Knuckledragger Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 In the ongoing battle against the flying squirrel infestation in my house (that is not a joke) I have been emptying out the attic spaces upstairs. My house has a Gambrel roof, that lends itself to an awful lot of storage space. That means after 33 years in the same family, there is an ungodly amount of crap up there. Mixed in with the other detritus, I found this: Sorry about the lousy shot, I didn't have time to futz around and get a better one. My father dealt in antiques, including radios, and sometimes he'd get a collection of tubes. I am recalling some much bigger boxes full of tubes, but I don't know if he still had them when he died. This box might be nothing to get excited about, but there could be some cool stuff in there. I know exactly jack about tubes, but when I have a little time (hah!) I'll go through and catalog them. Any knowledge on their relative significance and value from the H-C cognoscenti would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarium Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Nice some good looking brands in there. Lucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappyjones123 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 any chance any of those tubes can be used with the sp extreme? most recent paycheck needs to be wasted on things i dont need but want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBLoudG20 Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 2A3 = $$, if that is what I am seeing (I'm def no tube spotting expert) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt Peanuts Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Just out of curiosity, what do flying squirrels to when they infest your house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzziguy Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Just out of curiosity, what do flying squirrels to when they infest your house? They invite moose to move in with them. I thought everybody knew that. At least there's no longer a problem with Soviet spies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt Peanuts Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 They invite moose to move in with them. I thought everybody knew that. At least there's no longer a problem with Soviet spies. I should've seen that one coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Just out of curiosity, what do flying squirrels to when they infest your house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 (edited) I know exactly jack about tubes, but when I have a little time (hah!) I'll go through and catalog them. Any knowledge on their relative significance and value from the H-C cognoscenti would be greatly appreciated.Unfortunately, these two things need to happen in this order: catalog them, receive information. You don't need to be thorough about it -- start with just determining which tubes you have -- we will automatically start asking about the more interesting ones, and then you can go back and get more information about those -- brand name, markings, condition, pictures, etc. There's an awful lot of tubes in the world, and not all of them are frequently used for audio amp building (there are exceptions, of course) -- I would put all those together and just sell them on eBay in one lump. The bright side is, some of those look to be in really good condition -- even the boxes. That is the tube-pervert's equivalent of "bling". What that means is, they will photograph well and should sell for better than average. Oh, and immediately download this -- if you do get a list of "Oh, if you see any ___'s, I call dibs" that you decide to honor, it'd be nice to know that, for example, an 18GV8 is the equivalent of a PCL805. It's not perfect, but it's a start. Edited November 24, 2008 by Dusty Chalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Sweet stash, all I found in my attic was an old crappy dollhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpedo Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Oh guys, you have an attic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recstar24 Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I see a RCA 2a3 in there...dibs!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knuckledragger Posted November 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 any chance any of those tubes can be used with the sp extreme? most recent paycheck needs to be wasted on things i dont need but want. I am completely unqualified to answer, but after I've sorted out what tube types I have, I'm sure fellow head-casers will be able to make suggestions. Just out of curiosity, what do flying squirrels to when they infest your house? Rocky & Bullwinkle jokes aside, they do what most rodents do: make a nest out of whatever is handy (tearing up the insulation), poop everywhere and pee all over their nest. The end result is especially disgusting. Imagine a 1/4" thick layer of squirrel shit that is fused to the floorboards of the attic by their own urine. I spent an hour in one area, wearing a dustmask and goggles, scraping it up in chunks and then vacuuming up the debris. I still have two more locations to clean, I am not looking forward to them. Unfortunately, these two things need to happen in this order: catalog them, receive information. You don't need to be thorough about it -- start with just determining which tubes you have -- we will automatically start asking about the more interesting ones, and then you can go back and get more information about those -- brand name, markings, condition, pictures, etc. Yes, this makes perfect sense to me. However, I can only report the condition in terms of appearance. I don't have a tube tester, and the tube equipment I do own (vintage radios and some ca. 1970 McIntosh gear) is not suited to the task. There's an awful lot of tubes in the world, and not all of them are frequently used for audio amp building (there are exceptions, of course) -- I would put all those together and just sell them on eBay in one lump. I am sure a lot of the tubes I have are of little or no interest to audio snobs if I have one or two "hits" (as they call it in the antique business) with desirable tubes, I'll consider myself lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBLoudG20 Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I spent an hour in one area, wearing a dustmask and goggles, scraping it up in chunks and then vacuuming up the debris. Exact same shit I did on my first date with PostJack. No wonder hes an eHarmony reject . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Yes, this makes perfect sense to me. However, I can only report the condition in terms of appearance. I don't have a tube tester, and the tube equipment I do own (vintage radios and some ca. 1970 McIntosh gear) is not suited to the task. I am sure a lot of the tubes I have are of little or no interest to audio snobs if I have one or two "hits" (as they call it in the antique business) with desirable tubes, I'll consider myself lucky.Re: condition -- start with pictures -- if they're really valuable, send them to someone you trust to test them. Or just qualify your sales with "not tested". And just to be clear on the latter, I did mean after pulling out the few valuable ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I'd be more than willing to run the lot through my tester provided I can have pick of the litter. :BFG: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I've got a couple random boxes of random tubes from my father in law and other spots. I really should figure out what is in there.... Have fun with it Knuckles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I've got a couple random boxes of random tubes from my father in law and other spots. I really should figure out what is in there....NH, being particularly acquainted with being first in the nation, would be happy to assist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Exact same shit I did on my first date with PostJack. No wonder hes an eHarmony reject . win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knuckledragger Posted November 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I just went through the entire box and squinted at each tube, attempting to discern its maker and type. Below is a list of what I could come up with: RCA Y6E RCA Y6E GE 57-26 188-5 Tung-Sol 5U4-GB RCA OD3 Tung-Sol 7867 Tung-Sol 7867 Tung-Sol 7867 Tung-Sol 7867 RCA 5U4-GB RCA EL34 [box] RCA EL34 [box] RCA EL34 [box] Realistic 25C5 GE 25C5 Realistic 25C5 RCA 25CA5 [box] # is from box, tube is difficult to read Tung-Sol 12AU7A International 25C5 [box] International 25C5 [box] Sylvania EL86 [box] 3M 12AX7A When a tube was listed as a two types, I used the one more familiar to me (e.g. EL34 for 6CA7). I also had a couple orphan boxes that did not have tubes, or had tubes in them that did not match the brand/type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarium Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Crazy most of those ive never heard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knuckledragger Posted November 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Crazy most of those ive never heard of. That means they're probably not of much interest to audio snobs. \ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 That means they're probably not of much interest to audio snobs. \ I am not a tube expert at all, but some of your tubes are wanted for amps: Tung-Sol 5U4-GB/RCA 5U4-GB -- good rectifiers RCA OD3 -- regulator RCA EL34 [box] -- definitely useful and common as output tube; could be sought after because RCA did not make its own EL34s so they can truly be Mullards, Amperex, Sylvania. Somebody who can identify tubes could tell you who actually made them. Tung-Sol 12AU7A -- gain tube commonly used 3M 12AX7A -- gain tube commonly used Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarium Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 That means they're probably not of much interest to audio snobs. \ Nah I am hardly a tube expert and I'm only vaguely familiar with what goes into headphone amps typically and not what's used in guitar amps or speaker audio. Rare types of tubes can be pretty interesting and sometimes fetch good $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I'd be interested in a few of those, PM incoming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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