Valve info

[Hawk]

Post away guys

Due to the increasing interest in all things valves this thread is for posting links to valve data, places to buy, interesting valve sites etc etc.

Also those that know there stuff are welcome to share it here too

[Papa Lazarou]

Recently dealt with Edicron for some replacement valves for my phono stage.

Peter Cruh is a top chap to deal with, very friendlyand offers excellent service and great prices.

http://www.edicron.com/

[mrwippy]

I'll edit and update this entry as I go rather than continually add new posts

Information Resources:

the place I always start when I need info on valves is;

http://tdsl.duncanamps.com/ click on the software tab and you can download a personal copy of the search database to hold on your PC. Or use the online search, this (and the PC version)has links to data sheets.

http://hktubeaudio.homestead.com/ the Hong Kong Tube Audio Club - go to the main menu option & tube info for their tube shoot-outs.

http://www.jj-electronic.sk/ JJ valves home site

*A book worth reading "A Taste of Tubes"* Download or view from the link below

http://www.anthemav.com/OldSitev1/pdf/taste.pdf

Western Electric links - this link takes you into their archived tube spec sheets, but there are other interesting sections to go to as well

FAQ section from Vacuum Tube Valley

http://www.vacuumtube.com/FAQ1.htm

The Vacuum Tube Inc. "Hall of Shame" an article about some of the more common fakes and poor re-brands, some even perpetrated by the manufacturers themselves.

http://www.vacuumtubesinc.com/Vacuum...llofShame.aspx

Weber Valve Bias Calculator

http://www.webervst.com/tubes/calcbias.htm

The BoatAnchorManual Archive

http://bama.sbc.edu/

It's big, it's American,it's flaky, it's got a strange name, but if you're looking for a manual on vintage Americana stuff, it the place to start, more odd manuals than you can shake a stick at! Patience and the refresh key are all you need (unless the file is in DjVu format, then you'll have to download the viewer - but its free). They also have a mirror site with all the same stuff again at;

http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/

Sellers WEB based:

http://www.tubetown.de good prices for new tubes (cheaper in many cases than the UK)reasonable postage, mainly a muso' site but still OK for audio stuff.

http://www.chelmervalve.co.uk/index.htm probably the biggest stock of NOS valves in the UK (least thats what they say)

http://www.tube-shop.com/uk/home.asp Every one's favourite? Well certainly not mine - totally useless, inefficient bunch who I've never managed to have one successful trouble free purchase from.

https://www.watfordvalves.com/order_frameset.htm Another of the usual suspects – watch out for that postal charge if you only want a single valve

Sellers eBay (that have provided good service):

big.daddy! (shop is 10x10 Electronics )

vintagelectron (US based, but I've had batches of tubes shipped over that have been cheaper than in the UK, even when you add in delivery and tax!)

tubeprofi (shop is TubeProfi Shopbased in Austria) usually good prices for new JJ's



Testers General Reading:

Good reading for testers in general, but especially for US ones

http://tone-lizard.com/Tube_Testers.html



Testers, New Production:

http://www.amplitrex.com/the best looking high tech' one I've seen so far - no USB Connection though

http://www.hagtech.com/vacutrace.html

http://www.vacuumtube.com/toppage31.htm


http://www.transcendentsound.com/tube_analyzer.htm

http://www.britishaudio.co.uk/tubeimp.html

http://www.maximatcher.com/

Testers Old:

http://www.crowthornetubes.com/valvetest.htmusually has somethingof interest, but be careful and research before you buy.

Tutorial resources:

Download the Audio Classroom Series from AudioXpress

These Selected sections are very useful.



Edit to update old closed link + Add a new link

[jonjin]

I really like this site as it has pretty pictures...

http://www.r-type.org/static/museum.htm

This site also has nice pics. It's a shop but the link to the pics is on the left-hand menu.

http://www.tubemonger.com/

Came across this site when I was searching for Mullard re-makes

http://www.groovetubes.com/

JJ

[i_should_coco]

Required reading:
http://members.aol.com/sbench101/ - Steve Bench is just about god in tube circles. Start here.

Data:
http://www.tubedata.org/ - The most comprehensive archive of tube data sheets. Several mirrors.

http://www.nj7p.org/Tube.php - Alternative to TDSL.

