Big glass bottles

[Tom Metzger]

I still have some 6L6 tubes in my 67 Fender Deluxe Reverb, noisey but very warm.

Apparently, music amps are the major use for small vacuum tubes nowadaze. All of the sites that popped up were related to music. Is there an advantage over solid state? Perceived advantage? Guitar-amp matching? Pack rat-ism?

I see 6L6s (power output tubes) come in matched sets which surprised me. My tin ears can't tell if the left and right channels are playing the same tune. I wonder if a second hearing aid would help. :0

 

[Rick R.]

Apparently, music amps are the major use for small vacuum tubes nowadaze. All of the sites that popped up were related to music. Is there an advantage over solid state? Perceived advantage? Guitar-amp matching? Pack rat-ism?

I see 6L6s (power output tubes) come in matched sets which surprised me. My tin ears can't tell if the left and right channels are playing the same tune. I wonder if a second hearing aid would help. :0

Tubes provide a warmer tone with a little harmonic distortion. I have the choice of multiple solid state guitar amps and guitar amp modeling setups but nothing compares to tubes.

These days all of my studio work is recorded on a digital audio workstation. Awesome,fast and precise technology but it doesn't hold a candle to 2" analog tape! Now that sounded unbelievable but at $150 for a 15 minute reel, forget about it.... We spend 10's of thousands of dollars to record great music in high fidelity only to have it resampled to a crappy MP3 (or 4) and downloaded to someone's phone. Remember how great LPs sounded?

Sorry, this is a sailing forum. I digress....

 

[Loren Beach]

Good old days

And then there were those overseas deals on the Akai 15" reel to reel decks. (Late 60's, Guam, Navy shore base with a small PX hifi shop.)
I brought back home a Teac deck with 6" reels. Fun stuff, and long ago sold off.
Remember the days of splicing those tapes, and bulk erasers, and etc.... ?

The "warmth" of the old audio gear sound was supposed to be superior, but I am totally happy with the digital library on my iMac these days...
:nerd:

I just looked up tube audio gear on line - my oh my but folks are paying a lot of $$ for those arcane subtile differences in sound!
(It's almost as illogical as messing around with sailboats!)

Loren

 

[Rick R.]

And then there were those overseas deals on the Akai 15" reel to reel decks. (Late 60's, Guam, Navy shore base with a small PX hifi shop.)
I brought back home a Teac deck with 6" reels. Fun stuff, and long ago sold off.
Remember the days of splicing those tapes, and bulk erasers, and etc.... ?

The "warmth" of the old audio gear sound was supposed to be superior, but I am totally happy with the digital library on my iMac these days...
:nerd:

I just looked up tube audio gear on line - my oh my but folks are paying a lot of $$ for those arcane subtile differences in sound!
(It's almost as illogical as messing around with sailboats!)

Loren

Loren, I think you described yourself recently as the digital janitor here. I consider you the "Pope of the EYO"!

I still have an old Teac mastering machine. Don't use it but I just can't bring myself to get rid of it. When I was at the AES show in San Francisco a couple years ago, almost all the recording engineers were lamenting the limited bandwidth of iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, mp3's and etc. I don't think we will ever go back, it's so much faster these days with no waiting for the tape transport system to arrive at the part of the song you want to edit.

Kind of of like waiting for that breeze to lift so we can arrive at our destination or that old M25 to start so we can make it in a rough pass with apposing wind and tide. Trade offs !

Merry Chritsmas Gentlemen!

 

[Tom Metzger]

Damn! I was just starting to believe everything new was better. :0

I will admit new is more reliable. It's been a long time since I've had to replace a vibrator in my car's radio.

Merry Christmas Gentlemen!

And back at'cha, and to all.

 

[footrope]

Another place where vacuum tubes still rule are in high power linear amplifiers for radio transmitters. Tubes are more forgiving of poor operation and generally require matched pairs also.

I only buy beer and liquor in real glass too. Throw Back Thursday for sure.

Merry Christmas all!

