So, I got my hands on some tubes.
Somewhere around 1000 of them and a few hundred of them are in sealed boxes, so they are not the problem.
The problem is the other 300-400 tubes in opened boxes and the other 5-6 shoe boxes of mixed tubes.
There are some power tubes (el34, el84, 6v6 mostly)
And some in the ECC-family.
But most are for me unknown.
If I go by prices on eBay I would be financially independent so I take those prices with a grain of salt...
Anyway, do you guys think it would be worth it to invest in a u-tracer, or another sub $250 tester to test the tubes and then sell them off?
I plan on keeping some for myself but most of them I want to sell of to finance other stuff.
I would appreciate any and all advice
See attached photos for some of them.
Somewhere around 1000 of them and a few hundred of them are in sealed boxes, so they are not the problem.
The problem is the other 300-400 tubes in opened boxes and the other 5-6 shoe boxes of mixed tubes.
There are some power tubes (el34, el84, 6v6 mostly)
And some in the ECC-family.
But most are for me unknown.
If I go by prices on eBay I would be financially independent so I take those prices with a grain of salt...
Anyway, do you guys think it would be worth it to invest in a u-tracer, or another sub $250 tester to test the tubes and then sell them off?
I plan on keeping some for myself but most of them I want to sell of to finance other stuff.
I would appreciate any and all advice
See attached photos for some of them.
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Hi,
cant help you with tester advice, But I see some are radio valves. I am in need of following to keep as spare for my recently repaired radio.
In bracket same pin replacement according to internet.
1) ECL82 (6BM8, 6PL12) Pentode
2) EZ80 (6V4, CV1535) Rectifier
3) EM84 (6E3P, 6FG6, CV5434) magic Eye
4) ECH81 (6AJ8, 6C12, CV2128, X719)
5) EBF89 (6DC8, 6FD12)
Regds.
cant help you with tester advice, But I see some are radio valves. I am in need of following to keep as spare for my recently repaired radio.
In bracket same pin replacement according to internet.
1) ECL82 (6BM8, 6PL12) Pentode
2) EZ80 (6V4, CV1535) Rectifier
3) EM84 (6E3P, 6FG6, CV5434) magic Eye
4) ECH81 (6AJ8, 6C12, CV2128, X719)
5) EBF89 (6DC8, 6FD12)
Regds.
Hi kmj! I am actually in the same position as you, but a bit further down the line. I bought a job lot of tubes of Blocket (around 1000, similar split of new and used), and wondered if there was any value in them.
It is trickier than you would think, and mainly because there isn't the right market place.
Anyway, first thing is to catalogue them so you know what you have, how many of each, and if they are new or used.
Some things will always go for a premium - so any of the classic small signal tubes or power output tubes, NOS, they can go on Tradera, but check the expiry of auctions since that makes quite a difference.
Some things will never sell, ever. Damper diodes (even though those in the know like them), some radio tubes, car radio tubes, etc. There are a lot of tubes out there, and you are looking for one guy with an old radio. So do you have a plan for them? I'm hoping that one day I wil have a fully equipped man cave, and will have nothing better to do than tinker. I'm an optimist ;-/
Then what is left over are the TV tubes, the audio tubes with odd heater voltages, and by the looks of your haul, some esoteric stuff that could be rare.
I bought a uTracer, but when you say it is under €250, yes it is, but you have to dedicate a lot of time to assemble it, and it has to be packaged to make it useful. I sepnt maybe 100hours on mine, mostly on the case (but maybe the next one would be a lot quicker).
My thinking was that I would buy a job lot of CV4024 (special quality ECC81), test them and sell the matched ones at a premium. Then it comes back to the market place. There is a solution, and I have a great idea how to solve it, but requires a web site of some sort.
So, I think cataloguing is the first important thing. Check for 'similar to', 'replacement for', 'different heater voltage to' type options. Then I think a good rule of thumb is 50kr for something useful, 10kr as part of a job lot for those that are not, and 50% market price for the known stuff. Remember that postage is a big part of the sale - 60kr per purchase in many cases.
