wrote:
Here is a site with lots of FREE books dealing with tube design. There
are old ARRL and Orr radio handbooks as well.

http://www.pmillett.com/tecnical_books_online.htm

The files are huge so you better have a high-speed (not dial-up)
internet connection.

Thanks, but I have two problems - I'm stuck using dialup, and most of
these books seem over my head. Interesting, nonetheless.

Ralph

Doug Smith W9WI wrote:
julian814 wrote:
All right, I'm hoping someone here can clue me into finding the one(s)
I want. What I need is a handbook that has schematics for tube
equipment circa the 1960's. I have a boxful of tubes from television
sets from that era, and I was hoping I could put together a receiver
from some of them. I do have the first volume of Impoverished Radio
Experimenter, which talks about using "newer" tubes in older
schematics, but the scant few Lindsay talks about aren't among the
tubes in my box.

Not sure whether this is what you're looking for but I found two sites
that seem to contain most of the tube data that was in the ARRL Handbook:

http://www.nj7p.org/Tube4.php
http://tdsl.duncanamps.com/tubesearch.php

Well, these should definitely help me identify which tubes are the most
useful, especially the first link. It's a start. I could use some
schematics, though.


Ralph

6V6 was the quintessential beam power audio output tube of the 1940s through
the 1960s. You can generally "read" the missing numbers if there is
anything left of the imprint by gently rubbing the tube on your hair. THe
oil from your hair will stick to what is left of the printing and make it
readable for a short time. You might take a permanent marker if and when
you finally read the number and mark the tube.


As has been alluded to in several posts, you are not limited to the exact
tube that the original project had in it. For example, the 6U8 was the
VHF/UHF RF oscillator/mixer of choice in thousands of designs. However, a
6J6 oscillator with a 6BE6 mixer will work every bit as good if you aren't
fussy about VHF reception. There are dozens of tricks you can play with mix
& match tube lineups, some better than others.

Jim


You're right, the voltages range anywhere from 3 to 33 volts. Two of
them are 6V6 tubes, so I have some hope there. Most of them are
miniatures, and some of them have the numbers missing, which makes
things really interesting.

"julian814" ) writes:
wrote:
Here is a site with lots of FREE books dealing with tube design. There
are old ARRL and Orr radio handbooks as well.

http://www.pmillett.com/tecnical_books_online.htm

The files are huge so you better have a high-speed (not dial-up)
internet connection.

Thanks, but I have two problems - I'm stuck using dialup, and most of
these books seem over my head. Interesting, nonetheless.

Unless you pay by the hour, it's doable with dialup. Do it late at
night so there's no disturbances, and hopefully less traffic. Be
selective, figuring out what you might find useful before downloading.

I have dialup, and I grabbed some of those books last year, using
this same method. It took time, but if you plan it right, it doesn't
get in the way. Just don't plan to be able to do much else at the
same time as the download.

Unfortunately, while I did record the times it took to download those
books I did download, I have no idea where I put that list.

Of those books, the 15th edition of THe Radio Handbook is likely
the best choice, since it's the most recent of the handbooks they
have there. Most of the books are more text books, and the 1941 ARRL
Handbook is likely going to use older tubes than you have, same with
the 1940 Radio Handbook.

Michael VE2BVW

RST Engineering wrote:
6V6 was the quintessential beam power audio output tube of the 1940s through
the 1960s. You can generally "read" the missing numbers if there is
anything left of the imprint by gently rubbing the tube on your hair. THe
oil from your hair will stick to what is left of the printing and make it
readable for a short time. You might take a permanent marker if and when
you finally read the number and mark the tube.

Another thing that has worked for me is to put the tube in the freezer
for a few hours. Frost forms in a different pattern around where the
number was than on the rest of the envelope. Sometimes.

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Michael Black wrote:
"julian814" ) writes:
wrote:
Here is a site with lots of FREE books dealing with tube design. There
are old ARRL and Orr radio handbooks as well.

http://www.pmillett.com/tecnical_books_online.htm

The files are huge so you better have a high-speed (not dial-up)
internet connection.

