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

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. ...

Just about any year's Handbook from the 60's would have what you're
looking for. They really didn't change that much from year to year.

"julian814" ) writes:
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

But if you're just looking for projects, any of the magazines would
have had plenty, and it's just a matter of picking them from the
right years so they not only use tubes, but of the right vintage
tubes.

And if you can't find old magazines, you can get QST on CDROM, so
a volume of that from the right time period would supply plenty of
projects. Of course, most of the projects in the Handbook came
from QST to begin with, so it's not like you miss much in the project
department.

Of course, a lot of TV sets were AC/DC, so the filament voltages are
all over the map since you'd put them in series to run directly off
the AC line. Unless they start with "6" or "12" the tubes
may not be so useful.

Michael VE2BVW

Depending on the vintage of the tubes, you might trouble finding data on
them.

In the '60s, TV manufacturers made a lot of extra money by changing the
tube lineup every year. This required service shops to buy several sets
of new tubes every year as replacements. Typically, the innards of the
tubes were virtually identical to older ones, but with different
pinouts, filament voltages, and combinations of tubes within the
envelopes. If your tubes are from this era, you probably won't find them
in the Handbook. You might have to get one of the later RCA tube manuals
for tube information, then compare specs with various tube types used in
Handbook projects to find projects you can build with the tubes you have.

Good luck!

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Of course, a lot of TV sets were AC/DC, so the filament voltages are
all over the map since you'd put them in series to run directly off
the AC line. Unless they start with "6" or "12" the tubes
may not be so useful.
=============================
Being in series means they would all be used with the same filament
current which can be easily implemented with a circuit employing a 78xx
device in constant current mode (obviously in a DC environment)

Frank KN6WH / GM0CSZ

Highland Ham wrote:
Being in series means they would all be used with the same filament
current which can be easily implemented with a circuit employing a 78xx
device in constant current mode (obviously in a DC environment)

Frank KN6WH / GM0CSZ


Andy adds:

That's true as long as the current requirements were the same. For
instance, putting a 12V/1amp filament in series with a 12 V/200ma
filament will not do well on 24 volts.... Just like putting a 100
watt
and a 7 watt light bulb in series across 220 volts....., (guess which
one will be the brightest, and for how long :)))) ?? )

The currents were matched in the 5 tube AC/DC radios, but generally
you have to check the filament current rating as well as the
filament voltage rating in order to do this...... It ain't rocket
surgery, but you can't put tube filaments in series indiscriminately.

Andy W4OAH

Michael Black wrote:
But if you're just looking for projects, any of the magazines would
have had plenty, and it's just a matter of picking them from the
right years so they not only use tubes, but of the right vintage
tubes.

That's the real trick, isn't it? ;-)


And if you can't find old magazines, you can get QST on CDROM, so
a volume of that from the right time period would supply plenty of
projects. Of course, most of the projects in the Handbook came
from QST to begin with, so it's not like you miss much in the project
department.

Cool, I'll have to look into it.


Of course, a lot of TV sets were AC/DC, so the filament voltages are
all over the map since you'd put them in series to run directly off
the AC line. Unless they start with "6" or "12" the tubes
may not be so useful.

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.

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.

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

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