# Vacuum tubes



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Lots of people on the internet would buy them. Problem is, if they are common tubes you may not get much for them. If any are rare you could get some good money for them.


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

glen1971 said:


> Other than in the bottom of a dumpster anyone know of what to do with them? I found about 30 today, most still new in the box...


Ham radio folks may like to have some, try Ebay, you may get $20.00 bucks for the lot.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

Musicians want them for their amplifiers. 

Some will buy large lots of them if they can. They save them for themselves.


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## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

*Samsung 2012 Vacuum Tube Amp

@ Amazon
*


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

Celtic said:


> Samsung 2012 Vacuum Tube Amp
> 
> @ Amazon


Mother of god that is beautiful.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

I definately wouldn't want to list them all as working, it would definately be as an "AS IS"...


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

eBay, ham radio forums ect. 

Them things can be worth their weight in gold. 
Also museums, contact the Thomas Edison museum and ask.


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## tkb (Jan 21, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzyXMEpq4qw
or 
http://paillard.claude.free.fr/


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

glen1971 said:


> I definately wouldn't want to list them all as working, it would definately be as an "AS IS"...


 It depends on the type number and the brand.
I got a raft of tubes when the company I worked for, closed down their instrument and calibration lab.
Lot of the tubes were used and kept, just in case. 
I'm always interested in various types of tubes.


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

BBQ said:


> Musicians want them for their amplifiers.
> 
> Some will buy large lots of them if they can. They save them for themselves.


Tube amps rule but solid state has come a looooooooong way.

Suffocation records with solid state amps. Doesn't get much heavier than that :thumbup:


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Wirenuting said:


> eBay, ham radio forums ect.
> 
> Them things can be worth their weight in gold.
> Also museums, contact the Thomas Edison museum and ask.


I've always said that some of the crap they've had should go to a museum when it gets replaced. One vendor I talked to said "Wow that is an old panel. I'll have to go to the archieves to find drawings." (about the 1958 Panelarm panel)...



retiredsparktech said:


> It depends on the type number and the brand.
> I got a raft of tubes when the company I worked for, closed down their instrument and calibration lab.
> Lot of the tubes were used and kept, just in case.
> I'm always interested in various types of tubes.


When I get to the shop next I'll grab a couple of the numbers and post them.. Maybe someone could help me out what voltage they might be and if they are useful to someone...


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

erics37 said:


> Tube amps rule but solid state has come a looooooooong way.
> 
> Suffocation records with solid state amps. Doesn't get much heavier than that :thumbup:
> 
> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8raOyF92iQ">YouTube Link</a>


Yeah solid state has come along way , into hell . I think most audio amplifiers today sound like garbage and belong in it . Old well constructed solid state amps like sherwood sound amazing like tube amps . Vintage bogen amps are great as well


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

glen1971 said:


> I've always said that some of the crap they've had should go to a museum when it gets replaced. One vendor I talked to said "Wow that is an old panel. I'll have to go to the archieves to find drawings." (about the 1958 Panelarm panel)...
> 
> When I get to the shop next I'll grab a couple of the numbers and post them.. Maybe someone could help me out what voltage they might be and if they are useful to someone...


We had a salesmen try to buy our old stock of tubes. They were left over from the old hospital equipment from the late 50's to early 70's. 
He waved a lot of cash at us. But the tubes went in the dumpster... We can't scrap nothing. 
~sometimes I'm to Fn honest~


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

Wirenuting said:


> We had a salesmen try to buy our old stock of tubes. They were left over from the old hospital equipment from the late 50's to early 70's.
> He waved a lot of cash at us. But the tubes went in the dumpster... We can't scrap nothing.
> ~sometimes I'm to Fn honest~


Why didn't you sell them ?


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

glen1971 said:


> Other than in the bottom of a dumpster anyone know of what to do with them? I found about 30 today, most still new in the box...


e-bay


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

wireman64 said:


> Yeah solid state has come along way , into hell . I think most audio amplifiers today sound like garbage and belong in it . Old well constructed solid state amps like sherwood sound amazing like tube amps . Vintage bogen amps are great as well


Whatever dude 

If you're playing delta blues or something then you may have an argument. There are plenty of high quality solid state amps out there. If you buy cheap crap then it sounds like cheap crap. I had a Crate stack and it was a piece of crap. I know a guy with a spendy Marshall stack and it sounds great.


