I feel like a thief!

[GonzoEngineer]

Was at a yard sale yesterday. Spotted an old RCA Tube Carrier, filled with over 140 new tubes in boxes!
The guy said they were just junk from his Dad's Garage. His Dad used to fix TV's and Radios.

"How much you want for them," I asked.

"How about 20 bucks."

I gave him 40 bucks and told him to buy his kids a big Pizza.

Now I gotta find a tube tester.....although most are in unopened boxes.

I have enough 12AX7's to make an Analog Computer.

 

[GreenGiant]

Take it as a win win, you paid next to nothing for a bunch of tubes, and he made 40 bucks

My father does that all the time, mostly with records

"I got 100 records, can you give me 20 bucks?"

"Well you have some good ones here, Ill give you 30"

"Thanks man!"

Prices them out and most of the time doubles or triples his money at least

you really think that he was going to take the time to figure out what they were and see if they were worth anything? People these days, sell anything to make a buck, when spending half an hour could grant them 5 times as much possibly

 

[KJ6EAD]

Gonzo, the guilt must be eating you up for you to come here for absolution. You must be feeling pretty low after taking advantage of that poor man and his (probably late) father. How many of those tubes will you need me to take from you before you feel better?

Actually, I've never had much interest in tube circuits except perhaps as gifts. I can think of a few friends that might get a kick out of a 5 or 7 tube radio with a nixie digital frequency indicator.

 

[poor mystic]

Valve amps made a bit of a revival a while ago, using modern op-amp architectures and 12AX7's, but nobody seems to love them any more

 

[Wabajig]

Don't worry you won't use all of them, and they will be in your son's garage sale. And the cycle repeats. No offense, just trying to see the big picture. Hope this helps.

 

[GreenGiant]

While there may not be a giant demand for them, when you need one you'll have some, hopefully the right one(s).

Or you could always sell them as parts for use on steam punk accessories/models

 

[shrtrnd]

Don't listen to 'em GonzoEngineer, they didn't have the same classes as us in school, (Like the 1 Farad cap being as big as a room).
If you get tired looking at them, get on some of the antique radio sites, you'll sell
whatever you've got.

 

[jackorocko]

Are tubes really that expensive? My attic is holding onto about half that many. My grandfather used to collect this stuff.

Most of the ones I have state they are for TV's I believe. Are they good for anything, like audio amplifiers?

I broke one, rolled off the desk. A big one, don't even tell that was a $20 dollar bill

 

[GonzoEngineer]

I will find uses for them!

 

[Wabajig]

Understood.

 

[KJ6EAD]

Don't listen to 'em GonzoEngineer, they didn't have the same classes as us in school...

I was in the last electronics class at my high school that used vacuum tubes. We breadboarded a 5 tube AM radio. The school switched to transistor trainers the next year.

Valve amps made a bit of a revival a while ago, using modern op-amp architectures and 12AX7's, but nobody seems to love them any more

Tube amps still seem to be popular for guitars.

 

[GonzoEngineer]

When I was 17 I was in a Boy's Training School. (Reform school)

Had a great teacher who tought me Electronics me a 5 Tube Superhet AM Receiver kit from Allied for my Birthday.

Within a few months, I started a radio club and helped the other guy's on my wing build there too. (A local Ham Club donated money for the kits.)

Then we build our own transmitter, and broadcast Motown Music throughout the whole school.

Have loved tubes ever since!

 

[shrtrnd]

I don't think tubes are all that expensive because there's not much of demand for
them anymore, but I've worked some old gear for a guy that needed two tubes that
ran $35 each, so there's still a small demand out there. I've also worked some old
military gear (4-digit number system tubes, instead of the commercial numbers), and
those tubes sell at a premium for collectors who restore or maintain old military electronics.
I'd have paid $40 for the tube carrier, even though I've got several hundred NOS tubes
of my own. I've had guys cry when I produced a tube they needed, and never thought
they'd find, to get one of their most-loved babies back up and running.
Us old guys are sentimental, I guess.

 

[naqionline]

well its not a must for you to explain to the guy how much they are worth. He sold it to you and you bought it. no guilt required