bbqjoe wrote:
I understand so little about circuitry...
I would think one wouldn't want voltage dropping?
You, likely, understand more than you think.
With that in mind consider the design process for the Electrical Engineer laying out a tube-based amplifier circuit. She will design to a goal of XXX VDC as the B+, with a tolerance of +/- XX volts.
a) At a given wallplate voltage, probably center-of-tariff.
b) Using a given AC primary voltage.
c) Using a given rectifier, tube or solid-state.
d) If solid-state, silicon, selenium, copper oxide, and then rectifier 'speed'. Then half-wave, full-wave or bridge.
e) If tube, then the nature of the tube - conventional, mercury, half-wave or full-wave.
Each choice will require a calculation of net-B+. For example:
Silicon Half-Wave: (ACV x 0.707) - 1.2 VDC (1N4007)= B+
Selenium Half-Wave: ACV x 0.707 - 5 VDC per section = B+ With the number of sections required determined by the load.
Silicon Full-Wave: (ACV x 1.414) - 1 VDC = B+
And so on.
Point being that the net results may be calculated to a very specific number. And changing any component in that chain will change the net results - possibly with unhappy consequences. Such as inserting a full-wave or bridge in place of a half-wave. OUCH!