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BuiltWithNOF
Tube Structure

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Under Construction

The following describes the structure of a typical 5 cavity Klystron Tube

(Click on Diagram for Full Size View)

  1. The heater is just that...a heating device designed to elevate the Cathode to a very high Temperature.  The typical Operational Characteristics are as Follows:
        • “C” Band Klystron - 6.0 VDC, 6 to 7.5 Amps
        • “Ku” Band Klystron - 6.5 VDC, 2.5 to 3 Amps
    • Note:  The Heater Current should never be allowed to surge more than 14 Amps at turn on.
  2. The Cathode is typically coated with an Oxide (Ba, Sr, Ca, on Ni) to enhance its Electron Producing capacity when heated (approx. 650 to 750 degrees Centigrade).  Tube life can be directly related to cathode temperature.  The higher the temperature, the shorter its life will be.  It is important that the correct voltage be applied to the heater as an elevated temperature on the cathode will tend to accelerate the evaporation of the emitter material thus shortening the life of the Tube. Too low of a voltage will tend to affect the focus of the cathode optics and possibly increase body current or potentially “poison” the cathode.
    • (Note: We do not live in a perfect world. Therefore, the materials that make up the cathode are not 100% pure.  Operating your Tube for long periods of time without the high voltage may tend to “boil off” impurities or molecules within the vacuum envelope.  Besides reducing the useful life of your tube it may also make your tube “gassy.”  Some HPA manufacturers try to compensate for this by lowering the heater voltage to about 5 Volts when the high voltage is off.  The jist of this is...if your not using your transmitter, turn it off.
  3. The Anode is used to accelerate electrons from the Cathode and create a “Beam” using the magnetic focussing of the magnets that surround the body of the Tube.

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