 

[toddster]

I actually have an electron microscope full of tubes, although it has been a while since I had it working. The thing takes about as much fussing with as the boat does, so they are in direct competition with one another. And last time I tried, the only place I could get replacement tubes was some dodgy Eastern European store. If I gave up on it, I wonder if I could get more money for the whole thing or for the individual tubes?

 

[Vagabond39]

Does anyone miss the viberator hum in their car radio? Sylvania develpoed a low voltage vacuum tube, and was going to corner the car radio market. The Bell Labs Transfer Resistor (Transistor) put paid to that idea.
And remember the Nixi Tubes for digital readout.

 

[Loren Beach]

Nixi !

Does anyone miss the viberator hum in their car radio? Sylvania develpoed a low voltage vacuum tube, and was going to corner the car radio market. The Bell Labs Transfer Resistor (Transistor) put paid to that idea.
And remember the Nixi Tubes for digital readout.

I do not recall the 'vibrator hum' but that may reflect more on my memory than anything else...

I did like (and still do like) the NIXI tube concept.
I did a lookup and found some great info/trivia.
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-nixie-tubes-work.html

Loren

 

[Tom Metzger]

And remember the Nixi Tubes for digital readout.

I still have a couple of new Nixie tubes in my magic bag of tricks. Left over spares from a digital clock I designed and built probably around 1970. It was a unique clock in that it had a flashing light to remind me to take the garbage can out to the curb every week. I never needed spares because my house was broken into in 1974 and one of the things taken was that clock.

My house was broken into again in 1994. This being the end of 2014, another twenty years later, I am a little afraid to be in the house.

 

[Rick R.]

I still have a couple of new Nixie tubes in my magic bag of tricks. Left over spares from a digital clock I designed and built probably around 1970. It was a unique clock in that it had a flashing light to remind me to take the garbage can out to the curb every week. I never needed spares because my house was broken into in 1974 and one of the things taken was that clock.

My house was broken into again in 1994. This being the end of 2014, another twenty years later, I am a little afraid to be in the house.

You just need to stay home through next Wednesday at midnight. Then you will be into 2015 and should be good till 2034

 

[Tom Metzger]

You just need to stay home through next Wednesday at midnight. Then you will be into 2015 and should be good till 2034

I can't do it. In Philly with kids, grand kids, etc. Back home for the last couple of days (with the cops & insurance adjusters?)

No new sailing gear yesterday, just a Cruising World calendar and a Lk Champlain clock http://nnchart.com/index.php/bodies-of-water/vermont/lake-champlain-clock.html for the three or four months we're home.

What did others get?

 

[Rick R.]

I can't do it. In Philly with kids, grand kids, etc. Back home for the last couple of days (with the cops & insurance adjusters?)

No new sailing gear yesterday, just a Cruising World calendar and a Lk Champlain clock http://nnchart.com/index.php/bodies-of-water/vermont/lake-champlain-clock.html for the three or four months we're home.

What did others get?

I got the Maxwell windlass, a sailing calendar, a universal key for the fuel, water and waste. I also recieved a new foul weather jacket, a 2015 Nautical Alamanc and a Zoom Power Bank for recharging iPhones and iPads offshore. Blessed indeed.

The Admiral was given a handheld wind meter that plugs into her iPhone. I thought this might reduce her discomfort when the boat heels slightly at 10 knots. She can hold it up and see that what the true wind speed is.

When I lived in Philly (Center City / Northern Liberty) my place got robbed and my car got broken into (twice). Funny, that didn't happen whn I lived in Chestnut Hill or Bucks County....lol!

 

[Tom Metzger]

When I lived in Philly (Center City / Northern Liberty) my place got robbed and my car got broken into (twice). Funny, that didn't happen whn I lived in Chestnut Hill or Bucks County....lol!

I moved this afternoon from Catalina son's in Harleysville, Montgomery Co, PA (where it's dangerous - murder last week w/ nationwide coverage) to Ericson son's in Yardley, Bucks Co, PA where I hope it's safe. Back to unsafe Saratoga Co, NY where the burglers live next week.

 

[Ccaptain]

Gifts

I got four hungry grand kids,seven hungry mouths and not a word or gift for the boats. BUT they came to visit