| Author |
Message |
    
Airplane1
Intermediate Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 288
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 6:31 pm: | 
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Hi, I want a good old vintage CB base unit just have and even talk on from time to time, I dont want a expensive radio so maybe someone out there knows what kind is reasonable priced now days.
I see lots of vintage cbs on ebay but dont know anything about tube sets but they go from under $100 to thousands. |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 741
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 7:45 pm: |
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Airplane, get a Browning and get on the air;)
Here's one that I use quite a bit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/Familystuff/radios/100_0880.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/Familystuff/radios/100_0891.jpg |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 104
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 9:10 pm: |
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Well, he said he didn't want an expensive one, the Browning is probably the most expensive, but best old tube radio around. Although I couldn't think of a less expensive one made with the quality and look's of the Browning, I like my Teaberry Model "T" pretty good and while mine is only 23 channel they did make a 40 channel version.
btw Scrapiron63, NICE Eagle you got there, I have ALWAYS wanted one, just can't afford one.  |
Racer_x
Junior Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 16
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 10:28 pm: |
|
Coyote - I think there are a group of Tram fans out there that may disagree about what the best tube rig made was.
Love those Browning key beeps though. |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 742
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 11:12 pm: |
|
Thanks Coyote. I like the old radios from the 60's and 70's to look at and use sometimes, they are nice conversation pieces. I've got several and did have many more. They were good in their day, but i've got a ranger, connex, magnum and a couple galaxys for everyday use. They are much better all around than those old relicts of the past. |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 743
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 8:10 am: |
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Speaking of Trams, I've got a friend here close that has a collection, here's a picture he made last week, he actually has 9 of them, but just got 6 in this picture. At one time, I had that many Brownings. Kinda sick, huh.  |
Hotwire
Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 97
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 9:34 am: |
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There are so many tubes bases with regular qaulity. Try looking for a Johnson white face or black face or a Courrier. They can still be found at flea markets for cheap and still working. Cobra Cams are not bad either. Make sure the inside isn't full of dust and crud. Most are. |
Grumpy8220
Intermediate Member
Username: Grumpy8220
Post Number: 104
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 9:52 am: |
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Airplane1,
The Robyn T240D is a nice old tube radio. The Teaberry Model T,Gemtronix 5000 are also good for a basic tube radio.
I own all of the above plus many more,Browning,Tram,Dak etc. But for a basic tube radio the Robyn T240D is a really nice radio and you should be able to pick one up for less then $100!
You didn't mention if you wanted a 23 or 40 channel tube radio. Lafayette made some good 23 channel tube radio's as did General,Johnson,Cobra, Courier and the list goes on!
Hope this helps,good luck... |
Hotwire
Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 99
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 10:14 am: |
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Oh yeah those Robyns realy talk good. I knew a kid who run barefoot a Yellow Robyn and walked the dog, And kicked the cat! Too bad he was a troublemaker and nobody wanted to talk back. |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 743
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 10:38 am: |
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Grumpy I've had all three of those radios in the past, but not at the same time, all good radios. A question, is the Model T, GTX 5000 and T-240D about the same radio, or is there more difference in them than I remember. scrapiron |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1008
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 11:27 am: |
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Airplane,
If you want AM and SSB, check out the Tram D201A. Amazing radio with a 6L6 final. LOTS of headroom!
If you only want AM, then my pick is the Teaberry Modet T (40 channel version). I resatored one a couple years ago and it works amazingly well. The audio is simply dreamy.
No matter what, you MUST replace every single electrolytic capacitor in the radio. If not, don't use it. Eventually (even if it 'works' right now) one of the electrolytis will short and that may damage something nearly irreplaceable inside the radio, like the power transformer.
The addition of a fuse and an ICL is also nice to protect the power supply and prolong tube life.
BTW, if you replace all the out of tolerance resistors too, you will improve tube life a LOT. |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 105
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 11:56 am: |
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Racer X, OH YEAH.. Tram... slipped my mind about Tram. Still outta my price range tho.
