Bibliography

This is a list of books and other publications that people have found useful when working on valve amplifiers.

Most are out of print and you will only find them in second-hand bookstores, op-shops, fetes and so on, but only if you're very lucky.

Some publishing houses specialise in technical publications, and knowing their names could help you luck onto something interesting. In particular Newnes in the UK and McGraw-Hill in the US published many books on electronics and related subjects.

Valve databooks were published by manufacturers such as Mullard, RCA, Philips, Telefunken, Silvania and others.

ARRL Handbook, RSGB Handbook

Possibly the two most important books to keep an eye out for are the ARRL Radio Amateurs Handbook, and the RSGB Handbook.

During the valve era both of these similar Handbooks were published annually and both contain a wealth of electronics basics with minimal maths.

They contain chapters on fundamentals, various equipment designs aimed at the home constructor, sections on valve construction techniques, and extensive data sections on components.

The content of each was continually upgraded and projects changed with each issue, but the themes from about 1950 to about 1970 were consistant in showing practical valve applications.

The issues of greatest interest come from the period before transistors, and when AM was the dominant mode used by radio Hams.

These transmitters required powerful audio amplifiers called “modulators”, but which were similar to guitar amplifiers, and required suitably heavy-duty high voltage power supplies, also covered in depth.

From: artyone c/- Yahoo ANZamps group, Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004

Reference material that will give you some very valuable guidance:

Radio Designers Handbook. 4th Edition
(although not the Holy Grail that some think it is)

Reference Data for Radio Engineers, (ITT).
(4th AND 5th editions. There is info in one that isn't in the other)

Radio Engineering by Terman (McGraw-Hill)

Electron Tube Circuits by Seely (McGraw-Hill)

Electronic Designers Handbook by Landee, Davis & Albrecht (McGraw-Hill) 1957

and....The One True Grail!!
Electronic Transformers and Circuits by Reuben Lee. 2nd Edition 1955 (Wiley)

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Amateur Radio Techniques, Pat Hawker G3VA, 5th edition, RSGB, 1974

Radio and Television Reference Book, ed. Pat Hawker, Newnes, 1960

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