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[afterlifestudios]

I have a U67 and two NU67 powere supplies.
PSU #1 provides 214v B+ and 6.34v heater, measured in the mic.
Spare PSU #2 provides 229v B+ and 6.24v heater, measured in the mic.
Both PSU are strapped for 117VAC line voltage
Mic has a Telefunken EF806s installed

I use PSU #1 all the time; is that heater voltage too high?
And what's the preferred method to pull plate voltage down to 210v on PSU#2?

I also noticed that the mic still has the S2 jumper in place.  Is it unanimous that it's better without?  (Mic sees a lot of vocal duties, but many other sources as well.)

[klaus]

Readjust both power supply heater voltages to measure ca. 6.2VDC at the tube. There are trimpots for this, accessible from the underside (printed side) of the power supply circuit board.

Reduce B+* on both supplies to 210VDC ± 2 volts, by replacing and increasing one or both of the bridging resistors R1 and R3 by one value up, or reduce dropping resistor (at least a 1/2W rating!) by the next value down.

RE S2: Neumann made this bass choke (and a similar one in most M49) removable, at users' discretion, but I find the associated phase shift and sizable low end chocking in the U67 objectionable to high fidelity, and routinely snip the wire at one of its 90º angles (but keep it installed, just in case you want to resolder it).


P.S.: And make sure that the audio-pad network, standard for U.S. delivery U67, is removed.


* B+ is the incoming high voltage that is split up inside the mic to provide polarization voltage for the capsule, and, depending on the health of the tube, will determine a plate voltage of ca. 75VDC, usually a bit more.

[uwe ret]

Only the first generation (mid 1960s to early 1970s) featured a trim pot for adjusting the filament voltage. Later versions rely on pre-regulation to 15 V with a Zener diode and 3 series resistors to drop the excess 8.7 V when the filament of 200 mA is drawn. If desired, resistors of marginally different values may be substituted to get close to the desired 6.2 V to 6.35 V at the tube socket. The exact high voltage  measured at the microphone connector (careful, avoid risk of rather unhealthy shock!) does depend on the condition of the tube, and should be within ±5% of the nominal 210 V. It can be brought close by tinkering with either the series and/or shunt resistor values, or both. Observe the power ratings for these resistors!

[afterlifestudios]

Thank you, gentlemen. Both of my nu67 PSU's have the trim pots for heater voltage and are now both outputting 6.20VDC measure at the mic.

On PSU number 2, I measured R3 resistor out of circuit and it was 8.05k instead of 8.2 so I popped in a fresh 8.2k resistor  (measured 8.18k beforehand) with no change to B+ voltage.  (Still 229VDC)

Any math wizards out there feel like guiding me on how to calculate what R3 should be to bring B+ from 229 down to 210VDC?

Regarding S2, when you snip at one of the right angles, do you slightly bend the resulting horizontal length of wire to prevent it from making contact with it's severed nub?

And my main PSU must be from the European market, because it has no pad network.  But on my spare PSU I see R11, R12 etc labelled on the board, but the resistors have been removed.

Thanks in advance,
John

[klaus]

With that high B+ go to 10k Ohms on R3 or reduce shunt resistor (May be a 150k or higher value, depending on original calibration) by the next major value increment. For example from 150k to 100k.

As you mentioned, bend up the S2 wire against the tube socket and stabilize to hold in place  with a dab of E6000 or silicon glue.

[uwe ret]

Before changing either of the two series resistors (6.8k∩ and 8.2k∩) please check the value of the shunt resistor, as together with the tube's condition is most responsible for the accurate high voltage value. According to my calculations I predict it is close to 205k∩ instead of the desired 68k∩. I further predict that you must have the early version of NU67, because with the later version the high voltage would not be able to rise to 239V, even with the shunt resistor open. When replacing R4 (the shunt resistor, KH) make sure it has a powerr dissipation rating of 1W or 2W!
BTW all calculations use simple Ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws.

[afterlifestudios]

Thanks Klaus and Uwe.  R4 shunt resistor was measuring closer to 100k.  So I replaced it with a 68k as per the schematic and now I've got a stable 209vdc. 

I must take this moment to express my gratitude for your expertise and generousity with your help and information.

