Price is right, but no control over selection. I have enough plinkers in my tube inventories without adding more. These days my tube acquisitions are more focused on things I'll actually use.
Giant clear dome might solve some diffraction problems around smaller FR drivers - G20898 - Giant Clear Dome
Someone might want these oil filled capacitors for their tube amp - G25189 - Industrial Midwec Viscofilm Oil-Filled 0.25MFD 1,000V Metal Case Capacitor
Someone might want these oil filled capacitors for their tube amp - G25189 - Industrial Midwec Viscofilm Oil-Filled 0.25MFD 1,000V Metal Case Capacitor
These days my tube acquisitions are more focused on things I'll actually use.
I have not bought any tubes since Stan (ESRC) passed. These tubes are about $1.50 each plus shipping. I could get lots of stuff that I want from Stan at or below that price.
I watched the Ebay video slowly to look at the numbers, and didn't see anything that started with a 6, or was actually useful except the 8BQ5. Given today's high line voltages and generous overvoltage from the power transformer most of my old 8BQ5's play just fine in an EL34 based amp like my SPP.
I will take a random selection of odd voltage tubes only if it's free AND contains a few tubes that I will actually use, like TV sweep tubes. I tend to take them home, pick out what I want and sell or give away the rest at the next hamfest, which has been a problem since there hasn't been a real hamfests with a swap meet in a couple years. My hamfest sell pile has grown to about the capacity of my minivan.
I have bought lots of stuff from the Goldmine over the last 20 years though, lately it's been vintage semiconductors like the LM1035 voltage controlled tone stacks that will find their way into a guitar amp or music synthesizer.
Their LDR/LED photocouplers (low buck Vactrol) are useful in synthesizer and audio compressor projects. Most of their good stuff vanishes quickly, but the photocouplers have been around for a few years. They are probably rejects since they are all over the place spec wise but I wait for a sale and buy a bunch so that I can make matched sets.
I have bought snap-in electrolytics from them for nearly 20 years and haven't been burned yet, but I stick to Panasonic, Nichicon, and United Chemicon brands. Maybe 10 years ago they had 100 uF 450 volt Panasonic caps cheap, so I got a few, liked them, then called them up and bought a few hundred. They are all gone now. Only one blew up, and it was because the blond dummy put the diodes in backwards.....I don't know what it is with me and diodes.
They also have some rotary encoders made by Alps. They work fine with Arduino / Teensy projects if you put a 1000 pf cap across the contacts. I got a couple hundred on sale for 20 cents each. Shipping cost more than the parts.
Some of their stuff is way overpriced. They want $5 for a 32ET5 vacuum tube. That tube is still on the dollar list at vacuumtubes.net. I got a bunch from Stan years ago for low buck guitar amps. 4 watts from a pair on 165 volts, 10 watts from a pair on 340 volts.
Last edited: