My guitar teacher was existing explaining that the auntie biggest and most reliable vacuum tube manufacturing plant is in Russia and likely to be shuttered forever. I play a katana, so I don't care directly, but...
How hard can it be? I know automation and I know mechanical and some electrical stuff. Should I design an automated assembly system and turn it on when I go to work and produce vacuum tubes in my garage?
Explain why I should.
I can't make it make sense, but if you ever produce any el34, 12ax7, or 6v6 tubes, I'd buy a few of each.
Well, it looks really easy to make them using basic tools:
Like everything else, it may be simple to make but the demand is so low that why bother making them. It saddens me a little bit as I had a heath-kit receiver that my dad and I built when I was a kid.
All the tubes you had to source locally for the kit. We would spend weekends at Radio shack getting new tubes and testing old ones to get just the best ones that were closest to the recommended specs. They had a machine in the store hooked to an oscilloscope in the store for the public to use. The tuner turned out good, really good actually. We made a surround out of 1/4" hardware cloth so you could see all the tubes glowing but keep little hands out of it. It had a warm sound. I don't know what happened to that thing. I wish I had it today.
I would enjoy tinkering and building a project or two with vacuum tubes, but the combination of relative popularity and short supply makes them too bloody expensive for me to consider. I have enough expensive hobbies now.
And I just watched the How it's Made video. I'm not sure I'd call that easy. Lots of skill, not to mention equipment. I suspect a small manufacturer could eventually make a profit.
I'm thinking of how to automate that. The glass bits are the hardest to figure out. Hard to melt, hard to control, and important to package correctly.
dean1484 said:Like everything else, it may be simple to make but the demand is so low that why bother making them. It saddens me a little bit as I had a heath-kit receiver that my dad and I built when I was a kid.
All the tubes you had to source locally for the kit. We would spend weekends at Radio shack getting new tubes and testing old ones to get just the best ones that were closest to the recommended specs. They had a machine in the store hooked to an oscilloscope in the store for the public to use. The tuner turned out good, really good actually. We made a surround out of 1/4" hardware cloth so you could see all the tubes glowing but keep little hands out of it. It had a warm sound. I don't know what happened to that thing. I wish I had it today.
I am not sure demand is really low. I want to find out.
A quick search reveals no shortage of current news articles addressing the tube shortage.
There is at least one place in the US still making them. https://www.westernelectric.com/
Their website says they are looking to expand their lineup to include other tubes. Might be worth a call.
In reply to Toyman! :
Holy crap those tubes are stupidly expensive.
In reply to Beer Baron :
Yes, they are.
In reply to Toyman! :
Those 300B are audiophile fodder. Guitar amps tubes make more financial sense.
In reply to tuna55 :
Let me rephrase my earlier statement.
I'll buy the tubes I mentioned earlier as long as they don't cost anything near the ones Toyman! linked.
There are other places that still make new tubes that arent Russia.
https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/ - sourced globally
http://www.kraudio.com/ - Czech
https://www.jj-electronic.com/en/ - Slovak
https://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/shop/vacuum-tubes - Mostly Slovak
There are also a couple places out of china, but I am not familiar with any of them.
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