Tubes (was OT: Televisions)

[Ben]

Tim Shoppa wrote:

> 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.

Well I would say since the late 1970's since that is when
every thing when transistor in a big way. I have the need for
the odd audio tube, since I like power audio amplifiers with
no feedback. I suspect tube re-sellers  make a slow profit
since tubes unlike computers that need a 2-3 year market turn over.

> Tim.
>
I got looking at a 1T4 tube the other day and it is marvel
of good old mechanical engineering.
Ben.