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What Can Be Done with a Tube Collection?
caffiend666 asks: "My grandfather was a TV repairman in the 50s to early 70s. Most of his repair equipment is still available, complete with hundreds of tubes, discrete components, switches, tube tester, dot bar generator, oscilloscope, and more. They are selling the farm, and we are trying to dispose of this equipment gracefully. Anybody know of a good way to donate them as a complete set for a write-off? The condition of the equipment varies from great to horrid. There are some pictures showing a little of what we have, on my website. Any advice or stories for selling 35+ year old electronic equipment? Does anyone know of a museum that would appreciate the equipment?"
Aside from some fun skeet shooting, there is always eBay. I've considered this for my remaining tubes. They do have some value there.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
you should really sign up for Geocities Pro, if you're going to have slashdot traffic. :)
You must have faith if you post a geocities adress to slashdot.
Depending on what you have, my alma mater might be able to display some of it in their little media history collection. Unfortunately, your Geocities website didn't have a shot in hell against the Slashdot effect, so I can't tell what you have or find an e-mail address for contacting you directly. :)
Seriously. I'll even pay shipping, if you'd like. Email in sig. :)
A blog like any other.
Contact your local Ham Radio club. They should be able to help you out.
My comments may be crap...but they are my crap...and I am brave enough to stand by them...Never post as AC!
I think eBay would be a great place, I wouldn't throw them away. They would be a great decorating someone's computer den.
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
Go on the ARRL Hamfest Calender and find the soonest closest hamfest in your area, bring the stuff there and sell it yankee trader style.
Alternatively, ebay might be good for some stuff. Use the "search completed items" feature to see what if any of it will actually sell.
Alternatively alternatively you could try to find a local ham who will take it off your hands.
Good luck!
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
...who refurbishes antique radios et al and is always interested in acquirung tubes and such. email me at dzantispam@REMOVE_THISdirecway.com and I'll put you in touch.
Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.
I'm sure quite a bit of the equipment could be used in the music industry for repairing and testing tube amp components on the cheap.
Tubes are still HUGE in the guitar world. Sure, modeling amps can get close to old tube amps, but still nothing sounds quite the same as a overdriven tube amp with that crunch and distortion.
Plug a Les Paul into a Marshall SLP-1959 or JCM45 or even a Blackfaced Fender Deluxe from 1966 and you'll see what I mean. All tube driven.
Just because you think the equipment is old doesn't mean that it's not treasured somewhere else.
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
Do some searching on eBay to get an idea of the value of the various items you have. Are there any TV repair shops in your area? See if they have any interest in any of what you have. A community college nearby with an electronics repair curriculum? See if they can use any of the stuff and if you can get a tax write-off for a donation. Look for online companies that sell old schematics and service manuals. See if they want to buy any documentation you have (apart from owner's manuals for the test equipment which should stay with the equipment).
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
You might want to contact the U. S. Marconi Museum in Bedford, NH. http://www.marconiusa.org/index.html
In addition to the exhibits, they restore vintage radios.
And pay shipping, obviously! r o o t a t m a d a x e d o t n e t
His e-mail is public, but he won't answer you unless you have something interesting to say.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
From what I read on ARRL's website not long ago is that most tubes for TV's are useless for use in ham radio. As tube televisions evolved the tubes became more and more special purpose to the point where certain tubes would only work in a certain manufacturer's TVs. These TV vaccuum tubes became analogous to integrated circuits conpared to transistors.
Somebody will buy that stuff on ebay. One thing you might try is separating out all the tubes separated by type. 6550, 6L6, 6V6, EL84, EL34, 12AX7, 12AT7 and 5U4G tubes are all still being use in new guitar amps and so should be easy to get rid of. Other types may not sell as well or may fetch a really good price from someone with an old piece of gear they're trying to maintain. I have a friend with an old bass amp that has "strong nostalgic value for affectionados of funk" and it's a pain to find tubes for it. Some tube lover will buy the rest of your stuff for DIY projects.
Donate to a community college; they're considered public schools. (At least, here in Michigan.)
