Welcome

Hi there.  Welcome to Wauwatosa Tube Factory.

I created this page because I have had trouble finding a resource that explains DIY tube amplifiers in a simplistic and entertaining way.  Consider this the ELI5 (explain like I’m five) approach to vacuum tubes.  Note: I do not recommend that five year olds build tube amps.  Many excellent books on vacuum tube amplification are already available if you know where to look, but they’re mostly pretty dry and not all that friendly to beginners (without EE degrees).  Also, I like writing and I find that I learn best by trying to teach others.

If you are brand new to DIY audio, you should probably start with the articles under the “basic” heading.  If you have Ohm’s Law down, check out the tubes, loadlines, and power supply pages.  And if you’re just a schematic junky, I’ll try to keep posting designs in the project section.

I might swear on some of these pages.  I might also oversimplify certain concepts.  But I would rather be mostly correct and entertaining than technically obsessive and boring as shit.  This is a place for the joy of discovery, not for the measuring of technical genitals. DIY is about the process and the builder (that’s you!), not measurements and devices.

I hope reading through the website inspires you to further research, appreciate, and build tube amplifiers.

Have fun and be safe!