IT is true that Ei operated on a Philips licence since the late 60s. This license was likely for Noval octal and magnoval TV tube types. And that later on telefunken machinery and components where supplied
Hi,
In Europe you'd find EI valves in Novak TV sets back in the sixties.
One should also consider the political context of those days, sure they were a Philips licensee but this was a communist country under dictatorship.
I recall contacting the factory in Nis back in the eighties but it was hopeless, not a single soul spoke any english.
I read about TFK tooling being used which is quite possible but seems odd though.
Cheers, 😉
In Europe you'd find EI valves in Novak TV sets back in the sixties.
One should also consider the political context of those days, sure they were a Philips licensee but this was a communist country under dictatorship.
I recall contacting the factory in Nis back in the eighties but it was hopeless, not a single soul spoke any english.
I read about TFK tooling being used which is quite possible but seems odd though.
Cheers, 😉
Their TV valves looked like Philips, and were often sold under Philips/Mullard branding in the West.
Some of their ECC83 looked like Telefunken.
Some of their ECC83 looked like Telefunken.
In the 1970ies I've cannibalized two identical b/w TV's of Yugoslavian origin, badged Televox. They still both had their original sets of Ei tubes. They were entirely PTP soldered. Everything within them resembled Philips, the transformers, the »Mustard« capacitors etc. Even the AF amplifier was typical Philips, an OTL power stage with a PCL82 as the lower and a PL84 as the higher valve, driving a high impedance speaker.
Best regards!
Best regards!
why is that of any relevance ?
in fact , Ex YU was greatly connected to both West and East , exactly tnx to that Dictator politics
back in the 80-ies (at least early ones) - they didn't needed anyone knowing English , having enough market for intended production
though , they certainly spoke same language with D. Manley , but later we know wat happened , with entire country
I am wondering what happened with the Factory tube testers and the other bits of special equipment, one of those bench type testers would be the ultimate machine for any serious Hi-FI tube reseller.
Yeah ive read that before, im still surprised this site is still up and running, they also have a page still viewable with their tube listings lol
from what i see, their ECC83, look like a telefunken smooth plate inside a philips envelope with the crimped glass on the top.
Something else interesting about Ei tubes is their EL34 and other larger power tubes have the envelopes evacuated at the top of the tube rather than the base. Ive never seen any other brands like this, so im assuming this is unique machinery to their plant.
OK here is an update.
Ive just heard back from Bob from GBVP after enquiring about the machinery from the Ei plant and he confirms to me that the machines they have were from the Ei plant in serbia.
He tells me that after the restoration of the equipment they believe that they are the by far the best machines in europe and probably china, which I totally believe.
This is good news, as we know that at least the equipment they got was saved and not all was dumped, he tells me its a long story, but im guessing that they managed to rescue it from the scrap heap or something along those lines.
he also tells me they are adding CNC tech to the grid winding machines etc, which makes sense and will make things much better.
Ive just heard back from Bob from GBVP after enquiring about the machinery from the Ei plant and he confirms to me that the machines they have were from the Ei plant in serbia.
He tells me that after the restoration of the equipment they believe that they are the by far the best machines in europe and probably china, which I totally believe.
This is good news, as we know that at least the equipment they got was saved and not all was dumped, he tells me its a long story, but im guessing that they managed to rescue it from the scrap heap or something along those lines.
he also tells me they are adding CNC tech to the grid winding machines etc, which makes sense and will make things much better.
He tells me they are building ageing racks built on the traditional technology with a bit of automation added, not quite the same as those bench testers, but im sure they will have similar equipment built if they need it.
Thanks for the update.
Out of interest the old factory building was still there in 2014 and Google mapped it. You can ''drive'' right round it too.
Clearly not in production, but parts of it are being cared for. (Though I would not want to eat at Gastro Oprema...)
Google Maps
If you pan out there is an 'Ei PCB Factory' very near by?
Google Maps
Alan
Yes i saw that PCB factory when looking round in streetview.
Looks like they declared bankruptcy in 2016, sad thing is they could have turned round their debt if they kept producing tubes and marketing them properly. it looked like they had been making attempts to restart production and they had registered the eitubes.com domain name which i was always checking for updates on the "watch this space" banner that was displayed.
Anyway, the factory looks like a rather sad state when you look round the back. I dont know what fate the rest of their business had, but they were producing medical equipment and the such not that long ago when i was looking.
Looks like these guys here Swisslion Group - Wikipedia are using part of the complex now.
Upside is at least this machinery has been saved.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.