Pre transitors. used in old tvs and radios. Big sealed tubes with air removed and coils that needed to warm up so ypu had to wait for your device to warm up when it started.
not only that but most of the industrial knowledge of exactly how to make them is dead. there used to be 10's of thousands of people if not 100's of thousands with knowledge of the processes involved, now there are just hundreds.
Most of the industrial equipment used to make them is long gone too so people attempting to make them now have to relearn and reinvent the processeswith only theory as their guide. There was a guy in Germany who had to reinvent the process to make dixie tubes just because he wanted some and ended up making a whole company producing them at a small scale.
It's a vintage electronic component from before the invention of transistors. Previously they were used in many applications, from radio sets to the first computers. Today their only application is guitar amps where the noisy analog signal they provide makes the sound. Audiophiles claim they can hear the difference between manufacturers of tubes of the same specifications.
As production of vacuum tubes has mostly ceased there is a lot of fetishism for vintage tubes and unused old tubes are sold for significant sums.
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What is he talking about
Pre transitors. used in old tvs and radios. Big sealed tubes with air removed and coils that needed to warm up so ypu had to wait for your device to warm up when it started.
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IIRC they're tough to make these days because of emissions standards which is why they're so expensive
not only that but most of the industrial knowledge of exactly how to make them is dead. there used to be 10's of thousands of people if not 100's of thousands with knowledge of the processes involved, now there are just hundreds. Most of the industrial equipment used to make them is long gone too so people attempting to make them now have to relearn and reinvent the processeswith only theory as their guide. There was a guy in Germany who had to reinvent the process to make dixie tubes just because he wanted some and ended up making a whole company producing them at a small scale.
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It's a vintage electronic component from before the invention of transistors. Previously they were used in many applications, from radio sets to the first computers. Today their only application is guitar amps where the noisy analog signal they provide makes the sound. Audiophiles claim they can hear the difference between manufacturers of tubes of the same specifications.
As production of vacuum tubes has mostly ceased there is a lot of fetishism for vintage tubes and unused old tubes are sold for significant sums.