[R-390] TUBES LONG ONE ...

[Barry Hauser]

Bill wrote:
> Other tries at this thread revealed that the home tinkerer
> might be able to build (or rebuild) an 01-A class tube with
> a "soft" vacuum. IF he or she could get coated filament wire.

OK, so we rewire the '390's for 01A's.  I have some Cunningham's including
one ***NIB*** 301X or whatever to peek through.  Soft vacuum?
>
> The tubes that we want are all hard vacuum tubes. It takes
> an expensive set of vacuum pumps to get down to where flashing
> the getter takes out all of the molecules left.

Now I'm getting really upset.  Bill -- a vacuum is nothing - nothing!  Are
you tryna tell me we can't make nothing no more?  How about siphoning the
nothing out of a light bulb?  First they turn Lindbergh's field into a
shopping mall, then we can't go to the moon, and now we can't even make
nothing!!!???  I've been barkin' up the wrong tree.  Maybe we put a bee in
the bonnet of some gubmental types -- the Russians are capable of making
more tubes than us (noisy or otherwise) and we can't even manufacture
"nothing" of quality anymore.  Maybe they'll dedicate a wing of the space
station for tube making.  Lot's of vacuum up there for free -- OK so there's
some cosmic dust to be filtered out.
>
> Making the elements for a 7 pin miniature pentode seems to be
> impossible without expensive tooling - kinda like making a
> turbo-pump for a Saturn V engine. Both materials and tools
> will be prohibitive for short production runs.

Well, I suppose you're right.  But, there are some new technologies that
could make it practical to produce a whole bunch of different tubes from the
same equipment.  Two things come to mind -- programmed robotics, like those
milling machine setups that can work from a prototype -- like 3D scanner.
Of course, leasing or short term rental would what they call in the trade, a
tad steep.

Another new technology could be used, perhaps -- same way LSI chips are
made.  Then the little chip/module with the embedded filament, plate, grids,
etc.gets leads micro-welded on it and into the pins, etc.

> And then there are the glass seals for the pins ...

Home Depot?

OK, here's another way.  Looks like a frontal assault won't work, so ...

Every day, slick marketeers come up with whacky ideas for new consumer
products.  The initial design and concept are done in the US, but then
production design is completed in the PacRim and production is usually
somewhere in China -- something like that.  The geegaws are produced in
quantities of 10,000 plus, packed with instructions in broken English --
some in plain brown "mail order boxes" and others with colorful retail boxes
usually with the red "As Seen on TV" emblem.  They load up the containers
and they come by way of ocean freight.  First, they promote the heck out of
it in infomercials and on home shopping shows and so on.  Those go out in
the mail order boxes by the thousands (allow 6-8 weeks for delivery -- took
less time to make 'em).  As the bloom falls off the rose, the display boxes
first turn up in retail chains like WalMart.  When the bubble fully bursts,
they turn up in the Oddlot stores where they're bought for 10 cent on the
wholesale (landed price, LA or SF).

So what's this got to do with tubes.  Subterfuge is involved.  Bunch of
listmembers collaborate on a trendy new consumer item -- a retro radio or
phonograph with real tubes!  Just so happens, the design is festooned with
our favorite, most needed tubes -- whether the circuit needs 'em or not.
Pair of 26Z5W's, matched pair of 6082's -- just for looks, two or three
ballast tubes, etc. - oh, and some to make the whatzit work.

OK, still with me.... Now ....  we make up detailed project binders with the
marketing concept, some computer drawings, and a lot of arcane technical
explanation as to why those tubes are critical to the product and must be of
top quality.  Toss in the original tube specs.  Make up about 100 sets.
Then, plant them at strategic "discovery" points -- in NYC, LA, Chicago, and
other hand picked spots.  Leave them behind on trains, plains, certain
conventions, park benches, carefully selected Starbucks.. etc.  Someone's
bound to "steal" our product idea and  ....

Then it goes through the cycle I described -- but left something out:  These
guys steal from each other.  As soon as the first ad or infomercial appears,
the knockoff frenzy begins, even before they can tell if the thing is
successful.  Now, we win either way.  If the product is a winner, there will
be a lot of tube production.  If/when it flops, the $300 retro collectible
gizmo will get sold off to the "undertakers" for 10 cents on the landed cost
(about $100) price, or $10 apiece.  The OddLot guys will sell them for $30
each.  Then we move in.

No expensive machine tooling.  No hard vacuum, no rare materials.  Just some
paperwork and midnight copy job.  Now you're gonna say this is only so for
cheap stuff -- like the "Tap Light"  --- sheesh, a flattened out plastic
flashlight with too-small batteries and a big big button.  Whatta concept!
However, there is the higher end product like those overpriced manufactured
collectibles from certain "minty" companies, and that outfit that makes the
repro radios with the cassette players on the side -- they were on QVC or
HSN recently.  They even make a repro of that round blue mirror/glass
radio -- very deco.

My 55ppm copier was just PM'ed.  I'm ready ... ;-)

Barry