Cheers Richard
It is trickier than you would think, and mainly because there isn't the right market place.
Anyway, first thing is to catalogue them so you know what you have, how many of each, and if they are new or used.
Some things will always go for a premium - so any of the classic small signal tubes or power output tubes, NOS, they can go on Tradera, but check the expiry of auctions since that makes quite a difference.
Some things will never sell, ever. Damper diodes (even though those in the know like them), some radio tubes, car radio tubes, etc. There are a lot of tubes out there, and you are looking for one guy with an old radio. So do you have a plan for them? I'm hoping that one day I wil have a fully equipped man cave, and will have nothing better to do than tinker. I'm an optimist ;-/
Then what is left over are the TV tubes, the audio tubes with odd heater voltages, and by the looks of your haul, some esoteric stuff that could be rare.
I bought a uTracer, but when you say it is under €250, yes it is, but you have to dedicate a lot of time to assemble it, and it has to be packaged to make it useful. I sepnt maybe 100hours on mine, mostly on the case (but maybe the next one would be a lot quicker).
My thinking was that I would buy a job lot of CV4024 (special quality ECC81), test them and sell the matched ones at a premium. Then it comes back to the market place. There is a solution, and I have a great idea how to solve it, but requires a web site of some sort.
So, I think cataloguing is the first important thing. Check for 'similar to', 'replacement for', 'different heater voltage to' type options. Then I think a good rule of thumb is 50kr for something useful, 10kr as part of a job lot for those that are not, and 50% market price for the known stuff. Remember that postage is a big part of the sale - 60kr per purchase in many cases.
Cheers Richard
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Wow, thanks!
Great advice!
There is another (skywalker) tubetester that comes almost fully assembled off ebay.
You need sockets and some bananaplugs/sockets only.
It costs around the same and does not curve trace but it should do the trick.
Duokit 2 - New Digital all Vacuum Tubes Tester - Kit Lampemetre Digital Complete | eBay
What do you mean?
No plans as of yet. Just get rid of as much as possible and save some of the regular stuff for an amp, preamp or so.
My plan is the same as yours but with a fiancee, two small kids and a Volvo Amazon restoration I think that could take a looong while.
We can always arrange something, if I have them 🙂
Send me a message and I'll have a look.
Quote:
... but check the expiry of auctions since that makes quite a difference. ...
What do you mean?
There is a big difference in the selling price if the auction end time coincides with people being home, twiddling their thumbs. E.g. Friday night, Saturday night and during Sunday.
I've noticed that people now see value in NOS tubes, so stuff that even I turn my nose up at goes for a reasonable price, as long as it is well pictured and described. I'm wondering if there is a bit of an investment market developing in tubes in general.
Regarding tube testing ... it's quite time consuming! It takes a couple of minutes to get a stable reading from a tube, and if you have lots of tubes, with twin triodes, triodes-pentodes included, different heater voltages, so new critieria and pin matching each time, then you will be lucky to manage 15 an hour. How much is your time worth? And what difference does it make if you have a perfectly testing remote cutoff pentode?
Nowadays I just consider myself to be the lucky custodian of my 'stuff', and one day somebody else will take over that special role.
... but check the expiry of auctions since that makes quite a difference. ...
What do you mean?
There is a big difference in the selling price if the auction end time coincides with people being home, twiddling their thumbs. E.g. Friday night, Saturday night and during Sunday.
I've noticed that people now see value in NOS tubes, so stuff that even I turn my nose up at goes for a reasonable price, as long as it is well pictured and described. I'm wondering if there is a bit of an investment market developing in tubes in general.
Regarding tube testing ... it's quite time consuming! It takes a couple of minutes to get a stable reading from a tube, and if you have lots of tubes, with twin triodes, triodes-pentodes included, different heater voltages, so new critieria and pin matching each time, then you will be lucky to manage 15 an hour. How much is your time worth? And what difference does it make if you have a perfectly testing remote cutoff pentode?
