"JB" wrote:

At one point, sweep tubes were available cheaply at TV shops so the designs
were at the edge of meltdown.

I worked in a TV shop after high school for gas money. Sweep tubes
were very expensive as tubes went in those days. But I got mine and
most of the rest of my ham parts from old discarded TV sets.

Swans and others that would break into oscillation

My Swan was drifty as I said. It was a heat problem with the VFO coil
compartment. The osc was solid state, the only transistor in the whole
rig. I solved it by building an external VFO.

I knew one guy who was a
regular customer of the Radio Shack Lifetime tubes.

In the 50s there was a tube company called Major Brand Tubes. They
were mail order and had a lifetime tube guarantee. Their tubes seldom
lasted more than a month in a TV, and they were good to their word.
Send them the old tube and they sent you a new one free, you paid
postage of course. Well after 5 or so replacements most people finally
gave up. A real racket.

Give me a set of 6146s any day.

I built a single tube 6146 transmitter. I used a voltage quadrupler
direct from the 110V for the high voltage (no HV transformer needed).
It was a simple high powered xtal controlled oscillator. I used it as
a Novice. I don't remember the exact power input now, but it was
probably around 50 watts. I just had to be careful which way I plugged
it in the wall socket. Wrong way and fireworks...