Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire antique radios and tubes

I have a couple of bad electro-vacuum tubes in my 1942 silver anniversary RCA. Sure would like to be able to get the baseball games back on through this old dandy.

Does anybody know of a supply house ?

Try here?

Vacuum Tube supplier

These guys specialize in amp tubes and I don't know if that's the same as TV but a place to start.

I mean - it's not like Google is hard to use...

Tube Depot

Followed up on that link. 300B tubes they now have the license from Western Electric. $699.00 each. gee wizz

I will have to keep checking around.

Teal, I will get my numbers down and chance them with a long distance call to see what else they cater to. I do not know what might be used in both radios and electric guitars. I am in the outfield on this.

I'd look to see if there's a TV repair business left in the area. They may still have a supply or know where one is. A few bucks for their help might be better than $699 on-line.

One of the audiophile talk forums may have some suggestions.

Check ads directed toward hams. There is a fairly good sized subculture there dedicated to old tube type receivers and transmitters.

For the most part, they use the same general types of tubes as your broadcast receiver.

Svetlana is or used to be a brand of com-bloc made tubes.

Check QRZ.COM as a starting point.

Edited to add: Check ermag.com.

Quite a few actually. Once you get the tube #’s go to a cross reference chart. Tubes just like IC’s have cheaper generic versions that have the same specs and pin out.

Antique Electronic Supply in Tempe, Arizona. Trust me.

my old pal Roy and his brother run probably the world's largest tube outlet. Tell Roy Sam sent you

https://vacuumtubes.net/

or Radio Electric Supply at 800-326-4140 same folks here in Gainesville, FL

What tube numbers do you need? List them here. I probably have the tubes you need.

In radios that old, the electrolytic capacitors often dry out and don't work. The symptom they will show is a 120 Hz buzz that blocks everything. Replacing those with modern capacitors is quick and cheap. Good luck with your project.

Maybe do a search for Ham radio clubs in your area. Ours has a section to post questions. Some of the old time Hams horde tubes like we horde primers....

Maybe an eBay search too.

Looks like I have two that will be 6F6 - G

There is also single larger one I believe is a rectifier tube and that one says 5U4 - G

i had taken those out some time back and back not been back inside of the unit, it is in a barn loft wrapped up last I left it.

It will also likely need a new transformer, cord and speaker. The furniture aspect of it is in excellent condition. Even if I do not get back original, close would please me.

Thanks to all for many possible avenues to check in with.

Well Denton you brought up the down side. Other components could be causing the tubes not to function right, also once new tubes are installed other problems crop up as you mentioned. Back when you could walk into any hardware store and find a tube tester.

Great points taken note of. Before diving in deep. I might attempt to retrofit a newer radio inside the big fancy solid wood cabinet at least to still keep the appeal. See what turns up

Once upon a time when I were a younger man, I spent many an hour inside a communications hut with 4 of these tube radios all tuned to different freq's on different nets........in case of a EMP's you just replaced the tubes and kept on communicating!







Frog---OUT!

The 5U4 is indeed the rectifier. Replace with 2 modern silicon rectifier diodes for less money and longer service.

Frogman, there was a time that a group of us were running phone patches by the hour for the guys in Viet Nam.