Jackpot-O-Tubes

So, on a whim I went to an antique radio show/auction hosted by a local amateur radio club. I got there a little late and just as I walked in there was a "box of tubes" on the auction block. I had no idea what or how many there were but I stuck my hand up and ended up winning! This is what I got for $25! I think there's a lot a TV tubes, and most probably don't work but for $25 what the hell. At the least I could make some kind of cool modern art sculpture.

Heck Tom...that's worth the money just for the "Cool" factor.....:wink:

Do not discount tubes you do not know. Just because they were not commonly used does not make then "loss".

I had a score like that a few years back--1000+ tubes and a freshly calibrated tester(that I barely know how to use...). Sorted out the tubes, found a few useful for guitar amps, and traded the rest (probably still 1000+ tubes) to a heavy-duty tube hoarder for a quad of NOS 6V6GTs.

I think I broke even.

If you've got time to spare, just looking through the pile is pretty cool--kills a lot of time, too!

I wouldn't summarily dismiss oddball tubes. Sometimes it's simply a matter of looking at the data sheet and finding "hidden gems". Of course with the prices of NOS EL34s and 12AX7s a lot of the "hidden gems" aren't quite hidden anymore.

Hint: I went to an antique radio show Friday, I can get stacks and stacks of cheap 6AQ5s. Shhh! Don't tell anyone, they won't be cheap forever! :lol:

I had to paw through some stuff but I got some NOS EL84s and ECL86s.

I'm not even going to mention the transmitter tubes that can be re-purposed to drive 30-50 watt guitar amps. I'm not going to mention them until I buy more... :lol: