"History - Preservation - Application"

 2008 - TCA's Tenth 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 10, Number 1 - February, 2008
  • GE's CRT Production in Syracuse, NY
    A chronology ending with the cessation of production in May, 1987.
  • DuMont "House Numbered" Tubes - 2
    A continuation of the December 2007 Tube Collector article with additional information.
  • Early Development of the Reflex Klystron - Part 1
    An in-depth discussion covering US and European types.
  • Bernie Magers
    Obituary of this noted tube author.
  • Weird Tube of the Month - The NB1-NB8 Ballasts
    Unusual Raytheon multi-purpose ballasts.
    • 1999 to 2007 Cumulative Index
    On The Cover: Danial Stocks, Australian microwave tube expert, visits Ron Lawrence and his "Radio Heaven" display in North Carolina
    Volume 10, Number 2 - April, 2008
    • DuMont Cathode Ray Tubes: 1932-42
      A succinct description of DuMont's first decade of CRTs
    • Could This Be the WE 712?
      A radar tube expert makes a good case for identifying a putative WE 712A.
    • The 4-400A, Your Results May Vary
      Period reports of problems with the Eimac 4-400A.
  • The Radar Man
    A nifty WWII vintage bit of poetry.
  • Illuminating Your Tube Collection
    Some ideas on displaying tubes with lit filaments.
  • Status of Type 6080WA
    An in-house RCA flyer to salesmen explaining the shortage of supply of this type in late 1956.
    • Weird Tube of the Month: The 7C22
      An unusual Western Electric twin triode metal cased oscillator.
    • Elman Myers' Resume
      A large grain of salt is necessary to swallow the circa 1966 resume of this early tube manufacturer.
    • Pros and Cons of Self-Service Tube Testers
      A reprise of an article originally appearing in the February 1956 issue of The Philco Serviceman.
    • RCA's Orphan 91
      The "scoop" on this rare RCA mercury thyratron.
    On The Cover: The Western Electric 7C22.
    Volume 10, Number 3 - June, 2008
    • Tube Auction Results - Carolinas Chapter - AWA
    • Another Weird Tube - The "Mini-Loktal"
      An odd Tungsram series designed to compete in the loktal market.
    • A Tale of Two Camera Tubes
      A description of the operation, development, and differences of the Farnsworth image disector and the Zworykin iconoscope.
  • Eimac's Wartime Serial Numbers
    A letter from the boss himself elucidate the meaning of their serial numbers.
  • Weird Tube Of The Month - The A4444
    A RCA UHF developmental pentode with the grid out the top.
  • Selling More Tubes
    More tricks of the trade from the February 1933 issue of Service.
    • Signal Corps Tubes - A 1931 View
      A 1931 Signal Corps list show which tubes they actually used.
    • RCA Radiotron Sales Manual
      A detailed internal RCA training manual ca. 1931.
    • The Triad Type 30S
      A 30 with a top cap designed for transmitting use - from a 1933 Triad pamphlet.
    • TCA Member Directory
    On The Cover: The Eimac X-8 triode of July 1942. One of many prototypes leading to the 527 power tube.
    Volume 10, Number 4 - August, 2008
    • Development of the "P" Tube (VT-3)
      Western Electric memo from 1918.
    • A 1950 Audiophile View of Tubes
      A note on the quality of receiving tubes from 1950.
    • Review: The Tube Guys
      Microwave tubes and their makers. Reviewed by Ludwell Sibley.
  • The First RCA Experimental, Developmental and Production Transistors.
    A list of RCA numbers compiled by Joe Knight.
  • The Additron: A Binary Full-Adder in a Tube
    Early tubes developed for digital-computer applications.
  • Wierd Tube of the Month - The 6793
    A vacuum relay from 1957.
    • Eitel and Armstrong Work Together
      The transcript of a WWII conversation between Bill Eitel and Major Armstrong.
    • Pruning the Product Line
      Removal of Manufacturing Responsibility for 13 Tube Types.
    • The Tubster and Friends
      Home-constructed solid state replacements for popular tubes.
    • Restoring Magic-Eyes - Sadder But Wiser
    On The Cover: The rare and prestigious Western Electric / Signal Corps VT-3.
    Volume 10, Number 5 - October, 2008
    • Radio Rescue
      A book review by Jim Cross.
    • Construction of a Vacuum Tube
      A translation of an exerpt from Wireless Telegraphy for Amateurs ca. 1923.
    • The Sheldon 6S78
      A "beefed up" version of the 6SN7GT.
  • Preferred tube Types
    The Answer to an Old Problem
  • Wierd Tube of the Month - The 8428
    A five-stage secondary emission electron multiplier.
  • More on "Export" Tubes
    Mofified standard tubes for the export market.
    • The Triad T-10S
      New Tubes Prove Big Boon to Amateur Radio Transmitters.
    • Tube-Base Materials and Construction
      Base Nomenclature Material Identifying Letters.
    • "Replace All Tubes"
      The Radio Service Man, May 1931.
    • "RCA Standards for Pinouts"
      RCA's attempt to standardize tube development.
    On The Cover: Lee De Forest and Roy Weagant "When Grid and Gridless Meet".
    Volume 10, Number 6 - December, 2008
    • TCA Board and Membership Meeting, Oct 3 & 4.
    • Further Investigations of the Rectifier - Gammatron
      Tests on the 6X4W Tubes for Gammatron Operation.
    • The Triple Twin and Dynamic Coupling
      A reprint from Radio Age.
    • Farnsworth's Cold-Cathode Electron Multiplier Uses Neither Grid Nor Filament
      A reprint from Radio, October 1934.
  • Wierd Tube of the Month - The 5TV4
    More output than the 5U4G for TV Applications.
  • The Elusive Lestron
    A 110 volt AC/DC receiving tube. No A or B Battery Needed.
  • Tube Testing - And You Want Consistency
    Plotting Tube Test Results.
    • Low - Voltage Tubes - The 6AJ5
      Tubes Designed For Operation At 28 Volts.
    • RCA Factory Codes - An Expansion.
      RCA Plant-Identifier Codes.
    On The Cover: Removing sealed-off tubes from a small Sealex machine at the De Forest Radio Co. plant in Passaic, NJ, about 1931".
    Special Publication No. 14 - August 2008
    EIMAC's MAGIC BOOKS
    In the patent-department files in the Permam-Eimac archive are two old-fashioned ledger books, of the cloth-covered style with prenumbered pages. Labeled "Raytheon Royality Book" they carried hand-written notations of about 6000 tube sales. A great running history of the first years of Eimac. The ledger material is suplemented with period data and photographs. It is dedicated to the late TCA member Lane Upton.
     
    Special Publication No. 15 - October 2008
    The RJ4 Detector and the Wallace Mystery
    This booklet originally appeared in 1978 as Antique Wireless Association Monograph (New Series) No. 1. It has been out of print for a long time, but is an important work by Gerald Tyne who had excellent research resources and personal contact with major individuals from the "wireless days".