The Boards, the Kits and the Company
The Tetrode Boards(tm) and The Triode Board(tm) are designed and supplied by Ian White, GM3SEK (formerly known as G3SEK, before we relocated to Scotland).
The Boards
The Tetrode Boards came first. They started out as a solution to my own operating needs - specifically, the need to protect the tubes in my UHF moonbounce amplifier. I described the original circuit in DUBUS magazine in 1990. After seeing a ripped-off version on sale in Germany, I decided to start making and selling them myself!
The boards come in a set of two:
- Screen supply and control circuits
- Rectifiers, control grid supply and ALC
Equally important is the User Manual. Since I am a technical writer by profession, a professional-quality manual is what you get.
The first boards shipped in 1998, sold directly to amplifier builders through my website. People are obviously finding them useful - by 2006 we have sold more than 500 sets of boards.
The big development in the meantime has been the availability of a wide range of Russian tubes - both tetrodes and triodes. The Tetrode Boards are now in use with many different kinds of tubes, from the tiny GS15B microwave tetrode up to pairs of 2.5kW GU-84Bs... and maybe beyond.
The Triode Board was developed as a similar solution for a wide range of triodes, starting with my own amplifier using the 1.5kW GS-35B. The first boards were shipped in 1999, and again have filled a real need - by 2006 we have sold more than 500 sets of boards also. This board is now being used with ones and twos of a wide range of tubes, from the 3CX100 up to the YC156/3CPX5000.
Both designs have proved successful, adaptable and reliable. I operate a policy of 'lifetime support' for every board, and what I 've learned from this has been fed back into the design of the boards and into the Instruction Manual.
The Kits
I have always supported home construction - complete schematics are published in the User Manual, which is freely downloadable from the website, so you could build the whole thing on perf-board. However, most constructors sensibly decide to buy the board(s).
Having done that, the User Manuals make it as easy as possible to order the rest of the parts for yourself. But the US market in particular has always liked to buy all the parts as a kit, so until very recently I have sold the kits only through my US distributor.
The new development is that kits are available by direct web order from me. The Tetrode Boards KIT is available now, and the Triode Board KIT will follow very soon.
These kits contain all the parts required to populate the boards, and enough optional parts to cover most configuration requirements. Note that extra off-board parts such as meters and heatsinks will also be required - full details are given in the User Manuals. To be completely clear about what you'll get in the kit, and what you will still need, please download and read either the Tetrode Boards Manual or the Triode Board Manual before you place an order.
The Company
I am a freelance technical writer by profession, and the boards have always been sold through my business, IFWtech Ltd.
The Future
Coming up will be a range of new products for power amplifier builders. It's too early to give details yet, but when they're ready, you won't miss the announcement!
73 from
Ian White, GM3SEK
Updated
05 August 2007
Page 2006 IFWtech Limited.