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Without Pro, your geocities site is slashdotted the instant the story goes live. With Pro, it takes about 15 minutes before your geocities site is gone.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I'll talk to one of my fundy prof's after class about what you should do (he's a tube freak so...we'll see :P)
Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb...
Please, don't give it all to a museum! There are lots of people who would *love* to have this stuff, including me, and dozens of people I know.
Tubes are a Big Deal for guitar amps and high end audio. They're also in demand for people restoring old radios and other equipment. Thnere's a huge market for the tubes *and* the equipment.
If you don't want to mess with it, I'd be happy to handle the selling for you, for a small commission, most likely taken from stock (with an independent third party valuation so you know it's fair). Or I can point you to the forums to find large groups of buyers.
-Miles (MEO at RRU dot COM)
I seem to recall a project for making a working X-ray device from old tubes. It was in The Scientific American Book of Projects for the Amateur Scientist (also raved about here).
"It was a summer's tale: Just a boy, his Linux, and a head full of dreams..."
http://www.tubedepot.com/contact.html
Try talking to these guys. Last I heard they do a brisk trade in discontinued tubes.
"Just because you think the equipment is old doesn't mean that it's not treasured somewhere else."
Grandma would agree.
i was at the smithsonsian a while back and they had these measuring cups from the fifties that i had in my kitchen! (they'd been passed down) you might be able to give it to them, and they'd keep good care of it too.
When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
You know, I can think of a few people who would love to take this collection off the guy's hands and make good use of it. Real professional engineers.
I'm not sure how many of them are likely to post a random query on Shlashdot though, especially since everything to do with the post has been slashdotted to death.
This really is a situation where it would have been wise for the guy to post an e-mail address, or at least a link to a slashdot profile. Anything really.
Three Squirrels
I'm sure they could probably use it somehow ...
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Here is a link to these pictures on my main website: http://64.81.113.250/tubes.html . I've killed off torrent/seti etc, so it should be better than Geocities. The geocities link was for longer term access. My email address is critter_75075@yahoo.com .
Although the equipment is in eastern Oklahoma, near Howe, we live in DFW in North Texas. Either place would be an option for those interested.
We know the equipment is intrinsically valuable. But, it has no real book value. Which is why we were looking for a museum type arrangement. Several good leads here though.... Gotta be someone here dreaming of this stuff. The idea of cleaning up and testing these hundreds of tubes one at a time, selling them for a dollar or so a piece on eBay with three dollars shipping is a nightmare none of us want.
There are a total of three tube cases, two full one half full. One box of misc parts like tube brighteners. One 707 tube tester. One misc tube voltage tester, in very bad shape. The old rca oscilloscope. A bag of dozens of misc discrete components. I'll work on adding the rest of the pictures to my page tonight, along with a partial parts list.
Here's to losing my Karma Bonus again....
So sell the box (plus, perhaps, the tester) as a lot. There's a box full of tubes that looks like yours but the case is in terrible condition currently listed on eBay for $149.99 and another with a good case listed for $20. Both currently have no bids but keep your eye on eBay and decide if it's worth the trouble of selling them.
My dad has several boxes of tubes and we'll probably sell those as a lot on eBay.
You could also set a price and post them on Craigslist if it is active in your area and you think they might sell locally.
~~~~~~~
"You are not remembered for doing what is expected of you." - Atul Chitnis
... then audiophiles would LOVE you. If the tubes are in good shape (and of the right type), you could sell them for a mint on eBay or other places. And if any of them are new old stock (new in package, old in year) you're talking a very hefty sum per tube (valve if you're European). In essence, you're probably sitting on a goldmine to an awful lot of people with varied interests and industries. Personally, if I had the cash, I'd buy it from you now and "donate" it to my dad. :)
sigs are like a box of chocolates, they all suck remove the underscores to email me
I have a '82 Subaru hatch-back filled with old text-books. Anyone want them? Car comes with the deal, you tow.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
I mean, just how many people here would really be interested in acquiring this collection? No, that site is only down because thousands of slashdot geeks couldn't resist the chance to ogle a wanton display of naked tubery. It's like... geek porn!
