"From Fleming to Fetrons"

 1999 - TCA's First Year
You can purchase this full year of Tube Collector
$18 for North America, $23 elsewhere. Each year's set includes all six issues of Tube Collector as well as the Special Publication. You may order through the Club's Ashland, OR address. If you have questions, please contact TCA's editor, Lud Sibley: tubelore@jeffnet.org.

Volume 1, Number 1 - February, 1999
 
  • Lloyd Espenshied on Audion Sales:
    Find out about de Forest's production of Audions from 1909 to 1913 and who bought them.
  • RCA and Private Brands:
    Who were the 275 or so companies with their brand on RCA-manufactured tubes.
    • More on Schickerling:
      A bit of history on this enigmatic tube maker and their "unique selling proposition."
     
    On The Cover: The Overall Assembly Drawing for a RCA Type 36.
     
    Volume 1, Number 2 - April, 1999
     
    • TCA Member Survey.
      What the membership thinks is important for TCA to provide.
  • Tube Kits From RCA.
    From the early 1930's, how RCA marketed groups of tubes for particular sets.
    • Western Electric Developmental Tubes of the 1930's. Comprehensive developmental information on 1930's Western Electric tubes.
    • Date Codes for RCA-Made Tubes.
      Unravels (most) of the mystery of RCA's date-coding system from the 1930's and beyond.
     
    On The Cover: Different RCA Crate and Lot Markings
     
    Volume 1, Number 3 - June, 1999
     
    • WLS - The Station?
      Everything you'd want to know about tubes branded by the World's Largest Store . . .
  • From the Braun Tube to the Information Age, 1897-1997. The 100th Anniversary of the CRT.
    • HIVAC - A Small British Manufacturer.
      Features and innovations of Britain's foremost independent valve maker.
    • Chatty Crate Markings at RCA.
      The elaborate scheme of marking crates of tubes depending on the unique circumstances of shipment or status of contents.
     
    On The Cover: RCA Type 906 and Tektronix Type T51 CRTs
    Volume 1, Number 4 - August, 1999
     
    • Radio Tubes and Boxes of the 1920's.
      Review the visual arts aspect of the wide variety of brands of early tubes.
  • Testing Early Western Electric Tubes on a Heathkit.
    Some of the settings and pitfalls of testing WE tubes on Heathkit emission testers such as the IT-17 and IT-21.
    • The HIVAC A15.
      More on HIVAC and their "Jack of All Trades" tube, the A15.
    • The WD-11.
      The new low-current-filament tube marked a new era in radio communications.
     
    On The Cover: "Radio Tubes and Boxes of the 1920s"
    Volume 1, Number 5 - October, 1999
     
    • Tubes from Rochester.
      A review of the tube activities at the AWA conference at Rochester, NY in early September.
  • RCA and Cunningham Tubes to 1933.
    A very thorough article by Jim Cross covering the early history and development of RCA and Cunningham tubes.
    • Base Stampings on RCA Metal Tubes.
      Unlocks the secrets to stamping markings for about 50 tube types by RCA and other makers.
     
    On The Cover: A Display of Tubes from the AWA Conference
    Volume 1, Number 6 - December, 1999
     
    • Tube Trivia: How Do You Number the Pins?
      A primer on the methods used to number the pins on a variety of tubes.
  • WECo Checks Out Others' Tubes.
    The "competitive analysis" conducted by Western Electric in the early 1920's in search of interesting developments by other tube makers.
    • Equivalents Among '30s British Tubes.
      Submitted by Philip Taylor, background info and a table of equivalencies by manufacturer.
    • L.M. Ericsson and Tubes.
      From the Swedish firm's official centennial history, the history and products produced by LME's tube manufacturing subsidiary.
     
    On The Cover: Marconi Osram T-4 Triode
    Special Publication No. 1
    Manhattan College Vacuum Tube Musem - List of Displays
  • This 105 page booklet contains descriptions of the thousands of tubes in the display panels prepared by Brother Patrick Dowd at the Manhattan College. This is nominally a guide to the tubes displayed in Bro. Dowd's renowned collection, with historical tidbits relating to the more unusual ones. However, it also contains articles by Bro. Dowd on RCA tube developer George Rose, the origins of TV camera tubes, and the development of solid-state image scanners. His list of 600+ brands of 201A tubes is included. This book has lately been updated to match changes in the displays. The displays have many important early types from Western Electric, RCA, and deForest, including many tubes of which few examples are known.
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