Living in a Vacuum... Tube

[rickps]

Yesterday, I had some work done at the house I'm renting.  Two young, very friendly and professional electricians arrived to install a couple of new outlets so that I could run window air conditioners.  Once we got past the basics of where the outlets were to be placed, the location of the breaker panel, and access to the crawlspace, they got to their task. 

A few minutes later, they had another question.  Pointing to my vacuum tube stereo amplifier sitting on a shelf they asked "what's that?".  I explained that this was part of my stereo.  Yes, I use it regularly.  No, it's only about 5 years old, not an antique.  Yes, you can still buy vacuum tubes (although most are from China or Russia).  Yes, I like it because it sounds better.

"I've never seen a vacuum tube before!"  They were fascinated when I powered it up and they could see the glow from each of the tube filaments.  Perhaps I should have uttered a voodoo chant to increase the dramatic effect.

It then hit me.  Am I really that old?  Has the technology of my childhood and into my early twenties, become so obsolete that I'm one of the few who remembers when it was commonplace?  Am I part of the last generation to have vivid memories of a TV repairman's butt hanging out of the back of a set as he fiddled with the zillion vacuum tubes inside.  Am I the last to recall that electrical gizmos had to warm up before they'd work? 

Back to your rocker, gramps...

Comments

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Yup, you're old!

You just made me flashback on a memory of 1967. Our early 1960s Phillips TV had gone out, and we figured out which vacuum tube it was that had gone bad. It was all black at the top and cold, where the others were warm.

I trekked across the street to the convenience store; they had a large rack of all kinds of tubes. I found the right one, paid for it, took it home, plugged it in and the TV worked!

40 years later, the house where we lived has been torn down (probably 15 years ago), the convenience store was boarded up probably 25 years ago, and that whole neighborhood is a ghost town.

I wouldn't even know where to go to find a vacuum tube any more.

Yup, I'm old, too!

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

One of my earliest tube-related memories was going to the corner store, bag of suspected tubes in hand, and walking up to the yellow painted tube tester. After you looked up the tube number, placed it in the appropriate socket and twiddled the various selector knobs around, you'd push a button and it'd tell you whether the tube was bad or not. At the time, this was a high point of my life. Go figure!

As to where to get tubes these days, there are importers who bring them in from China and Russia. However, the most coveted tubes are 'new old stock' tubes that were manufactured in the US, never used, and have been sitting on a shelf gathering dust all these years.

When our time comes, I'm sure we'll be the ones on the shelf gathering dust...

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I used to do the tube thing a lot. I still have my caddy fulla tubes in the garage attic, and a small Lafayette tube tester. These days the extent of my tube forays is guitar amps, old test equipment, radios and audio gear. There is something to be said about gear that you can practically see working. Not much different than steam engines.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Today's 10megapixel cameras are tomorrow 19" black and white 1960 tube-driven TVs!

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

Now that sparked a couple of memories!

Sitting in the back seat of my dad's 53 Ford begging to have him play the radio (he preferred silence), him finally relenting, and me watching the dial begin to glow as the radio warmed up.

Buying my first stereo kit from Lafayette Radio at their store a few miles east of us on Long Island, carefully soldering all the little do-dads in place, and that first power-up cycle as the tubes did their thing. It worked perfectly from that first day. That kit was followed by several others, some tubes and then solid state.

Wow, dusty memories for me, thanks for jogging them loose!

[rwcubdad.livejournal.com]

but ya know what? I'm enjoying getting older. I look around and I wouldn't want to be any younger. Btw, are you NY bound at all this month?

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

In your case, you're not getting older, you're 'mellowing' like a fine wine.

The trip is still on but it now looks like mid to late July, you still think you might be around to entertain a wandering bear?

[rwcubdad.livejournal.com]

lol, yeah, mellowing like a cheap chablis in a box! Bear, we'd love to entertain you* grin*. We should be around, as far as I know

[fuzzygruf.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're really that old. Duh. Ah, to be forever Young.

Is it true that you thought YouTube was about your relics?