Rick Mubarak’s Post

𝑾𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

My Sansui 5000 Amplifier I purchased through the Navy Exchange while I was touring Vietnam in 71-72 is still rocking with tube power.

I remember the TV 📺 repair person making house calls 👏

I can remember dad taking the TV tubes out and sending me to a specific corner drug store. They had a tube tester. Dozens of sockets on it, bunches of switches and such with a book. Look up the tube, dial in the settings, plug in the tube, hit the test switch. Machine actively tested and determined good or bad. Then of bad, go to the indicated drawer and take out the replacement. Just make sure, dad would say, you don't get the new and old mixed up. Throw away the bad, bring home the good he'd say. I can remember all that above, but I can't remember how the last part went.

6SN7 is used in vintage Ampeg guitar amps. Nothing like valves for guitar amps. Remember the story in the late 80s when a Soviet pilot defected to Japan in his new MIG fighter jet. His bosses were none too pleased and wanted the aircraft returned. Our US friends agreed but said it was coming back in boxes. Apparently they were surprised the on board electronics still used valves (vacuum tubes in the US) until it was pointed out that the tubes will still keep working after nuclear bombs have gone off.

First transmitter I built used an 807. WW2 surplus. There were so many New Old Stock (25 yr+) on the market they were almost free. Used an HV transformer from a TV set. Also so plentiful they were almost free. Ham radio folks loved them. High powered (~80 watts) beam power tetrode. There was a saying of meeting someone at the parts house to get a couple of 807s. It meant "let's go to a bar and knock back a couple of brewskis"

My Dad did not like messing with anything that could shock him. At a very early age, I became the official spotter of a burned looking tube. Then I removed it(TV unplugged, of course) and Dad would drive us to Western Auto who had a tube tester and a supply of new tubes. I got to replace the tube and become a momentary hero! A TV back then was large and heavy! the picture tube alone was so cumbersome with the shape and poor weight distribution. I have a 32" TCL Roku TV that I just bought and with the box, it weighed about 9 lbs.

Also, nothing like an in home TV repair while you watch the workman do his thing. If it was a simple job, the person would show you what to do the next time.

I remember them and also my parents telling us that we can get electrocuted long after the tv was turned off so behind the tv was never a good place for hide and seek

The first TV we ever owned had a tube blow and catch fire. My dad and I carried it out in the yard.