For the current project (a line stage with added phono) I needed more than one B+ value. The difference between the two voltages I wanted and current drawn was too large for a single high voltage rail and a filter or regulator to drop the lower rail to the correct value. So I looked for ways to add a voltage doubler to a standard bridge rectifier. Turns out, there’s more than one way to skin a cat:
The “Millet Doubler” is detailed here and uses a single center-tapped winding. The entire secondary is rectified via a bridge rectifier, rather than the usual approach of grounding the CT and using a full-wave rectifier. The center tap voltage is then rectified and feeds the lower half of a stack of capacitors.
The “TubeLab Doubler” is something I found posted on diyaudio.com; it is also discussed in depth here. This one uses a single winding without a center-tap. The doubled voltage rail is somewhat lower than what you’d get in the Millet Doubler, but still potentially useful especially with inexpensive isolation transformers.
I can only find a schematic of the “TubeCAD Doubler” (no discussion), but if you’re familiar with TubeCAD’s blog, it doesn’t look too unfamiliar. See a good article on multiple power supply voltages here. This one looks a little bit like a combination of the other two variations.
In the end I went with the second version because it allows me to use an isolation transformer (and because I found it before seeing the TubeCAD one). Of course a couple of wiring oopsies are being worked out before I can report back on the power supply or preamp it is intended to feed…
wauwatosa tube factory 