Effectrode Atomic User manual

WARNING!
Ifremovingthe rearpanel of this
unit,firstcompletelyisolate itfrom
the mainsbydisconnectingthe
mainspowercable as there are
hazardous voltageswithinthat
could cause injuryordeath.Ifyou
areuncertain aboutwhatyou are
doingpleaseseekadvicefroma
qualified electrical engineer.
Specifications
• Operates anywhere on planet Earth where 110-
250VAC power is available.
• Supplied with IEC mains power cable and 4 ×
very heavy duty5.5mm× 2.1mm pedal leads.
• 4 × isolated 12VDC @ 1250mAoutputs (linear
regulated and heavily filtered–super quiet).
•One of the outputscan be configured to power
9VDC center negative pedals (600mAmax.).
• Shortcircuit/overload protection protectstube
pedals from damage.
• Power requirements:110 –240VAC @60
Watts.
• Dimensions: width 7.5"; depth 4.8";height 1.5"
•Weight: 1lb14oz (on Earth); 4lb 12oz (on Jupiter)
• Construction: Solid die-cast aluminum box.
• Finish:dark graphite powder coat.
MODEL: AT-2A SERIAL: ...............
Copyright ©2020 Effectrode Thermionic®
Owner’s Manual
12 Broughton Crescent, Barlaston,
Staffs, England. ST12 9DB
www.effectrode.com

Introduction
The Atomic™ power supply is specially designed
to generate high currents to power the heatersand
high voltages required by the vacuum tubes within
Effectrode pedals. Further,the Atomic featuresa
unique ‘soft-start’ voltage capability,which
eliminates tube heater filament flash and thus
extends the life ofthe tubes.
The Atomic can power up to fourlarge Effectrode
tube pedals, such as the Blackbird™ preamp or
Tube-Vibe™,or eight ofoursmaller pedals, like the
Fire Bottle™ boost or Mercury™ fuzz.Each power
outlet is fully isolated toeliminate earth loops, fully
linear regulated andheavily filtered to keep noise to
an absolute minimum without compromising tone
quality.
Additionally,one of the power outlets can be
configured for 9VDC center negative operation
(600mAmaximum).This outlet has addtional
regulation and filtering to ensure even partcularly
noise sensitive effectspedals willalways operate
quietly and cleanly. InfacttheAtomic is as quiet as
a pure direct currentsource, a.k.a. battery power.
Thank you fortrusting Effectrode tobe youreffects
pedal company.Wewish you many years of musical
enjoyment from this veryspecial, hand-built unit.
Phil Taylor – Designer
Heater Filament Flash
The function ofheater filament–the partof the tube
that glows orange inside–is to heat the cathode so
that itis able to emitelectrons (current) and therefore
amplify the smallsignal fromyourelectricguitars’
pickup.The filament ismade oflength of extremely
thin tungsten wire,housed within aminiscule nickel
tube,and is connected tothe tube pins on the base of
the glass envelope by spot welds.
The filaments ofsome–mainly European tube types,
such as Amperex, Mullard, Philips Miniwatt and
Brimar–frequently possesshigh resistance regions.
These high resistance regions are due to weaknesses
in the spot welds and/or stressesresulting from
adverse bends when forming the tungsten wire to
pack it inside the cathode.The high resistance causes
intense localised heating on the tungsten wire and it’s
not uncommon tosee a brief,bright burstofwhite light
from the heater filamentwhen powering up European
tubes fromcold.This is aserious defect,which can
result in premature tube failure.
Toprevent heaterflash and extend tube life the
Atomic ‘soft-starts’ atlow voltage topre-heat the
tube heaters. On power-up,the LEDs on the front
panel willblink red for 15 seconds inidicating the
Atomic is in low voltage pre-heat mode and then the
LEDs willturn green to indicate fullvoltage (12VDC)
operation.

Installation
When installing the Atomic power supply
underneath or inside apedal-board,ensure
that there’s adequate ventilation around its enclosure
and do not obscure the ventilation holes–the
Atomic ships with mounting hardware specially
designed for this purpose.Note:it’s perfectly normal
for the metal enclosure of the Atomic toget
exceedingly warm to the touch during operation when
powering several pedals.
Also included are fourspecial design,high quality DC
interconnects. These cables are capable of handling
the high currents required by Effectrode effects–
pedals such as the Blackbird™ or Tube-Vibe™
nominally draw about 1Amp (1000mA) once the
heater filaments within the tubes have fully warmed
up,more on power-up when the heater filaments are
cold.As the heater filamentwarms up,itsresistance
increases, the tube heaterbegins to glow adeep
orange colourand it draws less current–ittypically
takes several seconds for thisto happen.
Setups
The Atomic powering four Effectrode tube pedals.
To extend tubelifewe recommendyouallow your
Effectrode
pedalsto warm upfor at leastone minute after beingpowered
up. This allows theheaterfilamentwithinthe tubestoheatthe
cathode, whichiscoated withalayerofelectronemissive
material (bariumandstrontiumoxides). Ifoperated withintheir
ratings,good quality tubes canlastfor 10,000s ofhours,meaning
thatif youuseyour Effectrode pedal afewhoursaday the
tubeswiIl notrequire replacement formany,manyyears.

The firstpower outlet can be used to power 9VDC
center negative pedals in adaisy-chain as shown
below.
Configuration
The Atomic power supply ships in standard
configuration of 12VDC center positive forpowering
Effectrode pedals. However,one ofits power outletscan
be configured to power 9V center negative pedals via the
recessed DIP switches on the side of the unit.
Set both switches in the ‘down’
position for 12V center positivefor
powering Effectrode pedals. The
LED illuminates green.
Set switch1‘down’ and switch 2
‘up’ for 12V center negative
pedals. The LED illuminates
amber.
Set switch1‘up’ and switch 2
‘down’ for 9V center positive
pedals. The LED illuminates green.
Set both switches in the ‘up’
position for 9V centernegative
pedals, for example Japanese
manufacturers suchas BOSS or
Arion. The LED illuminates amber.