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## Vintage Sounds (Oct 23, 2009)




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## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

I still have my tester. These old military ones are fetching good money.


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

Hey glen, post the numbers off the tubes... i might pay you to send me some specific numbers, such as: EL34, 6L6GC, KT88, 6550, 12AX7, 12AU7, GZ34/5AR4 or 5U4GB


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

wireman64 said:


> Why didn't you sell them ?


Uncle Sam call that theft.
We can't sell anything we toss out.


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## circuitman1 (Mar 14, 2013)

anybody out there interested in some old tubes ? i proably have close to 600 hundred. not sure of there condition.got them from a friend that use to mess around with tv's & radios. he passed away several years ago. before he died he asked me if i was interested as he had no use for them so i told him yeah! also have some sams photo facts, not really sure of there condition.:whistling2:


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

Wirenuting said:


> We had a salesmen try to buy our old stock of tubes. They were left over from the old hospital equipment from the late 50's to early 70's.
> He waved a lot of cash at us. But the tubes went in the dumpster... We can't scrap nothing.
> ~sometimes I'm to Fn honest~


That is just plain stupid.


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

glen1971 said:


> Maybe someone could help me out what voltage they might be


The type numbers will tell you !
If it starts with a 6, then its a 6v filament.
If it starts with a 5, then its a 5v filament.
If it starts with 12, then its a 12v filament.
etc etc etc.

They start as low as 1.2v and go up to 120v.
most common is 6v and 5v.
5v tubes were usually rectifiers.


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

circuitman1 said:


> anybody out there interested in some old tubes ? i probably have close to 600 hundred.


You could try doing a google search on vintage radio clubs,
And donating them to the club,
that way they would not be wasted, and probably put to good use !


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

tkb said:


>


That video was great. I'm not sure why it was so interesting, but I watched the whole thing.

Used to have a couple vacuum tube o-scopes. One gave up the ghost, and a neat old WWII model I ended up selling for probably much less than I should've.


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## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Big John said:


> That video was great. I'm not sure why it was so interesting, but I watched the whole thing.


I did also. I'm not sure if it was the music or his slow precise hand movements but it was almost hypnotic.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

www.audiotubes.com



Voice Phone 847-496-4546, Monday-Friday 8AM to 4PM USA Central Time Scroll down this page to the yellow navigation bar to navigate our website! 

*NOTE: Our office will be closed for a buying trip beginning Wed. July 17 through Sun. July 21. We will have limited access to email during this time. Orders placed after 12 noon July 16 will be processed when we reopen July 22. You may fax, email or paypal orders during this time, and they will be processed in order received on July 22. Thank you!*

*If you have questions about the vacuum tube universe, this is the place, just email us. [email protected] 

<H3>CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR PAGE ON FACEBOOK Fans of our page on Facebook get early notification of new stock arrivals, special discounts, and unadvertised tube sales. Don't miss out!*

</H3> 
These guys buy tubes.


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## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

It depends on what type of tube. A Telefunken or Mullard 12AX7, EL84/6QB5 might fetch a few hundred dollars each. Other tubes, maybe no so much. In any case, an unused vacuum tube from the 1950s-1970s is called a NOS and they valuable--how much value depends on the brand name and model.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

*Some of the numbers*

Ok.. Finally got around to looking again and there are:

Sylvania 12AU7A R
Sylvania 5727
RCA QF 12AT7
Sylvania 12AX7A R
GE OA2

Does that mean anything to anyone?


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## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Hey glen, post the numbers off the tubes... i might pay you to send me some specific numbers, such as: EL34, 6L6GC, KT88, 6550, 12AX7, 12AU7, GZ34/5AR4 or 5U4GB


Tool might be interested in them. The ones you have are very common tubes.


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## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

glen1971 said:


> Ok.. Finally got around to looking again and there are:
> 
> Sylvania 12AU7A R
> Sylvania 5727
> ...


12au7 are dual triodes meant to invert the signal just before being sent to the output tubes

12ax7 (never went out of production) are used in preamp circuits. Probably the most popular tube. 