Shops:
http://www.crowthornetubes.com/ - Gerry's a really good bloke, tubes, testers, manuals, repairs and lots of generally cool stuff.

http://www.tubesandmore.com/ - Antique Electronics Supply in the US. Great service.

http://eifl.co.jp/ - Tango/Tamura iron, rare tubes, etc.

http://www.acoustic-dimension.com/ - Tango/Tamura/Black Gate, etc.

http://intactaudio.com/ - Magnetic volume controls, LR phono stages, etc.

http://www.diyhifisupply.com/ - DIY amps, TVCs, components, tubes, yadda, yadda. Brian is a great guy.

http://www.jacmusic.com/ - Tubes, Lundahl iron, sockets, euro tubes, etc.

http://www.hificollective.co.uk - UK based, Audio Note & Glass House kits, componets, etc.

Enthusiast sites:
http://www.vt52.com/ - Jim de Kort's tube project - excellent site.

http://www.dhtrob.com/ - Some more cool projects

http://www.triode-dick.com/ - Even more cool prjects, but in Dutch.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GM70/ - Boatanchor amps Yahoo! group. Very scary stuff with extremely high voltages.

http://www.pmillett.com/ - Pete Millet's site, loads of data and data books.

http://www.oldradioz.com/ - Old radio info, datsheets, etc.

Books:
Radiotron designer's Handbook (RCA, 4th Ed.) - The bible.

Morgan Jones - Valve amplifiers - Theory, etc.

Morgan Jones - Building valve amplifiers - Focuses more on construction.



edit: added more stuff.

[Tel]

i_should_coco wrote:

Required reading:
http://members.aol.com/sbench101/ - Steve Bench is just about god in tube circles. Start here.

Are we getting homework now?

Will there be a short test later?



Seriously thanks for that , willl have a good look when time allows,
I would also endorse Gerry at Crowthorne, I found him very helpful (and patient!).

[i_should_coco]

Tel wrote:

Are we getting homework now?

Will there be a short test later?

Long and painful is more like it!

[mrwippy]

Some further links added.

[Miller-8]

Here's another:

http://www.newquestsound.com/Product...?CategoryID=17

[Anthony]

some more shops (based in europe andseemingly cheaper than the UK stockists). note that i've never tried them myself, just saw them listed on a zerogain thread:

www.audiotriodes.com

www.eurotubes.com

[mrwippy]

Anthony wrote:

some more shops (based in europe andseemingly cheaper than the UK stockists). note that i've never tried them myself, just saw them listed on a zerogain thread:

http://www.audiotriodes.com

http://www.eurotubes.com

Eurotubes is a US company and distribute JJ tubes. But they are real enthusiasts and if you need to know how to bias your Fender/Marshall/.....then they have some nice little videos to watch :note:

[Ian Sampson]

Try again.

http://www.langrex.co.uk

Ian

[Cloth-Ears]

www.hifiwigwam.com

[Dik Dolan]

http://www.hotroxuk.com/

I just ordered a PAIR of matched EH 300b gold grids for £85.50including next day postage;most places charge almost that much for one!



edited cozI forgot to add the postage charge

[PAG]

bad service from http://www.hotrox.com

i ordered two sets of valves, both sets had faulty valves, they sent them in a jiffy bag,they denied it, i got the proof they did, both sets i sent back, second set i sent back they claimed they where ALL broken, had to claim off the post office, i lost £35 and no valves.

Wouldn`t recommend `em chaps.

[I like valves.]

Apart from the need for good packing and maybe insurance, are there any other problems with buying tubes from the States, ie.Import duty and stuff like that. Si.

[i_should_coco]

I've bought thousands of tubes from the states and I think I only ever lost one package and had a few damaged due to crap packaging.

You may or may not get fleeced for duty (almost certainly if sending EMS [express mail] because it comes through Parcel Force).

If shipping via normal USPS, chances are you'll get away with it. But...if it's insured, then the sender has to put the true value on, so it's more likely to get nabbed.

Expect £4 handling fee (PO) or £13 (Parcel Force) + duty + VAT.

[I like valves.]

Thanks for that. You don't happen to know what the rate of duty is do you? the valves themselves will cost around £95. Si.

[i_should_coco]

Not sure, I never managed to work that one out. I'm sure it's some complex formula or other. Way less that the VAT is the main bit...

Cheers,
Pete

[I like valves.]

Ok,I can't bugger around any longerwondering if it's going to cost me a few bob more and I need the valves so I've just ordered two sets of Sovtek KT66 matched quads from a sellerin theStates. Si.