I found Tubes ! Personal Storey. long

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malcolm123

malcolm123

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Well after all the tube talk I started thinking,, " Hey I remember my uncle used to own a electronics repair shop back in the 70s and 80s "

So while we were drinking a few brewskies the other night I asked him what exactly did he used to do in his old shop. Well his answer he repaired electronics. So I was like, what kinda electronics and he was like stereos, amps, hams, etc. stuff like that. SOOO being sneaky I asked what happened to all of the stuff. He was like most of the electronics I sold off, a lot of it he couldnt even remember where they went. So I remember when I was little my mom would take stuff in there from time to time to be fixed. Keep in mind that I knew no better but my mom had pretty good stereo stuff, some she still has like a Nakamechi (sp) cassette desk that flips the cassette it's self, A Denon turntable that looks like a space ship other stuff that I will check out too. She tells me that my uncle gave it all to her for a good price. What I do remember is all the crap he had in there ( well it was crap to a little kid), SO I asked him about Tubes. He was like yeah most of the stuff I worked with used tubes. So where are the tools and parts ? ( follow me) . He replies I still have some of the tools here, but most of the smaller parts are at my " Grandma's House " . Got any tubes up there? Yeah, I got a sh@t load of all kinda tubes. He states that back then they were worth something but now they arent good for too much except older Hifi or Ham equipment. SO without him reading into too much I paused and asked,, You ever heard of Telefunken or Mullard ? He replies ,, yeah many more too,, Boy what you know about a Mullard? I said "nothing" , I had to get a old piece of equipment repaired at work. He just replied oh and went back to drinking. So a few minutes later I asked,, you got any tubes up there? Yeah, I had a truck load of all kinda sh@t taking up there, mostly my good stuff, well it was good back then. LOL

Im going there next week !!!
I will post my findings later !

I will also trade tubes for mic mod services if I find them. LOL

I hope all that stuff is still up there. ( Hey Grandma !! )

Malcolm
 
Awesome... you've got to post a list of what you scored when you get back.
 
DJL said:
Awesome... you've got to post a list of what you scored when you get back.
Click to expand...

LOL,

Man when I get up there and if that stuff is still around,, I wouldnt know what the hell I was looking at. To me a Tube is a Tube. LOL

The only thing Im worrying about now is if I get up there and he has all of this stuff up in the Attic, I will start to loading up, But I can just here my grandma now. " Baby , what you gonna do with that stuff" " Oh Nothing Grandma " " Well you know thats your uncle's old shop stuff" " Yeah Grandma , I talked to him " " Well did he say to get all that stuff" " I told him I was gonna see if it's still up here" " You better ask him first " " OK I will " " Well let me call him for you "

"Damn " now if he know im getting this stuff , he is gonna know something is up. !! LOL
If I throw a couple hundred in his face, he is really gonna start to thinking.

wish me luck !!! LOL
 
I got boxes of tubes from an older repair guy I know who quit working. Plus I have bought lots at Hamfests for virtually nothing. Most of them are older than the 12AX7A varieties that I need for my Fender amps though! Lots of TV type tubes as well.

One cool thing I bought at a Hamfest was a tube caddy, complete with tools, price-lists, notes, receipts, substitution books, various junk, etc. A window into the past...I havent really touched it.

I have lots for my antique radio collection as well...

Good luck!
 
i thought "tubes" were hot.....and "toobs" were warm? :p


seriously, though, piddle through em all and just get one of each to identify later. smuggle them out and be stealthy about it. grandma's just being the "neighborhood watch"--that's what grandmas do. :D

THEN go back and get the rest of the ones you need/want. grandma will think you're being a "good kid" for visiting her so much!


wade
 
malcolm:

if the tube is in good shape you can tell what kind because it'll be printed on it. just scored 3 telefunken 12Ax7 off ebay for 100...and they do make a BIG difference at least with the CAD m9
 
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malcolm123 said:
"Damn " now if he know im getting this stuff , he is gonna know something is up. !! LOL
If I throw a couple hundred in his face, he is really gonna start to thinking.

wish me luck !!! LOL
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Why don't you just be up front with him and tell him you can use them for upkeep and modding of your audio equipment? Maybe he'll give them to you.
What do you think he's going to do if you show an interest - unload them on ebay?
A lot of the tubes may actually be pretty worthless and not have any current use, even in vintage equipment..
 
Try not to handle the tubes... use latex gloves or something so you don't mess the tubes up with finger oil and etc.
 
Malcolm, before you get there you should know exactly what you want and what you need. Once I went to an old gentlemen, who worked for Heath. He had an attic filled with tubes--literally thousands of boxes. I spent there 5 hours fishing. I ended up getting only two boxes. Most of the tubes were TV and ham stuff.
You can spend a lot of money and end up with stuff which you don't need.
 
I could use a matched pair of 500Z bottles for my SB220... and I always replace the 12AX7's, 12AU7, and the 6550's in my SVT-2PRO every year with matched sets.
 
DJL said:
I could use a matched pair of 500Z bottles for my SB220... and I always replace the 12AX7's, 12AU7, and the 6550's in my SVT-2PRO every year with matched sets.
Click to expand...

Maybe you could send me your old ones? I'll pay shipping.
 
I just put some Telefunken ECC82's in my DBX 386. I may actually start using this thing again. BIG difference.
 
Teacher said:
malcolm:

if the tube is in good shape you can tell what kind because it'll be printed on it. just scored 3 telefunken 12Ax7 off ebay for 100...and they do make a BIG difference at least with the CAD m9
Click to expand...
hey teacher, could you post a clip? i have a M9 and i'm getting ready to change the groove tube i put in it.. i want a mullard cv4004 or telefunken 12Ax7(diamond)
to you what did it improve? the mic sounds great as is..
i know when i took that 7025 outta my M9 and put the Groove tube in it. overall the mic sounded better. clean highs, smooth mids, thick lows
 
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