Thanks, but I have two problems - I'm stuck using dialup, and most of
these books seem over my head. Interesting, nonetheless.

Unless you pay by the hour, it's doable with dialup. Do it late at
night so there's no disturbances, and hopefully less traffic. Be
selective, figuring out what you might find useful before downloading.

I have dialup, and I grabbed some of those books last year, using
this same method. It took time, but if you plan it right, it doesn't
get in the way. Just don't plan to be able to do much else at the
same time as the download.

Unfortunately, while I did record the times it took to download those
books I did download, I have no idea where I put that list.

Of those books, the 15th edition of THe Radio Handbook is likely
the best choice, since it's the most recent of the handbooks they
have there. Most of the books are more text books, and the 1941 ARRL
Handbook is likely going to use older tubes than you have, same with
the 1940 Radio Handbook.

Thanks, I'll give it a go. I work from 4 pm to midnight weekdays, so I
think I'll try this again tonight after work.


Ralph

RST Engineering wrote:
6V6 was the quintessential beam power audio output tube of the 1940s through
the 1960s. You can generally "read" the missing numbers if there is
anything left of the imprint by gently rubbing the tube on your hair. THe
oil from your hair will stick to what is left of the printing and make it
readable for a short time. You might take a permanent marker if and when
you finally read the number and mark the tube.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

As has been alluded to in several posts, you are not limited to the exact
tube that the original project had in it. For example, the 6U8 was the
VHF/UHF RF oscillator/mixer of choice in thousands of designs. However, a
6J6 oscillator with a 6BE6 mixer will work every bit as good if you aren't
fussy about VHF reception. There are dozens of tricks you can play with mix
& match tube lineups, some better than others.

TJ Linday says as much in the Impoverished Radio Experimenter. Thing
is, he was scant on details. I wrote them about my project, and I'm
hoping they'll have some ideas.


Ralph

Another thing that has worked for me is to put the tube in the freezer
for a few hours. Frost forms in a different pattern around where the
number was than on the rest of the envelope. Sometimes.

And after you take it out of the cooler, "huff" on it once or twice
(just as people "huff" on their eyeglasses before wiping them with
a cloth) and the moisture from your breath may outline the tube
identification.

--
--Myron A. Calhoun.
Five boxes preserve our freedoms: soap, ballot, witness, jury, and cartridge
NRA Life Member and Rifle, Pistol, & Home Firearm Safety Certified Instructor
Certified Instructor for the Kansas Concealed-Carry Handgun license

julian814 wrote:
All right, I'm hoping someone here can clue me into finding the one(s)
I want. What I need is a handbook that has schematics for tube
equipment circa the 1960's. I have a boxful of tubes from television
sets from that era, and I was hoping I could put together a receiver
from some of them. I do have the first volume of Impoverished Radio
Experimenter, which talks about using "newer" tubes in older
schematics, but the scant few Lindsay talks about aren't among the
tubes in my box.

How complex of a receiver are you looking to build?

There are a PILE of simple tube circuits on
http://www.intio.or.jp/jf10zl/index.html .

Most of them use Japanese tubes (the site is in Japan, after allg) but
I would suggest in many cases you can figure out what U.S. tubes are
similar.

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

You can download free a long list of archaic technical books, including
a number of ARRL Handbooks, at the following URL:

http://www.pmillett.com/tecnical_books_online.htm


julian814 wrote:
All right, I'm hoping someone here can clue me into finding the one(s)
I want. What I need is a handbook that has schematics for tube
equipment circa the 1960's. I have a boxful of tubes from television
sets from that era, and I was hoping I could put together a receiver
from some of them. I do have the first volume of Impoverished Radio
Experimenter, which talks about using "newer" tubes in older
schematics, but the scant few Lindsay talks about aren't among the
tubes in my box.

I've found a very good used book search engine, but unless I have a
better idea of what to look for, It's going to be hit and miss. Any
help would be greatly appreciated.


Ralph