Tram is a good one, but still like the looks of the Browning. And he did say he wanted one that wasn't expensive.  |
Racer_x
Junior Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 19
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 5:06 pm: |
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Coyote - I paid less for my ALL ORIGINAL and nearly mint D201 than I paid for my Uniden Grant - $100 (Sorry Bruce - I couldn't resist). It's still got all Tram tubes in it. I don't use it because I don't have a manual, I haven't done any kind of restoration, and I don't want to damage it. A friend (who has more tube CB equipment from Laconia than you can shake a stick at) checked it out for me and it works fine minus an S-meter that jumps around. It sure looks pretty on the shelf though, and one day when I feel confident in my ability to restore it to operating condition, I'll do just that. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2241
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 6:16 pm: |
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I agree with 833 I will be restoring 2 cb radios which i have had since they were new in the 60's.
1) REPLACE THE CAPS! or KBOOM!
2) Carbon resistors ( the ones with flat ends ) go bad by obsorbing moisture and will DISTROY tubes.
3) do as little tunning as you can coils realy dont move that much! |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 746
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 7:23 pm: |
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Racer X: I've got 12 pages from the Tram manuel scanned to my computer so I could sent them to others. They are the main ones you need for adjustments, tuneup, trouble shooting and tube layout. The are in jpeg, about 150kb per page. I'll be glad to email them to you if you like. My email address is in my profile, let me know. Scrapiron |
Racer_x
Junior Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 21
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 8:42 pm: |
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Thanks Scrapiron63, but after I made that post I did a little looking around on the net and found the manual. |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 106
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 10:53 pm: |
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Racer X, Man, you got a deal! They go for a couple hundred or more on that internet auction site they don't like us to mention on here. I'm sure you didn't get it there, did you? |
Racer_x
Junior Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 23
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 11:38 pm: |
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Coyote - I picked it up at a local hamfest before anyone ever heard of that internet auction site. The guy wanted to sell it to someone who would take good care of it. I only had $100 with me, so that's what he took. Before I paid for it my friend and I took a look at it and were impressed that the Tram labeled tubes were still in it. It apparently wasn't used a great deal. It's the D201 with VOX. |
Sonny
Junior Member
Username: Sonny
Post Number: 28
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 6:39 pm: |
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Airplane,
Get a DAK Mark IX I think they made two
tube sets one AM only and one am/ssb. There is also a Mod out there to increase power via a tube
mod. Or get a Stoner Pro 40 solid state (SSB only)
I have one of those had it since new. |
Tech291
Moderator
Username: Tech291
Post Number: 96
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 8:26 pm: |
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Sonny,
fyi,the Dak mkIX is am only and the mkX is am/ssb.the mkX being the last one they made.
the only tube is the final itself.
tech291
CEF#291
kc8zpj |
Azstorm
Junior Member
Username: Azstorm
Post Number: 24
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 8:59 pm: |
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Airplane1,you have an e mail.:-) |
Racer_x
Junior Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 25
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 9:03 pm: |
|
Well, the driver and final are tubes - at least in the Dak X - and the rest is solid state.
Sonny - How do you like the Stoner? I've heard that they are absolutely the best SSB CBs ever made. |
Airplane1
Intermediate Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 289
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 7:10 am: |
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Wow, lots of info guys, Would an Internet Auction Site be a good place to find a vintage radio? If anyone has info on where to get these radios please email me.
I wish I had the funds for the Brownings,They look alsome! 833, Where can I find a Tram D201A?
I do want a working radio/restored or restorable.
Thanks very much everyone for the great help,
Roger
|
Airplane1
Intermediate Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 292
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 11:06 am: |
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I got offered a Cobra Cam 88 for $100 working condition tubes at about 70% w/original mic and it has the power cord also.
Can anyone tell me if this sounds good and is that a good tube base?
Thanks |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2254
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 12:34 pm: |
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Airplane
I looked it up unless its SPOTLESS it's not worth a plug nickle. I know there is a nastalga with tube sets but most are JUNK. It was a god sent when TRANSISTORS replaced them. I realy don't understand ( except true colectables ) Why anyone would want this old JUNK?
Trams, Brownings, Cleggs Polycomms and Hamerlands i can see if MINT .... they were good radios and still are for there day. It has been blown out by Internet Auctions outragous prices .... WORST CASE A WW2 ARC-5 reciever $160!