[ilcaccillo]

Hi Klaus,
this is an old thread but I have some questions/doubts about whats been discussed here

Readjust both power supply heater voltages to measure ca. 6.2VDC at the tube. There are trimpots for this, accessible from the underside (printed side) of the power supply circuit board.

Could you please explain why did you recommended adjusting the Heater for 6,2V at the tube and not 6,3V.
I know the difference would be insignificant, but why 6,2V and not 6,3V?

Thank you

Reduce B+* on both supplies to 210VDC ± 2 volts

Neumann specs are 210VDC ± 2% and not "± 2 volts".
So ± 2% will be a tolerance from 205,8V to 214,2V

Was your recommended "± 2 volts" a typo or do you preffer to follow a different tolerance for B+ than Neumann?

Thank you so much

[klaus]

Could you please explain why you recommended adjusting the heater voltage to 6,2V at the tube and not 6,3V.
I know the difference would be insignificant, but why 6,2V and not 6,3V?

I typically adjust to between 6.1 and 6.2VDC - a bit lower than the 6.3VDC the tube is rated for.
Through experience I found that the closer you get to the nominal voltage, the more the tube is stressed and its life shortened, even if just insignificantly so. 

Neumann specs are 210VDC ± 2% and not "± 2 volts".
So ± 2% will be a tolerance from 205,8V to 214,2V

Was your recommended "±2 volts" a typo or do you prefer to follow a different tolerance for B+ than Neumann?

Not a typo. I am not sure where you saw the 2% range fo B+ for U67. But if you were to follow that tolerance, you would have too much of a gap between noise floor increase (205VDC) and polarization stress/distortion on the capsule (214VDC). And that is quite audible, so I prefer to really  stick closely to the voltage that provides the 60VDC polarization voltage the U67 capsule and most Neumann LD capsules are designed to operate under.

[ilcaccillo]

I am not sure where you saw the 2% range fo B+ for U67.

Hi Klaus,
thanks for your message.

The 210V ±2% it's stated in different Neumann documents for the U67,
I think I saw it in at least 2 different Neumann U67 documents, I can only find one of them right now as unfortunately I don't have my backup hardrive with me at the moment.





you can find it in this manual:
http://recordinghacks.com/pdf/neumann/U67-manual-1992.pdf

[afterlifestudios]

As an aside: It is strange that in this document they say "plate voltage 210vdc" because as Klaus points out earlier in the thread it is the B+ that is 210VDC, not the plate voltage. The plate voltage for the ef86 of around 75V, and  is derived from this B+ voltage.

[klaus]

Good to know that this was a Neumann-generated document.
Still, as I wrote, for best performance and tube longevity, I'd calibrate the voltages to the specs I mentioned, especially since the price explosion of NOS low-noise-selected EF86.

[Derek Samuel Reese]

I need to learn how to adjust and measure B+ of the mic and the heater.
I haven't a clue how to do this or where to measure from ?
I apologize if this isn't the correct place for my post.
I have a multimeter but I don't even know what to select on a multimeter to try this.
Can someone give basic instructions for this ?

[afterlifestudios]

Maybe I’m being too cautious, but I would suggest to build up your skills on something less dangerous and less valuable than a u67 first. There are potentially lethal voltages in vintage tube mics. 

Learn about your DMM and the difference between AC and DC voltage and resistance and current etc.  Learn to follow schematics.  If you just need a PSU health check, maybe bring the set to a tech.  It might end up saving you money and time. 

However, I always encourage embarking on a journey of learning basic electronics and it’s easier now than ever to get the info….

It’s really fairly straight forward to check the voltages in your 67, but best to get the basic skills and tools before doing so.

[Derek Samuel Reese]

I appreciate your response, the issue I am facing is that I am moving from America to a country where 230 volts is the norm. Klaus was nice enough to tell me to make sure I strap my psu to 220 volts, but then he advised me to measure B+ of the mic (210VDC) and heater (no more than 6.2VDC)
To me it didn't sound so complicated, but it seems I could easily ruin the mic or better yet electrocute myself,
but again I don't know how to do this so I guess I am dead in the water and will cross my fingers once I plug in my U67.