just as an aside, I've known several tube/parts hoarders who (in their case) rarely built anything. It was always for that 'future project' that never seemed to come to fruition. I'm talking boxes and boxes of Altec drivers, 300Bs in original WE boxes, RCA 845 tubes, etc. It always seemed like a waste to me!
Good for you for getting this stuff out there to be used by other DIYers.
Good for you for getting this stuff out there to be used by other DIYers.
Yes as kstagger says, congrats for telling us about it first, before it ends up in a skip.
I'd love to build a (an all) DHT amp because people say they sound better and it's a slightly different topology with the heater carrying the signal.
Plus the tubes are brighter
.
Perhaps you could post a patchwork of photos up and people could offer you for various bits they spot in the photos?.
Then for people not too far away they could pop by and buy the stuff - and probably buy quite a few more bits too. I know I'd like a browse - please PM me if you go down that route, after a few diyaudio visits you'll probably have a bare workshop and a bigger bank account
I'd love to build a (an all) DHT amp because people say they sound better and it's a slightly different topology with the heater carrying the signal.
Plus the tubes are brighter
.Perhaps you could post a patchwork of photos up and people could offer you for various bits they spot in the photos?.
Then for people not too far away they could pop by and buy the stuff - and probably buy quite a few more bits too. I know I'd like a browse - please PM me if you go down that route, after a few diyaudio visits you'll probably have a bare workshop and a bigger bank account
Sorry to hear you'll be taking a break Andy. Hopefully it will be a short one since your contributions will be missed.
As far as selling off stuff is concerned, I would recommend against the idea of bundling desirable and not-so-desirable items together. Just speaking as one Ebay buyer, I prefer to buy what I want, and not a grab bag of stuff that I mostly don't want. I suggest you go through your tubes and parts boxes and select items that have known value, then list those items as singles or pairs. When they're gone, try the grab bag approach for the miscellaneous items or just give them away.
As far as selling off stuff is concerned, I would recommend against the idea of bundling desirable and not-so-desirable items together. Just speaking as one Ebay buyer, I prefer to buy what I want, and not a grab bag of stuff that I mostly don't want. I suggest you go through your tubes and parts boxes and select items that have known value, then list those items as singles or pairs. When they're gone, try the grab bag approach for the miscellaneous items or just give them away.
Nah, the hoarders are okay. It is when the tube hoarders punch their ticket for the last time and the families don't know what to do with, "all this worthless gear and junk" and end up throwing it all away in the garbage.
Hi Andy ... retiring at 65 is rather premature to me!
At 68, I've just started 5 years' ago.
This hobby is stupendous, keeps me active and daily exercises my brain.
One last project will be a simple #26 preamp and am still seeking for a reliable working schematic.
Wishing you a smooth transaction towards your goal,
Zekk.
At 68, I've just started 5 years' ago.
This hobby is stupendous, keeps me active and daily exercises my brain.
One last project will be a simple #26 preamp and am still seeking for a reliable working schematic.
Wishing you a smooth transaction towards your goal,
Zekk.
Andy, I applaud your decisive action to move on. It takes guts. Good for you.
The other lesson for the rest of us in this thread is simple - don't just DIY in solitude - mentor younger folks and ignite their passion for the craft. Then, as the relationships develop, stars appear, and when the time is right, pass on your best bits to them.
If we don't begin to do this as a DIY/tube culture, we'll be extinct in a generation.
The other lesson for the rest of us in this thread is simple - don't just DIY in solitude - mentor younger folks and ignite their passion for the craft. Then, as the relationships develop, stars appear, and when the time is right, pass on your best bits to them.
If we don't begin to do this as a DIY/tube culture, we'll be extinct in a generation.
This is the danger that I see, how many of us have a tidy enough estate to avoid this? I'll certainly be selling off a lot of transistor gear in the coming year!
I like it! 42 for time being
I wish I was so eager at your age. Exercising brain. Yes. Excuse me for an OTThis thread has really made me think. I've been retired for two years and I turn 65 later in the year. Yes, I was lucky enough to retire early. I asked a lot of my retired friends for advice before I retired and most of what they said has been true but it boils down to:
1 - develop multiple interests which use different skills, both mental and motor. You don't know what will happen to your body in future years.
2 - exercise regularly, body and brain (which you would get in London where I seem to walk for miles and miles every time I go there and I take photos for my blog Ray's Retirement)
3 - if you and your significant other plan to travel, plan to get it done by the time you are both 70. The chances are that one of you won't be able to travel at some stage because of health reasons.
Which makes me think about my own stash of stuff, which my wife wouldn't have a clue what to do with if I kicked the bucket tomorrow. I think what I will do is make a list of the most valuable items ( collectible / irreplaceable / don't want to go into a dumpster), photograph them so that she can identify them, and also what to sell them for. Do your own cherry picking.
Tell her to throw the rest out or give her some names (email addresses) who she could contact who you would be glad to give the stuff to.