A ARC-5 thats nuts we bought them new for $16 back in the 60's and could not GIVE them away back in the early 80's i toss them in the garbage. It's the same with old CB radios now like i said a MINT station wellllll ok it could be worth some money
But it would have to be show case clean. |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 108
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 1:44 pm: |
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Bruce, Next time you decide to throw a radio out, let me know. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2256
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 2:39 pm: |
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I will too bad i had to dispose of them but when we moved the wife said .....
YOUR RADIOS OR ME ..........
SHE SAID A YEAR LATER DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR RADIOS OR ME ..........
FINALY she said don't you hear me .....
I Said yes i do and im STILL tring to deside which to keep....... |
Sonny
Junior Member
Username: Sonny
Post Number: 29
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 5:44 pm: |
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RACER X,
The only trouble I've had is burning out the display weat lamps on my Stoner Pro 40 and right now I'm trying to figure out why my swr & watt meter died, yet my external watt shows everything is ok transmit wise. Stoner is one of the SSB sets that came with a unlock claifier.
|
Road_warrior
Intermediate Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 306
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 8:26 pm: |
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I have to agree with Bruce...thank god
for transistors!
My friend wanted a Tube base real bad,
(Browning Golden Eagle) First one he oredered
off auction-site was full of Cat •••. He paid $400
for a piece of Junk. Then, he ordered another
one off same auction-site, this one was in nice shape, but,
needed parts replaced to get it working. Another
$400 spent... I'll stick to Transistors & buying
new equipment...LOL
JIM/CENTRAL PA/CEF 375
|
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 109
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 10:31 pm: |
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Bruce..  I hear ya! Just keep me in mind next time the wife say's "the radios or me"! |
Kd4amg
Intermediate Member
Username: Kd4amg
Post Number: 162
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 11:28 pm: |
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Next the wife says " the radios or me !!"" all you have to say back is " Huh ? You still here " ?
My ex-wife hated cb radios...always saying the other women on it was "scum " ..except when she wanted to talk to me on the radio ( her at the home and me out in the mobile !). |
Road_warrior
Intermediate Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 307
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 1:53 am: |
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I had an ex-wife like that...LOL... I once
lived in an apartment & my friend and I put
together a rather large Sigma 4 Antenna inside
the apartment...LOL... My ex-wife came home
from work early and threw a total fit...LOL
We tried to get the Antenna outside as fast
as possible, but, the Large hoop at the
bottom of the Antenna wouldn't fit through
the doorway...LOL... A little mis-caculation
on our part. Not something you want to happen
while your wifes screamin...
JIM/CENTRAL PA/CEF 375
|
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1011
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 1:53 pm: |
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Bruce wrote' "I know there is a nastalga with tube sets but most are JUNK. It was a god sent when TRANSISTORS replaced them. I realy don't understand ( except true colectables ) Why anyone would want this old JUNK? "
Bruce,
Ahem... Just FYI, the one receiver still considered TO THIS DAY to be the best performing, lowest noise unit ever made was the R390 and R390A. In fact, the military and CIA still use R390A's because they are immune to many of the things that kill solid state front ends like wind blown sand and proximity lightning strikes. Also, many tanks in Desert Storm were outfitted with R390A's because the solid state radios kept failing from the intense static in the dry air.
One more point... I have tube equipment that was built in the 1930's that still works as good as the day it was made. Now, how many of your precious solid state gear in front of you is still going to work perfectly 75 years from now? I lay money on the line to tell you it will all be dead. All of it.
When tube gear was built, it was designed to last a lifetime. There was NO such thing as 'throw away' electronics, and this predated the whole 'throw away' society. The solid metal chassis and point-to-point wiring is designed to outlast you, and also be easily repaired.
Oh, I would also like to mention that the 1937 console radio Mrs. 833 and I use every night is still going strong. It has never broken. It even has the original factory brand tubes in it. Tube stuff does not break unless you really drive it hard, then it tends to fade. In that case, you will wear it down, but if it was solid state, it would totally fail and you would have to throw it away.
In many of the stations I have toured in areas I may not divulge, there are still R390A's in racks humming away that have been ON and serving us since the 1960's. Even the precious Ten Tec radios fail when exposed to intense heat and static charges. Sure, this is military grade gear we are talking about, but it is still built point-to-point and has tubes in it. I do not see how it is 'junk'. Please explain, keeping all emotions aside.
