenty loud, but don't expect a 6L6 pair amp to be 50 watts.  Remember this stuff wasn't designed for or made for max output.  I tried juicing mine up with some nice 6L6s when i first got it, cranked it, and smoked the OT in about 15 seconds (sounded great though!!) so I switched to some of those Russian missile guidance 5881s and as long as I keep it below 3 it's all good.

Speaking of my blown OT, do a quick google search for the model number and make sure parts are available.  Hate ya to buy an amp and find out you can't find replacement parts!  For mine i had to wait until another one came up on ebay and purchase it to get a replacement OT.

So, the short of it:  Sounds like a cool project, be prepared for a little R+D and/or repair, figure in some extra costs for tubes, parts, cap job, etc, and as long as parts are available i would get it!

[Joecool85]

Yeah, so far I have the winning bid on it    I'm pysched.

[Dan N]

Internet junk:

"PEC stands for 'photo-electric cell', which was the original method of decoding the optical sound track on a film. Although optical tracks are still available on every theatrical release film print, they are not generally used in the dubbing process any more."

"Photographic Soundtrack.(2) System in which the photographic (optical) sound track on a film is scanned by a horizontal slit beam of light that modulates a photoelectric cell. The voltages generated by the cell produce audio signals that are amplified to operate screen speakers."

"Several advantages of optical sound have contributed to its universal acceptance, the foremost being economy. For one thing, the soundtrack is printed photographally on the film at the same time as the picture. For another, the soundtrack can last as long as the picture, which - with care - can be a long time indeed. A further benefit is that the optical soundhead within the projector is itself ecconomical and easily maintained."

[phostenix]

Dan,

Thanks for the info. 

I googled & googled and couldn't find anything film projector related to "PEC".

Now, why would you need to vary that voltage?

Grace and peace,

Steve

[Paul Marossy]

Wow, only 20 watts with a pair of 6L6 tubes?! That's unusual...

[petemoore]

  >I like this, right along with my thinking on things...'tube amp types' have subcategories, once you start getting into it...that goes for 'tube amp type people' and 'types of tube amps'.
Do it.  Borrow money from your folks, friends, etc to get it.  Most likely a cool sounding amp w/ a little work.  Provided the circuitry is good, all you really need are some tubes and a 3 prong cord and plug from Home Depot.  I don't trust the old stuff to stick with the original non-grounded plugs.  The phono input is sure to yield some really good fuzz as they are much hotter than line or mic inputs.
  >nodd  Get your tube amp on...it just sounds better when it's on...every one I've ever turned on that worked 'good' did tricks I liked. Different types do different tricks, some tricks are harder to get them to do.
  >I've had many hifi type tube amps that worked good and sounded great/superb for guitar use...every one different than any of the others. I had a radio amp [very small], a westinghouse 'speaker ext.' amp [Smaller], Bogen Challenger  , RCA Victor [still have it needs work/cap rebuild, super duper 45 years of service ...excellent sound] and other various little tube jobs...a Dyna ST70...first exposure to the tones of these amps altered/improved/broadened playing styles almost instantly, I call them 'the best tutors' because they really teach...especially my right hand attack techniques.
  I have an old power amp i snagged from a Conn organ sitting on the side of the road.  It's got a 2x6l6 power section w/ (2) 12ax7s.  Depending on what preamp tubes you put in there and where you set the volume you can get a cool dark clean sound to a really ragged fuzzed out 60's sound.  I paired it with 2 old Altec 12's from my friend's music store and it really nails the CCR "susie Q" lead tone when pushed.  I even added an extra switchable 12ax7 tube for even more fuzz.  At this point it motorboats, it's gotta go in for a cap job because its got multi section can style caps and i can't make heads or tails outta the schematic for them.  But it's a great sounding amp even without any tone controls.  And it's got this cool ass tube (OA3) that was for some other function in the organ but lights up really cool so it looks trick.
As for the schematic, even though its 2x6l6 it's only rated at 20 watts.  It's plenty loud, but don't expect a 6L6 pair amp to be 50 watts.  Remember this stuff wasn't designed for or made for max output.  I tried juicing mine up with some nice 6L6s when i first got it, cranked it, and smoked the OT in about 15 seconds (sounded great though!!) so I switched to some of those Russian missile guidance 5881s and as long as I keep it below 3 it's all good.
  >Watts Schmatts, Tube Watts...2x6l6...loud, should pump 2-4x12's N/P with great 'wideness' the way it's setup now...you can wreak more or less from them...[headroom Vs. freq range etc.] by bumping up the gain...I'm just a couple amp builds into this so...these are 'Grain of salt' comments...*I like lower/med gain setups on amps anyway...if I had the thing, I'd work on just the voicing...mainly on how loose the bass is at volume, using mostly the same basic internal gain structure, but use 'up front' multiplying ... times Fuzz box boost/boost etc...boost the input and all those gain #'s fly right out the window...equating to a louder more distorted...here we are at Stompbox Heaven...plenty of 'room above' to push up to...or just totally redesign that wheel...I kind of like the throw a blower on the 'ol beefy engine' technique...if you want a different wheel, start with a chassis and build it from new materials...preparing an old tube amp 'for another round' [building it back up like it was, where it needs it] for Worst Case Scenario use [that'd be on stage with guitar or bass use IMO] can provide excellent service.
  >[*not to say I don't like high gain tube amps]
  Speaking of my blown OT, do a quick google search for the model number and make sure parts are available.  Hate ya to buy an amp and find out you can't find replacement parts!  For mine i had to wait until another one came up on ebay and purchase it to get a replacement OT.
  So, the short of it:  Sounds like a cool project, be prepared for a little R+D and/or repair, figure in some extra costs for tubes, parts, cap job, etc, and as long as parts are available i would get it!
  >I didn't catch what your bid amount was, I imagine you've shopped and so your going for at least a 'reasonable' cost...whatever it is...with *some work...some unplugging of the AC Cord/Religious Draining of B+...[I have a safety yellow 'reminder wire', with the 22k drain resistor that clips right around the switch, I'm still typeing  so I can still say it works great]

...you'll have yourself an excellent amplifier [as it seems you've been reading and studying...].

[phostenix]

360 views of that auction as of now, most likely due to traffic from this thread. The seller is probably scratchin' his head thinking, "Who knew so many people were looking for an animatograph?" 

Joe, hope you upped your bid so you don't get sniped after all this. 

Grace and peace,

Steve

[Joecool85]

I'm not too worried about it.  Its not the only good tube amp on ebay right now anyway.  Actually, there was a better one that I found after bidding on this one, but I don't need two, and there is ALWAYS at least one or two nice tube amps on ebay it seems.

[Joecool85]

Well, its above my $25 limit.  Anyone here want it?  I'd like to see it go to a good home lol.

[phostenix]

Here are a couple more tube amp projects on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7388972483

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7388969554