Nowadays I just consider myself to be the lucky custodian of my 'stuff', and one day somebody else will take over that special role.
Ah, the old friday-night beer "nu-jävlar-skall-jag-ha-den" trick.
The more I research prices I start to wonder if it is worth it.
The good thing with the tracer/tester is that you will probably get the investment back if you sell it built and ready for use.
Anyway, I guess I need to make an inventory first.
Most of them can probably be checked with a DMM and the bare eye.
The more I research prices I start to wonder if it is worth it.
The good thing with the tracer/tester is that you will probably get the investment back if you sell it built and ready for use.
Anyway, I guess I need to make an inventory first.
Most of them can probably be checked with a DMM and the bare eye.
As others have said : make a (computer readable ) list of all tubes that
may be shared with interested . If you have the means, publish the list
somewhere.
But skip the idea of tester, those that will buy either have their own tester
or don't care as long as it works. Those that test by themelf don't trust
your testing anyway.
Where ist this lot from?
You might well earn some money for the still sealed, NOS tubes, especially if they're well known for audio use. But for the rest? Even if they're boxed, please consider that an old radio or TV repairman might have just put worn out tubes into the boxes after having replaced them with new ones he has taken out of the same box.
And those laying loosely in the shoeboxes don't represent any value at all if not tested. Try to sell them as a lot. Good luck!
Best regards!
You might well earn some money for the still sealed, NOS tubes, especially if they're well known for audio use. But for the rest? Even if they're boxed, please consider that an old radio or TV repairman might have just put worn out tubes into the boxes after having replaced them with new ones he has taken out of the same box.
And those laying loosely in the shoeboxes don't represent any value at all if not tested. Try to sell them as a lot. Good luck!
Best regards!
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The five E80CC's on the fourth picture are nice tubes. I would keep them, even though they could sell for a good price if still new (Euro 25,-- or more per one). They are good for audio.
And there are 12AX7's/ECC83's, 12AT7's/ECC81's and 12AU7's/ECC82's as well. If still sealed, they represent some real value.
Best regards!
Best regards!
It might not be needed if you sell with "return/replacement ok" policy.
A basic test will take at least a minute + the time it takes to unpack, test
and repack the tube plus the time it takes to make a note on the tube.
In all maybe 3 minutes / tube.
Then you must ask yourself what kind if test, is it done at real voltages ?
does it include microphonic sensitivity ? Does it include noise ? Is the
measure vales stable or does it fluctuate etc. A go/nogo test might be
a waste of your time.
My thought is to use the simplest form of emission tester to sort out the bad or worn ones at first.
One can be built for a few dollars, I just need a 6V transformer.
But perhaps this one doesn't work with small tubes.
A very simple emission tester for power valves | Valve Heaven
Exactly!
I've been offered (sometimes for free!) lots of tubes by people who think they have a "gold mine" of some sort.
I turn each offer down.
I don't need to deal with wondering if those tubes are useable or not.
And I don't care if they state "in boxes" because as you mentioned, they are not always "new".
Only the uneducated and stupid/greedy assume that "boxed" tubes are worth anything.
The stock of tubes that I have - I know the quality of each one, and before use, it's tested anyway.
Doing service for customers doesn't allow me to assume quality or reliability, it's got to be done properly, I like to keep my good standing and reputation intact.
But if the tubes are in sealed boxes you have to assume that they are ok.
I have sorted out at least 8xel84 Telefunken in plastic wrapped boxes. Four Telefunken EL34 in boxes and around 10x6V6GT in mint boxes, snuggly wrapped in paper and looks for the word as pristine as from the production line.
I have sorted out at least 8xel84 Telefunken in plastic wrapped boxes. Four Telefunken EL34 in boxes and around 10x6V6GT in mint boxes, snuggly wrapped in paper and looks for the word as pristine as from the production line.
Will do.
In regards to a first step in testing the other tubes, how does this sound?
1. Check coating for white stuff.
2. Multimeter to check for shorts or burned filament.
3. Apply 6.3V to filament and check for a nice glow.