My personal 'shelter' radio is an R390A. Why? Because I know that if the guys who believe black helicopters follow them end up being right, my R390A will still work. My solid state radio will be a smoking pile of 'junk'. |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 111
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 9:06 pm: |
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Happiness is the glow and warmth of a tube'r. 
I love my Teaberry and my 1966 Fender Twin Reverb coupled with my Blonder/Tongue tube EQ.  |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2258
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 9:45 pm: |
|
833
I have a R-390 ! |
Road_warrior
Intermediate Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 308
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 10:42 pm: |
|
Hummmmm---Good article Tech 833. Makes a
person think, never knew those facts....
JIM/CENTRAL PA/CEF 375
|
Grumpy8220
Intermediate Member
Username: Grumpy8220
Post Number: 105
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 11:42 pm: |
|
Airplane, check your email!
Hi Scrapiron63. To answer your question, yes those three radios are pretty much the same!
Take care... |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2259
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 7:43 am: |
|
TUBES ARE JUNK .......
That said you cant compair a CB tube set to a R-390 or 392. TRUE a tube set will suvive a a-bomb blast but who cares ..... the user would be a pile of ash.
The CB radios ( except maby Trans/Brownings ) were mass prodused using as low a quilty parts as the manufacture could get away with ..... Transistor sets today suffer from the same fate.
LONG LIFE .....
Well i still have my FT-620 from the mid 70's works fine and is solid state .... nothing wrong with transistors IF you take the time to build them right.
HEAT ...
This is the killer for everything. Tubes have a edge here because most were built with point to point wireing. MOST failures i see in older transistor sets is COLD SOLDER problems and boards which were not sealed from moisture and have turned to a green wastland. If the board was made right then in both tube and transistor sets the caps dry out and need to be replaced.
Carbon resistors.....
These are cheep junk used in both and an't worth a damn.... because the ends cannot be sealed moisture gets in and the carbon changes value over time
...... PLEASE DONT SAY REGENCY RADIOS .......
you'll send my sugar through the roof! Their tube radios used them as did the "HR" ( 6, 2, 220 , 440 ) serious of solid state radios YOU CAN COUNT ON CHANGING ALL OF THEM.
.......LIFE OF DEVICES ...........
.....( AKA DARN TUBE WENT DEAD ).......
Transistors have this one for sure ..... MANY of my transistor radios and electronics are running just fine after 2 DECADES or more tube will decay with use and will hit a point where the cathode is depleated of electrons and the tube is simply used up. Transistors if you dont over heat them can last a lifetime.
To say all things equial that transistors will not last as long is UNFAIR the truth is if it was feable to build sets to the standards of the 1930-1960's transistor sets would last just as long but no one takes the time to do it .......
........JUST ASK YASEU .......
......RIGHT FT-100D DESIGNER .........
But The world goes on and tube are a thing of the past ..... And yes to some .......
"HAPPYNESS IS A RADIO GLOWING IN THE DARK" |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 759
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 9:23 am: |
|
Great thread here, if it glows in the dark it's cool,  ,well not cold cool, they do heat a little. There's just something different about the sound coming from tubes. |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 119
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 10:13 am: |
|
Hey Airplane! I have a Cobra 88. I think they are nice. 100 bucks is a little pricey but hey if you want it bad enough go for it. My 88 was made in 1968.
Question here.....Why would a tube radio survive a nuclear explosion over a solid state radio? |
Tech808
Moderator
Username: Tech808
Post Number: 4987
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 10:25 am: |
|
Hotwire,
Could it be because they alreadly GLOW in the dark.
Sorry, I just could not help myself.
Lon
Tech808
CEF808
N9OSN |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 113
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 10:56 am: |
|
Regency Radio's.
Please don't have a fit Bruce.
