BulbCollector Forums
VACUUM TUBE COLLECTING => Tube Discussion => Topic started by: ALM on May 26, 2001, 04:02:00 pm
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Came into possession of a large cache of bulbs. If you would be so kind, take a look at the pics here...
TUBE ALBUM (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1004622&a=13044531&f=0)
I don't know jack-squat about any of these, but they look pretty neat, and some look pretty old, too!
Just click on the pics for a larger version and peruse... quite a variety. Of particular interest to me were the group of RCA VICTOR Tubes. They are all black and appear to be all metal, with numbers on them like "12SK7" "12SA7" and "12SQ7" among others.
Thanks!
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Those RCA tubes are metal. They were introduced in 1935 and were among the first tubes to use octal (8-pin) bases. These were part of the process of replacing the large "ST" tubes (bulb shaped somewhat like a bottle), with the smaller "GT" tubes (tubular glass bulb). However, the "ST" bulb was used on some larger tubes up into the 1950's, and is still used on big audio tubes like the 300B today!
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---Dylan Windom
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Wait!!! I messed up on my above post. Metal tubes were FIRST produced in 1935. Your tubes, however, are probably late 30's - early 40's.
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I know that it's probably asking a lot, but if you had a chance to look at the pics, anything that is rare or otherwise unique? Or, did I just get a big batch of vacuum tubes that or "ordinary?"
It may be tough, since I just took them out of the box and laid them all out in no real particular order.
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From the pictures, it doesn't look like you have anything rare, but I may be wrong. It's kind of hard to tell without the numbers. If you're looking to get money for your tubes, you can probably sell them on ebay. Aside from this, I can't tell much about them.
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---Dylan Windom
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Thanks Dylan! You never can tell if you've come across anything that might prove to be a treasure. With the unusual glass-shapes and the "innards" of some of these, perhaps so!
I appreciate the insight.
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How does one go about testing the viability of tubes?
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Hey Tony !
I don't know how to check tubes with a multimeter, but something you might keep in-mind: Years ago, portable "Tube testers" about suitcase sized were available and a friend of mine bought two of them at auction for $5 each. I know they cost more now, but you might keep your eyes peeled if this is something you might be interested in dealing in for future ventures.
My friends tube testers still work today and check an enormous variety of tubes.
Otherwise I would venture to say that different tubes involve the testing of different combinations of the pins, and for a variety of values since tubes can have a variety of purposes.
Remember the old tube testing stations that many drug stores and hardware stores had ?
Where did they all go ?............
-Bob-