"From Fleming to Fetrons"

 2001 - TCA's Third 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 3, Number 1 - February, 2001
 
  • The 5671.
    A comprehensive report on the history and use of one of RCA's really big triodes.
  • "Sound X/TRA" and "Sound Special".
    Some of the special variants of regular products for the "audio" niche market.
    • Getters.
      From a 1962 RCA internal textbook on electron tube design, a comprehensive article on the development, varieties, and performance of getters & gettering materials.
    • And more . . .
      A book review of Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years; Confessions of a Tube Fanatic; The Most Popular Tubes in 1970; and more!
     
    On The Cover: Bob Deuel and his 5671
    Volume 3, Number 2 - April, 2001
     
    • High-Purity Nickel.
      A 1950s breakthrough for WE Tubes.
  • Early Swiss Contribution in Microwave R&D.
    Covers the work of the Swiss before and during WWII.
    • The UMAC.
      Data sheet from this unique tube(?).
    • Sarnoff Gets Ready for UV-201s.
      From and internal RCA memo of 1920, coverage of proposed tube types (mostly for hams) and their potential marketing.
    • "Seconds" in Tube Manufacture.
      The first part of a series on the roguish practices of the tube industry as to quality; ranging from "seconds" to outright fraud.
     
    On The Cover: The UMAC 606!
    Volume 3, Number 3 June, 2001
     
    • TCA Establishes Awards Programs.
      Two annual awards will be granted to honor achievement by tube collectors and historians: The Schrader and Stokes Awards.
  • Some Baird-Atomic Special Tubes.
    Descended from Hivac, details on these 1960's special purpose tubes.
    • Invasion of the Schlockers.
      More inside information on the second-rate tube sellers and their schemes.
    • The Standard or UX Base.
      Evolution of the early designs which resulted in the UX base.
    • RCA and IBM: A Field Contact.
      RCA's investigation into IBM's complaints about the tube used in the pioneering 604 computer.
     
    On The Cover: The Sperry 8404 klystron
    Volume 3, Number 4 - August, 2001
     
    • The DeForest DV-9.
      A review of this not-well-known member of DeForest's DV-DL series of tubes.
  • Computing with Tubes, the Savage Art.
    How the giant defense think-tank Rand Corporation went about building their own digital computer in 1953.
    • Uncle Sam's Tube List.
      From the early-1930's, the officially-sanctioned list of FCC-approved manufacturer's and tube types allowed for use in licensees' transmitters.
    • The 2B6, 6B5 and Their Cousins.
      History and function of this unique line of "Dynamic-Coupled" tubes.
     
    On The Cover: the E1190 power triode
    Volume 3, Number 5 - October 2001
     
    • First TCA Board and Member Meeting.
      TCA's activities, presentations and awards from TCA's inaugural meeting in September
  • Western Electric Hybrid Integrated Networks - A Review. How WE approached use of FET to replace electron tubes in specific telephone applications.
    • A Guide to Tubes of the USSR.
      A detailed look at tube types, origins, markings and other novel aspects of tubes produced by the Worker's Paradise.
    • Tube Sales - Muchow Estate.
      Results from this important collectable tube auction.
     
    On The Cover: George Fathauer during his presentation at the TCA meeting in Rochester.
    Volume 3, Number 6 - December 2001
     
    • LUMITRON - An Independent Argentine Tube Factory.
      A history of this unique company that lasted from 1962 until 1984.
  • A Guide to Buying and Testing Early Tubes.
    Essential information about tube testing criteria for battery and early AC tubes.
    • The TUNOGRAPH.
      A biography and technical details of this rare, mid-1930's visual tuning indicator tube.
    • The FETRON.
      Another in the series on solid-state tube replacement designs and applications.
    • RCA's Military Production, July 1952.
      From the Dowd-RCA archive, a breakdown of the production of JAN-qualified tubes for one month at the height of the Korean War.
    • An Ericsson Brochure.
      A 1960's-vintage sales brochure that provides insight into tube use in the telecomm/industrial sector where premium tubes were in demand.
     

    On The Cover: A Cooper-Hewitt style mercury-arc rectifier.
    Special Publication No. 3 - December, 2001
    Auction Results: Tubes, Tube-Related Books, Tube Testers, Tube-Related Display Material
    This is a 24 page compilation of sale prices for tubes and tube-related material from the better known conventional auctions and especially from eBay activity. It lists about 2300 sales of the "more important" tubes, giving information on their condition where known.