I have found in my retirement so far that I flit from hobby to hobby. We do lengthy house exchanges and by the time I get back I am usually happy to pick up the soldering iron again but not always. Whichever way, it's my choice.
In your case, I would keep a box or two of the cherry picked stuff just in case you want to get back into the hobby, particularly the unobtainium stuff. If your household is like ours, there is a whole pile of other stuff I could easily get rid of to free up space for my treasures.
Finally, remember to gloat whenever you meet those people who are still working.
ray
1 - develop multiple interests which use different skills, both mental and motor. You don't know what will happen to your body in future years.
2 - exercise regularly, body and brain (which you would get in London where I seem to walk for miles and miles every time I go there and I take photos for my blog Ray's Retirement)
3 - if you and your significant other plan to travel, plan to get it done by the time you are both 70. The chances are that one of you won't be able to travel at some stage because of health reasons.
Which makes me think about my own stash of stuff, which my wife wouldn't have a clue what to do with if I kicked the bucket tomorrow. I think what I will do is make a list of the most valuable items ( collectible / irreplaceable / don't want to go into a dumpster), photograph them so that she can identify them, and also what to sell them for. Do your own cherry picking.
Tell her to throw the rest out or give her some names (email addresses) who she could contact who you would be glad to give the stuff to.
I have found in my retirement so far that I flit from hobby to hobby. We do lengthy house exchanges and by the time I get back I am usually happy to pick up the soldering iron again but not always. Whichever way, it's my choice.
In your case, I would keep a box or two of the cherry picked stuff just in case you want to get back into the hobby, particularly the unobtainium stuff. If your household is like ours, there is a whole pile of other stuff I could easily get rid of to free up space for my treasures.
Finally, remember to gloat whenever you meet those people who are still working.
ray
Hi Ray,
I am 41 and into a little of everything and I am still young (I think...). I have started to make a few lists of what can be recycled/donated, what can be sold (and what it is worth at this time), which friends who are trustworthy enough to have dispose of some of the stuff, and what to keep/pass down.
Who knows what might happen tomorrow... but as soon as I finish my tube amplifier (if I can decide which one), headphone amplifier, and chip amp, those will be listed as keep/pass down. No matter what I can not worry too much about it after I die. After I am gone, it will be a choice of the people I leave behind on whether they want to keep or ultimately throw away.
So enjoy it all now.
Bidding-sites as Ebay are good
The price always get 100% right
Here on the worlds countryside (sweden), we don´t see that much of those old DHT´s. Buying from ebay, is a risk of having bad gods
But since you are a known name in the diy communities Andy a am sure a lot of people would bid with confidence.
At least I would keep an eye of some of those 10Y´s and #26´s
Best
Pix
There's a market for the 26 tubes? I have a small stash!
My take is sell on Ebay or the like and mix in uncommon tubes with the good'uns.
Cheers,
Bob
Cheers,
Bob
The oral tradition has and will be in force for the generations to come. As it has been. It's a beautiful thing.
Pass it on from side to side. When that final day comes and your face is staring up to the sky, you can say you done good.
Cheers,
Bob
I'm going to put myself in the same situation shortly and get rid of everything that I bought. I'm 52, but find too many things getting in the way of ever getting anything accomplished. With being in a job that I really despise, to my wife wanting a house, to her kid and the kid's boyfriend milking us for every penny we have with their sob stories, I'm throwing in the towel on ever doing anything for me. So, if anyone is in the Binghamton, NY area and wants to clear the stuff out, come on over.
Ray
Ray
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Well, it is a three hour drive for me across the border, but I am game for it. But think about it this way Ray (I am new here and you have been here longer than me by 3 years), starting out I had nothing except for some awesome tubes I accidentally bought while in University. Fast forward 20 years later and I am getting into the game. In the short amount of time I have had looking around -- maybe for the last 9 months, I have bought wire, solder, soldering iron, a couple of large tubes, a table top tube radio, an alarm clock tube radio (my first reaction was, "these things were in EVERYTHING! COOL!"), a box of unknown tubes at a garage sale, I look at it ALL and it amazes me (my wife shakes her head*).
I probably have enough already with the minor missing pieces like caps, nuts, bolts, and chassis (and knowledge) to maybe make something that might resemble a tube amp. It may not work properly, but it would be something. Mono at best.
Now, I don't want to ovre simplify your situation because everyone has a situation unique to themselves. 2009. If you have been around for this long, you probably have enough to do the same and make something that hisses and crackles. Ought to go and do it. Shut out the "noise that is in the background" and use what you have and build something. Make it something that you can show and be satisfied with -- make it an accomplishment. Nothing and no one can take that away from you and you might as well enjoy the music.
What you have left over, then put it up for sale. Or email me and I will make the drive out. But man needs a hobby.
* my wife says that at least she knows I am not spending money on hookers and blow or in my case, cheap hookers and Tylenol.
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