You could see if they will take the collection off your hands:
http://www.triodeelectronics.com/
I've dealt with them before and they are fair and wise in the ways of thermionics.
Does anyone else recall the olden days when the local dimestores had tube testers, you could bring in your tubes and test, and then get replacements from the rack under the tester? I remember going down to the local Woolworth's all the time, our TV was always on the fritz and I seemed to be able to repair it most of the time. The Woolworth's machine always had a stack of little stickers with pairs of numbers, so you could put a numbered sticker on each tube and the same number on the socket, so you could put them all back in the right spots.
I remember an old "how-to article" in Mad Magazine about how to repair your tube TV. It went something like this:
1. Open the TV and remove all the tubes.
2. Take them down to the store and test them one by one in the test machine.
3. Identify the defective tube(s) and buy replacements.
4. Put all the tubes back in position according to the little numbered stickers you used when you removed the tubes. Oops, did we forget to mention that in step 1? Uh-oh, now you're in trouble!
http://www.sphere.bc.ca/
They specialize in this stuff - old tubes, nixie tubes, o-scopes, test equipment, and slide rules.
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
And one of the famous NWD (no-wheel drive) models to boot...
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As I recall the meter on those things had two positions: bad and worse. I do recall my dad taking a bunch of tubes to k-mart back when I was a kid.
Find a guitar shop that specializes in vintage equipment. Those old tube amps are highly prized by musicians, and the shop I ran used to make a killing on the tubes and the repairs. They'd have the demand for the tubes and the equipment. We used to buy replacement tubes from some Russian company who was still cranking them out, but when we could get our hands on originals they were worth 2-4X as much.
T.J. Schmitz - the man, the myth, the legend - o
There are a number of groups, primarily amateur radio clubs and the like, that run vacuum tube banks. The idea is that people who have extra tubes donate them to the tube bank, and those who need a specific tube for a piece of equipment can they can receive a tube from the bank.
Google for 'Tube Bank' and you should find a number of such groups. Find one in your area and drop them an e-mail.
Come test your mettle in the world of Alter Aeon!
For starters, try the classified sections of the major audiophile magazines like Stereophile or The Absolute Sound.
Depending on where you live, check out the local hi-fi shop. If the shop carries tube gear, they or a known customer might be interested in the lot - easier for you that way. there's always ebay... good luck
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." ~The Honorable Daniel Patrick Moynihan
I de-bugged the amp, but it refused to work anymore. I took it to the local shop and they worked on it. When it came back, it worked for a while then died again, this time for good. Now all that is left are two Black Widow speakers and six 6L6 Groove Tubes in matched pairs.
Those tubes cost $50 each and that was over ten years ago. Last I heard they really haven't made many new tubes lately. I'd recommend selling them off a couple at a time on Ebay over a period of time.
Clickety Click
Keep them, and then when your kids get old enough, show them what things were like A Long Time Ago.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
Need I say more?
Some of us appreciate the "good old days"
I just restored an antique oscope, fully tube type, no IC's at all, not one.
My dad was a TV/Radio repairman in the 50's and 60's and his tools were my toys when I was little.
I remember going with him to Rat Shack to buy tubes. I also remember his angst when Rat Shack quit selling tubes.
About two weeks ago I went to Rat Shack to buy some IC's and other small parts to repair something. The moron punk had no clue what I was talking about. I could have been speaking Martian to him for all it was worth. After much complaining I got him to dig in the back for the parts. He brought out a 1 cubic foot cardboard box, it contained the last remnants of MY era of experimenting. A small handfull of basic IC's, a few perfboards, some IC sockets.
Thou shalt not repair thy electronics for it is an abomination in the eyes of the Holy Stockholders. Thou shalt throw away all that is broken and replace it with new, more costly and less repairable products.
Remember thy bottom line and hold it Holy...
Amen...
If you value your time at anything more than $10/hour, forget e-bay. Likely you'll get $1-5 per tube. Donate anywhere and take a write-off....
If you're electronically inclined, I'm sure there's all sorts of cool projects you could do with them. Perhaps you could find some old TV boxes and turn them into little techno lights or something. Even if not, this might just be something else that a possible buyer might be interested in..