• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

Whither Westrex ?.

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
They are (still) in the process of moving the factory according to Tubedepot:

Western Electric 300B

I think the alleged date was 2010, then 2011 and now 2012. However, most of the people that were making them were retirees that were brought back and put to work... as a result, I don't have high hopes of them ever being produced again. If they do, I doubt they will be of the quality level from the real old days. I certainly hope they prove me wrong ;-)

Regards, KM
 
Administrator
Joined 2004
Paid Member
They have had production hiatus' about 3 times over the last decade that I can recall. (IIRC of course) This time they are relocating plant and equipment from Huntsville, to somewhere in Tenn.. (I forget where.)

This seems largely to be a hobby activity for its apparently well healed owner Charles Whitener, so I suspect when the ducks are all lined up they will be back.. Claims are he also acquired the remnants of EI a few years ago, not sure what is up with that, or the potential outcome.

Early 2000s production were pretty good quality, delivery from the factory was very slow.. (They sounded great)
 
Administrator
Joined 2004
Paid Member
Just outside Chattanooga. It was reported in the local Chattanooga newspapers about 3 years ago.

I heard from a major amp manufacturer that "new US production RCA'' branded tubes would come out of that plant beginning with the 6L6GC. That was a while ago and we haven't seen any yet.

Hi George,
Now I remember.. :D Yeah, this has pretty much been the story with Westrex.. I had not heard they were behind the RCA reissues, but at this point it would not surprise me. I would imagine that those would probably have been made in the old EI plant in Nis that they bought some time ago as similar tooling already exists there, but I am just speculating - I haven't a clue.. This probably just isn't a propitious time to spring new tubes on the tube buying public remembering the Tech Tube debacle - or perhaps they've just hit some other snag along the way. Since they are not publicly held we're not liable to hear much about it.. I do wish them luck though.. :D
 
In addition to being expensive, the Tech Tube valves were not ECC83/12AX7 equivalents, but merely likely substitutes. This is because the interelectrode capacitance was much lower and the heater current was significantly different. In a typical guitar amp wuth large grid stoppers they would have sounded toppy, and in a hi-fi amp with lots of feedback they might have oscillated. Just to add to sales, the data sheet was obviously written by someone who knew nothing about valves!
 

Attachments

  • moonpie.jpg
    moonpie.jpg
    55.9 KB · Views: 127
Administrator
Joined 2004
Paid Member
Mallomars is THE brand for "mallow puffs"... here in the USA.

Kevin, they sell MoonPies in the stores where you are, I am sure...

Pretty good disgusting junk food! :D

_-_-

They might, but since I do virtually no food shopping these days I wouldn't know about that.. :D

Back in the days when I did regular food shopping I generally ignored those isles.. FWIW the only cookies (biscuits) IMHO worth eating are either from the UK, Canada or Belgium, and then only when I was ignoring middle age weight gain.. :eek: :D
 
Kevin, they sell MoonPies in the stores where you are, I am sure...

They were common in 7 eleven stores and just about everywhere else when I was a kid.

Yikes! - looks like a squashed mallowpuff.... It does, wonder if it tastes like one..

Think chocolate covered Smores with extra sugar in the creamy mallow like filling. Eat one for lunch when you are an ADD stricken high school kid and you are guaranteed to get in trouble before the day is out!
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.