My new Tarantula

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reaper68
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:56 pm

Re: My new Tarantula

Post by reaper68 »

tarantula and davinci schematics
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davincib.pdf
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tmain_2.pdf
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tcntrl_2.pdf
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tinput_1.pdf
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Anryo
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2019 4:31 am

Re: My new Tarantula

Post by Anryo »

Hello.
New member here, but not new in car audio. I have been in SQ business ~20 years and I am living overseas, in Estonia.
I own one of those gorgeus amps (1.gen Tarantula), but unfortunately the neon tubes on my amp are also broken. I read, that replacing them with LED's is one way to go - how to do that or what is needed?
Is the output for neon tubes on PCB +12V or +5V? Or any guidelines, where to get the correct neon tubes for replacement?
Thank you in advance... ;)
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Jacampb2
Mad Scientist
Posts: 1562
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:57 pm
Location: Beaverton 48612

Re: My new Tarantula

Post by Jacampb2 »

The output on the board is 12V, the actual neon transformer output is probably closer to 20kV, so don't hook to the actual wired that go to the tubes. Follow it back to the small black box and use the 12v wires that go into it.

That said, I like the look of real neon far better than LEDs. The tubes aren't technically neon, they are cold cathode florescent tubes. If you search for that, you'll find a lot more options. The difference is basically semantic, but it helps to have the right terminology. You can get them from any place that sells PC "case mod" stuff. I bought replacement tubes for my DiVincis and tarantulas from Newegg here I'm the states, but I'm sure they are on eBay or Amazon.

Don't try to mix and match tubes with other transformers, the working voltage and stroke voltage can vary quite a lot between manufacturers.

Good luck,
Jason
M: M100, M44 for a custom amp project
Zx: Zx500, Zx450, Black Zx350
ZxTi: 4 Zx600Ti's, 1 Zx400Ti
Ti: 5 800.1's & 900.7 for a custom amp project. 1 1200.1, 1 1000.2
Tantrum: 2 1200.1's, 1 600.4, 1 500.2
XS: XS6600
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