12au7, 12ax7, and I think 12at7 are miniature tubes, 9 pins.

these would sell for AT LEAST 10 dollars EACH on ebay,


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

uconduit said:


> 12au7 are dual triodes meant to invert the signal just before being sent to the output tubes
> 
> 12ax7 (never went out of production) are used in preamp circuits. Probably the most popular tube.
> 
> ...


12AX7, 12AT7 & 12AU7 Are all commonly used as pre amp valves in guitar amps,
the sylvania 5727 is most likely a substitute for these 12 type tubes.
You should have no trouble selling these valves as they are all still used.
Fender, marshall, Peavey, etc etc etc.


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## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

Vacuum tubes are still used today: most people have at least one in their homes (i'm not talking about old tvs either) some of my coworkers on some projects have even brought generators on their work trucks just to power them during their lunch breaks. who can guess the home appliance that still uses vacuum tubes?


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## Qualtech (Apr 16, 2013)

Must be the answer your looking for


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

uconduit said:


> who can guess the home appliance that still uses vacuum tubes?


They are still very popular in valve guitar amplifiers !

There also still used in high end recording studio's.

Also used in many old style mantle and console radio's.


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

uconduit said:


> Vacuum tubes are still used today: most people have at least one in their homes (i'm not talking about old tvs either) some of my coworkers on some projects have even brought generators on their work trucks just to power them during their lunch breaks. who can guess the home appliance that still uses vacuum tubes?


Microwave oven. :thumbup:


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## uconduit (Jun 6, 2012)

It's funny hearing them complain about having to hand-time their cooking, apparently the timers on microwave ovens expect 60 Hz to keep accurate time.


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

retiredsparktech said:


> Microwave oven. :thumbup:


I don't think that the magnatron is vacuum sealed ?


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

dmxtothemax said:


> I don't think that the magnatron is vacuum sealed ?


It is definitely a vacuum tube. It has a strong permanent magnet around it to generate microwave energy.
They do get weak after a while, just like any other vacuum tube.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

dmxtothemax said:


> They are still very popular in valve guitar amplifiers !
> .


what is a _valve_ guitar amp? ~CS~


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## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

chicken steve said:


> what is a _valve_ guitar amp? ~CS~


A guitar amp with tubes. Valve is another word for electron tubes. I mostly hear it spoken in other countries.


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## butcher733 (Aug 4, 2012)

I love tube guitar amps and their sound. But I hate people that think that valve amps are the end all of sound reproduction. Valves impart distortion above and beyond today's technology into the sound reproduction. I prefer engineered sound produced through clean amps.


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

Ah the valve vs transistor debate !
No doubt about it !
They do sound different, mainly because of the harmonic products associated with them.
They do sound different but some people seem to like the valve sound,
So it depends on your perticular angle.
But valve circuits can sound just as good,
like anything, if it's properly engineered.
A high end valve pre amp can produce very good results.
With valve amps it's usually the speaker / and or speaker transformer
that produces the most degradation, it's not the pre amp side of things.
A lot of high end studio's now use valve pre amps for final mix down.
There seems to be something pleasing about the complex harmonics
introduced by valve 's.
Each to his own I think !


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## adamc (Sep 27, 2013)

I'm a newbie here
but I still deal with vacuum tubes daily. On the side and as a hobby I restore old radios, test gear, amps, etc.

computers are great, but tubes are magic


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

They used to sell vacuum tubes in the local drug store... even had a test machine you could use to check the one from your TV set..

This was back in the 60's for those of you who were born into the microchip generation..


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## adamc (Sep 27, 2013)

you mean the slide rule generation ?


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

adamc said:


> you mean the slide rule generation ?


Well yes... now that you mention it... but they did get us to the moon.. :thumbup:


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

glen1971 said:


> Other than in the bottom of a dumpster anyone know of what to do with them? I found about 30 today, most still new in the box...


What are the types: The type is printed on the envelope.


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## RICK BOYD (Mar 10, 2008)

*vacuum tubes*

what was the biggest vac tube made?
this is the biggest I have found.





I still deal with vacuum tubes daily. On the side and as a hobby I restore old radios, test gear, amps, etc.

computers are great, but tubes are magic[/quote]


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## adamc (Sep 27, 2013)

Me too !


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

Some vaccum tubes where used by am broadcast stations as the final rf amp
These tubes where rated in kilowatts.Phisically much larger.
And water cooled.
HT usually 10 to 20Kv.


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