NOS Western Electric 101D "tennis ball" tube

Noromance,

An Ebay seller from Hong Kong has a matched pair of WE 101D tubes going for the paltry sum of $2999.00. I think I will pass on those.

You might want to consider taking out a subscription to Antique Radio Classified, and placing a want ad there. I wouldn't be surprised if some of their subscribers have NOS WE 101D's they would be willing to sell at reasonable prices.

Also, you might want to consider trying to obtain some of the later version WE 101D's that were issued in a more modern domed bulb style, rather than the original tennis ball style. A WE datasheet issued in 1941 for the newer version of the tube states that:

This tube replaces the D-86326 tube and has been assigned the old code number 101D. It includes an improved filament, a new mechanical design using transverse mica supports and is mounted in a dome type bulb. The electrical characteristics are essentially the same as for the D-86326 tube.

Regards,
-- Al

Al,

Thank you very much your advice. I will definitely subscribe to Antique Radio Classified.

I have seen the WE dome style bulbs at a much cheaper price.

Hopefully, I will receive some feedback from an Audiogon member who has actually used the WE 101D in the Coincident Statement Line Stage.

You're welcome! The print edition of Antique Radio Classified seems to be getting published very infrequently in the last couple of years, so what I'd suggest is a web-only subscription. You would then be able to place free want ads that would appear in an email ARC sends to all subscribers theoretically every week, but sometimes not quite that often, which contains all recently submitted classified ads.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

Al,

I am now reading some of the archived content on Antique Radio Classified. It looks like a very useful resource. Thanks again for pointing me in this direction.