That's a pile of random loktals. What I'm
talking about is a set of the
five tubes called for in an All-American-Five design. I might have to
rewire this thing for regular octals.
14Q7, 14A7, 14B6, 50A5, 35Y4? All easily available at any of the places
that have a broad stock of tubes. e.g. ESRC, Antique Electronic Supply,
etc. One of my specialties is the loctal Zentih Transoceanic (8G005) which
some describe as rare but really they're as common as dirt. I was
surprised that many of the stocks of loctal tubes are recentish (60's,
70's) Eastern European production - I had always thought of loctals
as a Philco thing of the 40's.
The business sense in dealing with something that hasn't been made
in decades (or indeed more than half a century) is contrary to most
business rules of thunb. To have a profitable resale business as a rule
of thumb you have to be able to turn your inventory over several times
a year. Anything not sold after a few months has to be slashed in price
or simply thrown out to make room for the new stuff. The tube resellers
have to work differently - their stock is already decades old. It's not
a business I'm in but I can appreciate some of the challenges. I think
the business world of tubes has seen some tumultousness recently, what
with the US Govt unloading huge stockpiles of many tubes and the de-
nationalization of Eastern European/Russian factories, but may be
stabilizing a bit.
Tim.