[ARC5] BC-221 and LM Solid State Conversion

[Roy Morgan]

(The original post was about the article that tells how to convert an  
LM or BC-221 frequency meter to solid state)

On Sep 30, 2009, at 10:15 PM, Michael Tauson wrote:

> On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 3:31 PM, Roy Morgan <k1lky at earthlink.net>  
> wrote:
>> YEs, as I remember that article, you break the original tubes
>> (NOOOOO!!!) and put FET's into the bases..
>
> Oh, yes, yes, yes.  Must break old tubes.  It's like swapping out
> those icky old parts from icky old radios and replacing them with nice
> modern parts,

WHACK,, WHACK!

> Actually, being serious for a rare moment,

Ah, <Spoof Mode OFF>

> a few places sell the UX
> type plugs though they're not always easy to find.

I have a  modest small box marked "DUDS".  in there are a few tubes of  
different sorts that really are duds.

BUT.. My LM tubes seem to be fine, and I have a number of spare tubes,  
among which likely I'd find a good replacement if/when I need one.

>  Octals are a lot
> easier - even the e-place has them for relatively cheap.

It may be somewhat blasphemy for the glowbug and ARC-5 crowd, but I do  
have a couple of boxes of what appear to be "pulls" from octal tube TV  
days.  For sure I can find really dead octal tubes here - I don't know  
about the older base types.  I did recently unearth my (most-used)  
tube tester so I can confirm deadness before any smashing.  I know I  
have some really dead 866's but I'm quite reluctant to smash mercury  
vapor tubes.

In any case, I have enough LM's that I can find a couple or three that  
run just fine.  More than that I may not "need".

(If anyone on the list does NOT have an LM, do let me know.  I am  
entering a de-accession phase.)

Roy

Roy Morgan
k1lky at earthlink.net
529 Cobb St.
Groton NY, 13073
Home: 607-898-3607
Cell: 301-928-7794