Tubes

[Graaf Statler]

Posted on the Tube Collector's mailing list today: a photo of assorted QRS radio tubes. Which you cannot read about on Wikipedia.

QRStubes.JPG

I blame you Eric Barbour!




But good radio tubes are not cheap, Eric. It's a other version of the EL84. These are tested, for a specialist. I also bought 2X EEC 83 and 85. But of course this are no QRS radio tubes... Very unique. Are they what we call helgloeier? hell glowers, vacuum tubes what were in fact normal lamps, what were on top of a radio?

[ericbarbour]

(moved from Content section)

Just be happy you can still buy ANY new tubes. If not for guitar amps, none of the factories would have survived.

[Graaf Statler]

(moved from Content section)

Just be happy you can still buy ANY new tubes. If not for guitar amps, none of the factories would have survived.

Absolute. But there is still a lot of NOS stuff in east Europe, and in Holland there's a group of real vacuum tube enthousiast. I always loved radio tubes, and still do.
It's magic, it's perfect technic. I want to build in the old style, with first class parts. No cheap Chinees stuff.

[ericbarbour]

There are still millions of "junk" TV and radio tubes in warehouses and collections all over the world. Some of them are disgustingly cheap.

This outfit has millions of original NOS tubes they don't know what to do with; so, BLOW OUT SALE!

http://vacuumtubes.net/Quantity%20Speci ... ecials.htm

[Graaf Statler]

There are still millions of "junk" TV and radio tubes in warehouses and collections all over the world. Some of them are disgustingly cheap.

This outfit has millions of original NOS tubes they don't know what to do with; so, BLOW OUT SALE!

http://vacuumtubes.net/Quantity%20Speci ... ecials.htm

Yeh, I know. But most are not so usable, but with the obsolete P or U series you can make real nice things. (PCL84, UL84, etc.) I main, if you use a DC heating, it doesn't matter, it are almost the same tubes. Only the heating voltage is different. And you can find this tubes very cheap too.
I bought Quad quality, the tubes I bought are paired and tested, and that stuff is not cheap. And I want to use a DC heating too.(6,1 volt, with 2 x 78S05 and a few diodes.) But first I have to order in Poland the right transformator. (2X 275 volt, 250 MA, and 5 volt 2 A for the heater of the GZ34.)


(Sorry for this secret language between two vacuum tube freaks. But who understands the magic of vacuum tubes understand life.)

[Graaf Statler]

Wikipedia is so mind sucking, thanks you posted about a other subject, Eric on this (here in Holland) beautiful and sunny Whitsunday.
I had to wait a few weeks for it, but here it is, my costume made transformator and choke. For the heating I use a separated transformator because I am not sure about AC-DC. I am thing about AC for the EL84's, and DC for the ECC83, EF86.

Strange to work again with vacuum tubes after 40 years. And a lot of iron. Very strange I found my pasion for vacuum tubes here back and learned to write English. Weird, but everything related to Wikipedia is weird I found out. No matter if you are on the Wikipedia side or the critical side.

(Yes I know, this is totally uninteresting for not-vacuum tube freaks.)

[ericbarbour]

Good for you! Just be careful not to run the power tubes too hard or hot. The present-day production is clearly inferior to even the most average NOS. The lifespan will also be less than for NOS, and that I can guarantee. Chinese tubes are especially short lived. They must be deliberately making their cathodes out of contaminated materials.

[Graaf Statler]

I bought this tubes from some specialist who had tested them, and it's no China stuff. The EL84 are a long life type, I think NOS from Russia and the rest is from Czech. Only the person who made the transformator made a stupide mistake, he has to replace it. He made a 115 volt type, but in Europe we have 230 volt...