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Germanium Amplifier Output Stage construction.



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The element Germanium and the ancient transistors made using it has become of interest to audiophiles and guitarists alike. This is only the output stage and another two stages of per-amplification is necessary for completion. This is a re-upload of another previous home construction movie of similar name but there were many mistakes and continuity errors. For some unknown reason, an amplifier using some Germanium transistors seem to be expensive: the Meteorite, at about 1 watt output is about $299.00.

It's worth a listen and if a viewer desires a build attempt, this upload might be a good starting point. An apt mentioning of the rather costly components is advised so, unless the prospective constructor has a box of spare parts to hand or are happy to buy the parts because the "germanium sound" is particularly desired, it should be mentioned that chip amp kits are available from China at a fraction of the cost and they have a higher output.

The amp stage here is built using the old school screws on wood construction method, instead of soldering. Hoofbag has an allergy to solder fumes and this activity is usually performed in a shed with the appropriate solder fumes extraction equipment. Unfortunately, it's really cold at the moment and being skint prohibits the heating of more than one room in our humble home at a time. A soldered, more permanent version will be worked on when the weather improves. Also in the pipeline are some more powerful amplifiers and possibly a binary counter. It's a bit cold to do any of this currently. The Hoofbag hopes you enjoy my work and stimulates a love of electronics in the viewer.
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Audio
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