I couldn't help myself either. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2261
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 11:11 am: |
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ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 120
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 11:14 am: |
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You might be on to something Lon. Lets just hope we never have a demostration. LOL |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 159
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 11:17 am: |
|
Solid state devices are quite sensitive to the EMF pulse and will go short, Tubes will also go "short" but after taking the plate voltage off and re applying they should be fine. In a solid state device there is hard electrical connection throughout the circuit and their operation is quite linear, in a tube the connection is comprised of electrons flowing thru a vacuum and beyond saturation no more electrons can flow. Won't be good on the tubes but survival is more likely. |
Airplane1
Intermediate Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 295
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 11:25 am: |
|
HA! HA! HA! HA! That was funny LON. lots of good info folks and thanks for the emails. This forum is great! I had a friend in the early 70s whos father had a heath tube radio(I think),we would get to talk to other kids on walkie talkies with it. to this day when I think about it I can actully remember the smell of hot tubes and see the glow inside. I just think it will be cool to have a working tube radio and maybe restore one to like new or get one like new to use sometimes.I think I would like a SSB rig but any good tube radio will do for now,I do like the looks of the Brownings.
I was looking at web sites and getting pics sent to me by from members and they are neat looking radios.
Roger |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 761
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 1:46 pm: |
|
Now come on Bruce, wouldn't you like to have a tubetype computer. Here's a picture that was in a magazine over 50 years ago showing how they thought a home computer would look by 2004.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/Familystuff/2004computer.jpg
Kinda missed that one huh. But I bet a lot of us old drivers could have handled that rig with two steering wheels.  |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2267
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 8:27 pm: |
|
I saw that .......It's a bit off .....
When i went to the NEW York Worlds Fair in 1964 The city of the year 2000 had cars floating on magnetic fields ........
Must have been the same guy with the same drink! |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1013
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 8:48 pm: |
|
Now, I am not exactly saying that tube gear is better than solid state gear, I am only posting rebuttal to Bruce's post that all tube gear is (to use his word and letter case) 'JUNK'. That is simply not true.
I work with solid state gear all day long, and high power tube gear too. I have to tell you, the solid state gear fails more often than the tube gear. I have had lightning strike towers and antennas and take out the circuit breakers. Go to the site, flip the breakers on and hit FILAMENT ON. Wait a minute and hit PLATE ON. Go home. At one station, I had the tube transmitter stay on the air right through the strike. The bolt blew out the tower lights and melted the coils in the ATU, but the station kept playing, despite the high SWR.
I have had solid state transmitters catch fire. Then again, I have some solid state gear that has not failed at all. Then again, I have not had it on the air for 60 years yet. It will...
Truthfully, I have a mix of tube and solid state gear myself because they perform entirely different functions. You simply cannot beat the tube gear for overload protection from nearby signals and you certainly cannot beat the 'tube sound'. For background audio, you can't beat the low current drain of the solid state gear. Also, R390A aside, you cannot beat a digital display for frequency repeatability or quick tuning assignment.
In closing, I would like to state that I prefer to have both types of gear. I have a Hallicrafters S-53A on my bookcase headboard that lullabys me to sleep almost every night. Solid state sound is not smooth and dreamy like that. Of course, my solid state DX-394 is what wakes me up because tube gear doesn't make good alarm clocks. Well, except the Crosley E-75TN clock radio... But that one is in the guest room. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2270
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 11:14 pm: |
|
833
I STILL have some tube gear .... and always will but what i was mainly talking about was the MASS PRODUCED CB SETS of the late 60's when cost was the main factor.
Tubes will never entirely die but at the same time will never come back either. I still love my HQ-140 it sounds DREAMY but does not even come close to my ft-840 on 75 meters.
One day the 140 and 390 will be back in the shack even if its just for old times sake. |
Stickshift
Intermediate Member
Username: Stickshift
Post Number: 194
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 1:53 am: |
|
Tube's most certainly made a comback with guitar amplifiers. Most of the high end stuff there is tubes. I know this doesn't purtain to radio gear but I thought it should be addressed. Main point here, tubes have there places just as solid state devices do. By the way, I've owned a Gemtronics gtx-5000 for several years and it's built like a tank. No problems except for the lack of SSB wich would be pretty much useless with a locked clarifier. |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1015
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 10:07 am: |
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Hate to disagree with you so much on this subject Bruce. With all due respect, your statement "Tubes will never entirely die but at the same time will never come back either. " is incorrect.
If you pick up a hi-fi audio magazine at the newsstand, you will see that ALL of the true high-end gear (I am not talking about the gear where looks are more important thhan sound), you will see it is tube based. The high end McIntosh gear is tube type, and it is all brand new.
In fact, there is a hi-fi gear builder not far from where my dad lives. You can still buy brand new tubes and tube equipment. If you want true hi-fi, it seems that tubes are the choice.
