On the Cover The base-branding machine in the De Forest Radio Co. plant, ca. 1929. The five-pin basses rotate into contact with the branding die – the white object at lower center above the pipe elbow. Heated by a gas flame just below, it burns the De Forest script logo into the base. In this...
Lee De Forest jollies-up with Roy Weagant, namesake of a family of external-controlled tubes of ca. 1919. The picture was taken in the officees of Sheffield and Betts, patent attorneys in New York. The origianal caption was “When Grid and Gridless Meet. Phot: Jerry Vanicek. In this issue
The rare and prestigious Western Electric/Signal Corps VT-3. Photo by Bill Condo The rare and prestigious Western Electric/Signal Corps VT-3. Photo by Bill Condon In this issue
On the Cover The vanishingly rare GL-8009, a version of the 880 triode with two extra posts for the grid leads, introduced by GE in 1942. While “intended for television service’ on prewar tv channels, its frequency rating for full power was no more than that of the 880, or 25 MHz. In this issue
Tube-and-bulb collector Floyd Lyons pays a visit to John Stokes, his New Zeland counterpart, in 1967. Lyons is admiring a Sperical Audio, while Stokes is holding a Loewe OB333 home receiver with its triple-triode tube. Photo: Auckland Start In this issue
Illustration from an RCA dealer-promotio brochure of ca. 1926, “rolling out” a new symbol for RCA tubes, the “Radioman.” He was expected to join the, er, pantheon of logotypes for U.S. consumer goods: the “ArgoStarch” Indian-maiden figure, the “Dutch Boy Paints” youth, the “Gold Dust Twins”, the “Cambell,s Soup: cook, etc. The goofy Radiotron Man...
The RCA “Selling Fool” doll, a retailer display aid designed ca. 1926 by the major cover/commercial artist Maxfield Parrish. The “Fool” replaced the “Radiotron Man” figure as seen on the Feb. cover, although Web postings about the doll often use the “Radiotron” name. RCA’s $5 price for a quqetet of dolls is ironic – this...
Some thermionic jollity for the season, courtesy of Bengt Svensson In this issue
Hisashi Ohtsuka (right), enjoying his 2009 Schrader Award plaque with Dr Yukawa, museum director of the University of Electro_Communicationon Tokyo. Photos: Hisashi Ohtsuka In this issue
The mount drawing for the now-eBaygenic “single-plate” 2A3 audio triode, with its 20 filaments. This original version carried a reputation for being hard to amke in terms of equal tension on the filaments, and was soon superseded by new designs. The note about the tensioning springs testifies to this diffuculty. Image: RCA Standardizing Notice 3-1-2A3,...