[R-390] Tube organizing help

Thu Jan 4 20:38:58 EST 2007

Don- you saved me a lot of time typing as this is the method I've been 
using with a small variation and has served me well for for over 40 
years. it was set up by my  father (WB6TBK) , it is efficient , saves 
space and time. (I can hear him now-"If you're gonna keep this junk it 
must be organized and stored neatly at this house!!" gee some of this 
got away from me when I left home....)
I have a log of what is in each box in a separated binder. Large 
transmitting tubes (3-500,4-1000 etc...) have their own cardboard 
(printing paper) boxes....no searching through boxes till ya needs 
something, then it is not too bad. I've tried to keep the unboxed same 
type in labeled paper bags( so they will breathe )within the appropriate 
box. ....all tubes are tested prior storage...no sense keeping the 
really bad'uns. then again this takes time and i'm back-logged here.......
73
Renée

don at thedjbrothers.com wrote:
> I've been back and forth over this ground a number of times.  I keep
> something like 2-4000 tubes here to serve as spares. 80% of these are used
> pulls that have been re-boxed. Space is at an EXTREME premium here so that
> is a key factor in my thinking. 
>
> I started out setting aside a separate box for each radio with the spares
> for that radio in it. This turned out to be grossly inefficient--space-wise,
> so I abandoned that approach. What I do now is keep the tubes in boxes,
> sorted by filament voltage and, if necessary, base type. So my receiving
> tube boxes go like this (each new line is one or more boxes):
>
>
> 0--VR Tubes
> 1,2,3 Volt Types, all
> 5 Volt Rectifiers
> 5U4 have their own box
> 6 Volt Glass Octal
> 6 Volt Metal Octal
> 6A-6B Miniature
> 6C-6L Miniature
> 6M-6Z Miniature
> Most commonly used 6V Miniatures: 6AU6, 6BH6, 6BZ6, 6BE6, etc.
> 6L6 have their own box
> 6SN7 have their own box
> 7 Volt and All Loktals
> 12 Volt Glass Octal
> 12 Volt Metal Octal
> 12A-12L Miniature
> 12M-12Z Miniature
> Most commonly used 12 volt miniatures: 12AU7, 12AX7, 12AT7, etc.
> Oldest: 01A, UV200, UV201, 199-299, 10, up through 27
> 2A3's have their own box
> 30's and 40's
> 45's have their own box
> 50's thru 79
> 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 Rectifiers
> High-value Tubes, Nuvistors & Wire Lead: CK-xxxx, 7788, 7360, etc.
> CRTs have their own boxes and I don't keep too many of them
> Eye Tubes have their own boxes just marked EYE TUBES
>
>
> I have found this arrangement to be space-efficient and easy to find what
> I'm looking for. If a box is not full, I add padding to keep the tube boxes
> upright so I can see their ends. 
>
> I already have way more tubes than I will ever use in my lifetime. So I
> don't keep randomly-acquired tubes. I go through them and see if any of them
> are an upgrade for me or fill gaps. If they are duplicates, I just sell them
> off ASAP--remember, space is a problem.
>
> I don't keep an inventory of receiving tubes because it is too much work to
> keep up with as it changes. The tube boxes are all on easily-accesible metal
> shelves and it is simple to pull down a box, pop it open and look for the
> tube you need. 
>
> Unless the tubes are high-value types, I don't test them until I need one.
> If I need a 12AU7, I pull out 3 or 4 and test them. I set aside a good one
> to use, discard any weak ones, mark and date the other good ones and put
> them back in the box. If I'm dealing with a sensitive circuit, I may test
> several tubes in the circuit just to look for differences that the tube
> tester didn't bother telling me about...
>
> And that's about it. Once you get rolling, probably in this or any other
> system, it's automatic and easy to maintain. It's getting started that is
> really a pain.
>
> Good luck.
> 73, Don Merz, N3RHT
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: r-390-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:r-390-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of R390rcvr at aol.com
> Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 3:08 PM
> To: R-390 at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [R-390] Tube organizing help
>
> Good day all:
>  
> A common problem, but I could use some advice.
>  
> I have several thousand tubes for my various beasts, and don't have a good
> organizing system.
>  
> I have tried shelves, boxes, etc. The main problem has to do with adding
> and deleting tubes, changing the sequence, having room for additions,
> without taking up the entire basement.
>  
> I certainly would appreciate the groups wisdom!
>  
> Randy
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