I'd absolutely love it if Brimar would actually do this - I have a single Brimar 12ax7 from some old guitar amp and that is all.
But they've been saying this for probably close to a decade.
Since the idea is still a concept, and not reality, I don't trust their pricing to be anything other than the idea; talk, without substance.
Hmm, I think Tritium gives off Beta particles already, so no heating required. Maybe leaded glass though. Nice blue glow with a little phosphor mixed in.
Now if something gives off protons or alpha particles, without gamma rays, we could make a P type tube too.
These are energetic particles, so the grid is not going to be able to stop them without 1000s of Volts unfortunately. Use them for a CCS.
Yeah, components that glow too.
Wind a few turns of LED string around an exposed OT core. Color changes with the music.
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I was thinking more like Pu238 to replace the heater using with a leaded glass bulb...
Gonna be tough to get EPA approval. Keep the lead box for disposal.
Yeah, we've already got cryogenic dipped tubes for snake oil. Could offer Reactor activated tubes. So many milli-Sieverts guaranteed.
Your Amp tubes will still glow after you turn it off.
Yeah, we've already got cryogenic dipped tubes for snake oil. Could offer Reactor activated tubes. So many milli-Sieverts guaranteed.
Your Amp tubes will still glow after you turn it off.
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Ha! Tritium beta particles have energy in MeV range. Good luck controlling these electrons with few volts on grid or anode.
Possibly, but in fairness they did seem to be progressing until everything stopped for covid.
I suppose only time will tell.
This is precious! A linear driver triode with mu of 50 and Rp of 2K (is that true?) and 350 plate volts? Am I day dreaming? Two-stage 845 or GM70 made possible?
But there must be some caveat. With 30 mA/V transconductance, wouldn't oscillation be a problem?
Indeed, who needs Russian tubes or whatever pretends to be Western Electric?
Now 12HL7 can be had on eBay for $4 if one isn't picky. Inflation...
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The more the merrier. Any production at all, even at a niche high price point, will drive the entire market to be more affordable.
Unfortunately, you are dreaming. Even in triode the screen grid does conduct some current, and going above 300 probably isn’t smart. At 330 the rating goes to zero - on most TV tubes its the screen that limits the useable triode operation range. $3 on vacuumtubes.net - at least the last time I looked. I still prefer the 6KV8 because you get a useable triode for free in the bottle too, and 20 mA/V is plenty.
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I don't think that's a big problem. At 200 V, the screen still has full dissipation rating of 1 W. Appropriate value resistor between plate and screen will ensure safe operation, without significant effect on triode characteristics. I believe stability is a problem with such tremendous gm. Matcing tubes may be also problematic.
EXCLUSIVE: WESTERN ELECTRIC CONFIRMS PLANS TO TACKLE THE TUBE CRISIS WITH ITS GEORGIA FACTORY
The pro-audio brand tells Guitar.com how it plans to bring US-made guitar amp tubes back – and why it doesn’t want to charge a premium for doing so.
That is very encouraging. And makes me happy that my hifi amp uses the same tubes as a lot of guitar amps 🙂
Put in my wish list: 6AQ5, 6BQ6GA, 6CK4, 6LW6, 6BQ7A, 6FQ7, 6SN7, 6SL7, 6AV5, 12BY7A. There are so many more, but I doubt there'd be much interest in small signal pents like 6AU6's or RF types like the 6AK5. Also ESSSSSS-loads of TV IF amp pents (I have a whole bunch of all of these anyway.)
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They may also be thinking that some lower priced tubes will bring more visibility in the market, attracting some new customers that later will become 300B buyers where they can make bigger profits ?
Given the Shuguang factory closing due to Covid and the Russian conflict, there is a massive hole in a market that wasn’t there five years ago. It could be as simple a matter of not leaving that money on the table for someone like JJ to scoop up. There’s likely an economy of scale benefit to increasing throughput despite a diminished markup but my thinking is that the primary motivation is about being competitively defensive.
Very promising news. I was impressed about WE mentioning the manufacturing process is very environmentally friendly. I thought there had to be a few concerning chemicals and residues inside tubes, Maybie not so. 👍 Pricing couldn't be higher than the inflated prices already, I saw a new ecc99 going for $140.00
This is good news. I'd love to be able to buy an American made product with customer support and guarantee. Tubes and output transformers deserve to use up the bulk of an amps budget for parts. I'm amazed WE was able to resuscitate the science and engineering of tube making considering all the people with the tribal knowledge have died.