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EQUIPMENT FORUMS >> SE84UFO25 >> mA gauge readings -- too high?
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Message started by mk60 on 03/04/23 at 22:34:48

Title: mA gauge readings -- too high?
Post by mk60 on 03/04/23 at 22:34:48

Hi all, continuing to get to know my UFO25. It's second hand -- I'm told it has <100 hours on it, but of course I take that with a pretty big grain of salt. Especially since it has a 2018 build date. It is cosmetically perfect, though, and sounds fantastic, so who really knows? I have the whole original tube complement that came with the amp new.

Reading the "Start-Up" section of the owner's manual, it says that the meters should read between 20 and 30 mA, and that "tubes that fall outside that range should be watched carefully."

Both of my meters seem to read higher than 30 mA. Left one reads ~32 mA, whereas the right reads ~34 mA. According to the above sentence from the manual, I should be concerned. Should I actually? What is it that might be going wrong (that is, which tubes' fault is it?). Also, is it concerning that the two meters don't match exactly? Or is it more important that they each just read somewhere between 20 and 30 mA and don't need to match?

Again, I think the amp sounds great as is, but if the meters reading outside of the recommended range does point to a problem, I would appreciate any tips for troubleshooting!

Thanks so much :)

Title: Re: mA gauge readings -- too high?
Post by Lon on 03/04/23 at 22:44:03

I don't think you have to worry. I believe that you only have to worry should they read LOWER than that range. Reading higher just means they are stronger tubes, not a disadvantage or worry.

Those are matched enough to not be any problem as well in my (25 years) of experience with Decware amps. And that they are so strong is a testimony to the fact that this amp probably did not see much use in all that time.

Title: Re: mA gauge readings -- too high?
Post by JOMAN on 03/05/23 at 18:40:13

The readings on both of the meters on my UFO25 are 40mA. These readings were the same with the red tip 6P15PEV that came with the amp and now the CryoTone EL84-WC.

I talked to Steve about the readings when I first got the amp and he did not think it was anything to be concerned about. My UFO25 was one of the first and I have had no issues with it at those readings.