stinkfeet
Member
Hi! I'm a huge fan of the 555 smps design for its low noise and low cost, but I was wondering if there would be a good way to get more voltage out of it. For the really high-gain stuff I've been building, extra high voltages have been beneficial, but my smps has been maxing out at 370v with 3 12AX7s, and for the Mesa MKIII blue stripe preamp I'm looking to build soon-ish, I'm hoping to get around 430v. Right now, I'm using a 12V 5A Meanwell PSU; would more input voltage help, like the jump from 9v to 12v? I was thinking about jumping up to 18v and wiring the heaters in series, and also eliminating the need for the 6v regulator for the 3-tube build when I use 6n2ps, but I see that 18v is the absolute maximum for the 555. So that might not be a great idea. Are there any other mods I could do? I see that I'll want to upgrade to an IRF840 for the higher voltage rating if I can get it over 400v. I would not be opposed to using two 555 boards if it would give me the headroom I would need. Would I need to go to a flyback design for this much voltage, or could I make it work?