My main home stereo is a 1961 unit with 21 tubes. Sounds MUCH better than my high-dollar whiz-bang solid state gear that was disappointing. Even my 1955 Zenith AM/FM table top tube radio kicks my Bose Wave sound hands down.
This is one argument that I cannot ignore. Tube still have their place. Until a solid state device is invented that imulates the tube operation, there will still be people with fine ears that prefer tubes. I admit, properly designed MosFET equipment comes real close! |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 165
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 10:45 am: |
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For audio enjoyment I use tubes, also design and build tube amps both geetar and hi-fi. I own one tube mic pre for professional work and the rest is solid state. It's better at getting knocked around, more predictable, consumes less power, makes less heat. On stage all amps are tube, except sometimes bass and usually that has a tube pre. From there on out its sand state.
As tubes and associated components warm up their character changes, I don't want to let the amp warm for an hour before monitoring, I want to sit down and mix.
I will have to say that I used tubes on my horns in a 4 way club rig, they are super efficient and I decided to give it a shot. Did it for a year and decided that the tube amp just couldn't handle the punishment of truck travel and load in/out. Going tubes on this particular element improved my rig 100% by my ears, but then again it was a JBL 2" exit driver on a horn the size of my torso, that element could get harsh and in inexpierienced hands........ Did anyone in the crowd notice enough to warrant constant maintence? Nope, that amp drives my brothers maggies now |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 764
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 2:56 pm: |
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I sure like the sound from the old tube type broadcast/shortwave radios, untill one starts the buzzzzzzzz, got one like that now.
I've got 9 old tube rigs from a 1938 floor model to a 1950 table model. Also have a 1913 floor model Victrola that came from my wife's family, but it didn't have tubes.
These high dollar tube sound amps have made some of the tube prices get high. I've seen RCA black plate 6L6GC's for over a 100 bucks. Of course you can buy some 6L6's for 5-6 bucks.
A little personal story, I can remember my dad buying a Zenith table model in 1948 or 49. It was an AM-FM and there were no FM stations within signal range of where we lived for several years after that. That Zenith took the place of an old battery set. I got to thinking about that old zenith a few years ago, started watching the auction sites, it was kinda a unique design, and soon found one that matched my memory and bought it, it's a 1949 model but came out in '48. With some new tubes, I got it playing pretty well, it's nothing special, just a 7 tube I believe.
Later I got to wondering if I remembered right, and really did get one like that one of long ago. After my mother died a couple years ago, almost 90, we were going thur her old pictures and found one that you could see the old zenith in really well, my memory had been true. I turn it on some saturday night's and see if I can get the grand old opera from Nashville, TN that we listened to on that other one over 50 years ago. |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1019
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 2:56 pm: |
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Well Scrap, if you recap those oldies, they will play long after you are gone. New caps are the best thing you could to for them. |
Airplane1
Intermediate Member
Username: Airplane1
Post Number: 301
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 7:57 pm: |
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Tech833,
What are caps? what all would have to be done on an old tube CB set to restore it to new working condition? could I replace caps and tubes myself or need a repair shop to do it?
I remember a old tube radio that my parents had in the early 60s, I can rememer how it sounded to this day and it was fine sounding. |
Tech833
Moderator
Username: Tech833
Post Number: 1021
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 27, 2005 - 11:27 am: |
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Caps= capacitors.
ALL of the electrolytic caps will be leaky after this much time, and any wax/paper caps will be ticking time bombs.
If a leaky cap goes short (which is what always happens next), the radio will invariably suffer the loss of someother components as well, sometimes the irreplaceable power transformer. At the very least, you will burn up some resistors, melt a tube or two, etc. Also, leaky caps in coupling stages can cause all sorts of problems including loss of sensitivity and super-fast tube wear.
Capacitor technology has improved greatly since this gear was built. Sometimes, recapping and aligning a radio makes it work magnitudes better than it did when new. I would recap ANY tube radio that I was going to use. If it is just for looks, don't sweat it.
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Bc910
Intermediate Member
Username: Bc910
Post Number: 384
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 28, 2005 - 10:28 am: |
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Yep, had to re-cap every tube radio I have ever had, Amps too!!!
BC |
