u/Sufficient-Nature708

Hey r/diytubes,

First post here. I’m a tube amp builder and I’ve spent way too much time in weird high-voltage rabbit holes GMI-90, MC1/60, GU-81, and more normal audio/guitar amp stuff too.

I got tired of always jumping between datasheets, old PDFs, SPICE files, forums, calculators and tube folklore, so I started building the tool I wanted for myself.

It’s called Ampera:
https://amperatubes.com

It’s basically a free tube design/learning workbench. Pick a tube, look at the curves, move the operating point, change the load, check dissipation, compare another tube, look at SPICE/Koren data, and try to understand what is actually happening electrically.

I’m trying to keep it anti-dogma. Not “this tube is magic”. Not “this topology always sounds better”.More like: what changed, where is the operating point, what load does the tube see, is the bias sane, and why is the damn thing humming? It has tube pages, datasheets, pinouts, loadline tools, comparison tools, SPICE models, and a Learn section with guides on loadlines, bias, power supplies, tone stacks, troubleshooting, hum/ripple/grounding, etc.It’s still beta, free, and very much open to being corrected.I’d love feedback from DIY tube people: wrong data, bad assumptions, missing tubes, questionable models, unclear explanations, or anything that would make it more useful at the bench. Not a replacement for datasheets, measurements, a scope, or experience. Just a tool I wish existed when I started.Also, there are a few dumb little easter eggs in the site because I apparently can’t help myself. Try typing internet and enter in the search bar (more than 50 hidden...).

This doesn’t replace datasheets, RDH4, Merlin, measurements, a scope, a meter, or experience. It’s just meant to sit between “I found this tube” and “I understand what I might build around it.”
And yes: high voltage can still kill. Especially with the kind of dumb big-tube projects I like. Please be careful.

Thanks to anyone willing to take a look.

Hey r/tubeamps,

First post here. I’m not really coming from the “I made a startup” side of this. I’m a tube amp builder / obsessive tube nerd. I’ve spent years building and experimenting with tube circuits, including more unusual high-voltage / big bottle projects around things like GMI-90, MC1/60, GU-81, 4Y100R...

At some point I got tired of the same problem over and over: datasheets in one place, plate curves somewhere else, SPICE models in random files, loadline calculators on old pages, forum wisdom everywhere, and a lot of tube amp “rules” repeated without always showing what is happening electrically.

So I started building the tool I wish I had.

It’s called Ampera:
https://amperatubes.com

The basic idea is: pick a tube >>>look at the datasheet / curves >>choose an operating point >> move the loadline >>check dissipation >compare another tube >> look at SPICE/Koren data >> understand what the circuit is actually doing.

It is not meant to tell anyone what “sounds best”. I’m actually trying to make it as anti-dogma as possible.

Not “NOS tube X is magic”. Not “modern tube Y is garbage”.Not “this topology is always better”.
More like:

what changed electrically? where is the operating point?what load does the tube really see?
is the tube inside its limits? is the next stage loading it? Is the bias sane?
is the hum from heaters, ripple, grounding, layout, or something else?

For normal tube amp work, I’m trying to make it useful around common tubes too:

12AX7 / ECC83, 12AT7, 12AU7, EF86, 6V6, 6L6, EL84, EL34, KT66, KT88, 5Y3, GZ34, 5U4, etc.

There are tube pages with specs, pinouts, datasheets, plate curves, operating presets, loadline tools, SPICE model data, comparisons and practical notes.

There is also a Learn section with interactive modules on:

• loadlines/biasing/gain stages/power supplies/rectifiers/tone stacks/SPICE simulationhum, ripple, grounding and microphonics....

Right now the site has 333 tubes, 211 SPICE models and 54 interactive guides.

It’s still in beta!!!!! and this is exactly the point where I’d rather have amp people tear it apart than let it become a nice-looking tool with bad assumptions.

I’d really appreciate feedback on:

• wrong tube data, questionable models, bad loadline assumptions, missing tubes
• unclear explanations, troubleshooting cases I should add, anything that feels too theoretical and not useful at the bench

This does not replace datasheets, measurements, a scope, a meter, or experience. It’s meant to be a learning/design aid between “I found this tube” and “I understand what I can build or debug around it.”

Thanks to anyone willing to take a look and give serious criticism. :)
Have a great Day..
Jean-Michel