"History - Preservation - Application"

 2007 - TCA's Ninth Year
When you join the TCA you automatically get the current year's back issues! If you have questions, please contact TCA's editor, Lud Sibley: tubelore@jeffnet.org.

Volume 9, Number 1 - February, 2007
  • Book Review - Schweitzer Elektronenrohren 1917-2003
    Swiss Electron Tubes - Development, Production, Application 1917 to 2003.
  • Tektronix CRT History - Part 4: Innovations 1959-1961
    Noted CRT expert Peter Keller continues his comprehensive history of Tektronix CRTs.
  • A New Technique in Receiving Tube Designs
    A descrition of new techniques at Philips cerca 1938.
  • Increasing Tube Sales
    A sure-fire way to increase tube sales from the Novemebr 1933 issue of Service magazine.
  • More on the Problem of the Flaking of Emission Coating
    Noted author Bernard Magers comments on solutions to coating flaking problems found a Western Electric.ers and even a magnetron-powered receiver are decribed.
    • Three Reasons for Blue Glow
      A reprint of an article originally in a 1934 issue of the Sylvnaia News which explains the three types of blue glow seen in tubes (flourescence, mercury vapor haze, and gas).
    • A Dual Standard for Tube Quality
      An internal RCA standard for distingushing between "manufacturer's stock" and "distributor's stock".
    • Cumulative Index
    On The Cover: Eduard Willi, Swiss Tube History Author with a Signum G 2 H 34 rectifier
    Volume 9, Number 2 - April, 2007
    • The Sylvania Subminiature Tube Program
      Reprise of a paper presented by Sylvnaia in 1951
    • All- Metal Tubes
      A reprint from the December 1935 issue of Service.
    • Philco Views Metal Tubes
      Predictably, Philco did not like them.
  • Squelching the 1851
    An example of how a manufacturer defcides to remove a tube from production.
  • Physical Exhibits in the Arnold-Langmuir Litigation
    A pictoral listing of some important and rare tubes.
    • Weird Tube of the Month: The 5738
      An unusual Federal Telephone and Radio commutator tube.
    • An "Industry Directory" from RCA
      A listing of RCA licensees from 1946 through 1953.
    • Launching the UV201: A GE View
      A July 1920 GE memorandum on vacuum tube development to date
    • "Specifying" the SE-3119
      The detailed Navy specification of what was sold commercially as the type 860 tetrode.
    On The Cover: Eimac X-1 developmental triode.
    Volume 9, Number 3 - June, 2007
    • Sylvania Special CRTs
      A technical history of the industruial and military tube department, picture tube division, at Seneca Falls, NY
    • RCA Tube Tags
      Examples of early RCA promotional price tags in the shape of tubes.
    • More on Blue Glow
      A detailed discussion on the effects of unwanted gas inside a tube.
  • Adaptors for Vacuum Tube Testing
    An overview of commercial and home-made adaptors for testing tubes.
  • Signal Corps Codes on Tubes
    Inspection office codes can help identify where a tube was made.
    • Multi-Filament Tubes
      Some unusual 201A variants with extra filaments (in case one burned out).
    • Weird Tube of the Month: The 7739
      An variant of the Western Electric 416 types registered by DuMont!
    • RCA's Hidden Delta
      The presence of the triangle at the bottom of the glass can identify some RCA-made tubes.
    • RCA and "Child Labor" Tubes
      How to identify tubes assembled by Minors at RCA's Lancaster, PA plant.
    • Inks for Marking Tubes
      RCA standardizing notice decribing types and colors of inls to be used.
    • TCA Member Directory
    On The Cover: Rare General Electric type 8009 triode designed for prewar TV service.
    Volume 9, Number 4 - August, 2007
    • Robert Adler and Tubes
      Dr. Robert Adler's remarkable career at Zenith included several novel tube designs
    • Civilian "Military" Tubes
      The military purchased some tubes to regular civilian specifications
    • Amperex "Special Quality" Tubes
      Amperex's take on their special quality tubes; from an Amperex pamphlet
    • A Barkhausen Receiver
      A translation of a 1930 French article on using a Barkhausen circuit in a receiver.
    • Cleaning Water Cooling Systems
      A 1959 Eimac news letter details the care and feeding of water cooling systems for tubes.
  • TCA Board and Members Meetings for 2007 and the MARC Extravaganza
    Official nusiness, the annual meeting, and a report on the coinciding MARC radio meet.
  • History of the Development of Vacuum Tubes and Vacuum Tube Sockets
    Western Elctric's previousdly unpublished, in-house, "official" history of tube development during WWI
    • Weird Tube of the Month: The 6462
      An unusual National Union type designed as a magnetic pickup!
    On The Cover: Tube branding machine at the deForest plant ca. 1928
    Volume 9, Number 5 - October, 2007
    • Robert Adler and Tubes
      Dr. Robert Adler's remarkable career at Zenith included several novel tube designs
    • Review: Radiola - The Golden Age of RCA, 1919-1929
    • Tube Exhibits at AWA-Rochester
      Pictures from the 2007 AWA conference contest room
    • Tektronix CRT History - Part 5
      The Hybrid Years: 1961 - 1964
    • Front Ends of Early Radar Receivers
      A description of systems and tubes involved.
  • Tubes vs Transistors: 1952
    How industry viewed the future of transistors in 1952.
  • Tubes with Quicksilver
    A survey of tubes containing mercury
    • Weird Tube of the Month: The 6047
      A Rogers Majestic binary counter tube
    On The Cover: The Eitel McCullough X-7 triode of mid-1942, one of the many exploratory designs leadinf to the 527 radar tube
    Volume 9, Number 6 - December, 2007
    • Notes from the TCA Conference of November 3, 2007
    • Revisiting the 4-250A
      Letters from the Perham archive illuminate the culture at Eimac.
    • Experiences with the 416C Tube at Eimac/Varian
      The story of how Eimac almost made 416C tubes.
    • Tektronix CRT History - Part 6
      CRTs for solid-state instruments: 1964 - 1967
    • Mr Laughton Windus and the Art of Valve Reconstruction
      A chapter of Argentine valve history.
    • DuMont House-Numbered Tubes - 1
      A listing or DuMont types with non-RMA numbers
  • Birth of a Star - The 2A3
    From a confidential RCA advisory to radio manufacturers.
  • RCA and Marine Tube Sales
    A 1922 memo giving details of early RCA tube sales to Marine competitors
    • Weird Tube of the Month: The 6DK3
      A damper diode with an unusual basing diagram
    On The Cover: The Eitel-McCullough 4-250A tetrode as of 1948
    Special Publication No. 13 - February 2007
    General Electric Tungar Bulb Data Manual
    This is a reproduction of a catalog from the Appliance and Merchandise Department of the General Electric Company, located at Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is undated, but probably from the early 1950s. It shows their product line of that time. A newly-added section at the center gives equivalent tubes of other brands.