[Milsurplus] How to use a Amperite 2B14 Ballast Tube?

[Mark J. Blair]

On Feb 12, 2011, at 8:21 PM, doc at kd4e.com wrote:
> From what I read I gather that ballast tubes regulate current
> rather than voltage.  Yes?

Yes. They can be applied as shunt regulators to provide a relatively constant current through a load as applied voltage varies. I made a solid-state replacement for a missing ballast tube in one of my radios many years ago:

  http://www.nf6x.net/greenradio/ssballast/ballast.html

Maybe looking at my old replacement circuit will give you some insight into how ballast tubes are applied in practice? A real ballast tube should work just as well with AC as DC, unlike my solid-state replacement.

-- 
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
Web page: http://www.nf6x.net/
GnuPG public key available from my web page.