2. vintage
  3. 183761-159766

Tubes, Tubes and more Tubes...

So I inherited probably over 500+ vintage tubes 9 pins, Octals, some strange ones that look like 16-pins and some 4-pins that look like mini 300Bs. They are from an old radio station that used them in their equipment and also in radio repair in the 50's through the 70's. Once they switched over to new equipment in the 70s and 80s all the tubes were all shelved. I've pulled the ones I can use for my equipment (6SN7GTBs, 12SN7GTB,s 6BQ7As, 12AU7,12AT7s) but I'm not sure what to do with the rest. They are 98% NOS in boxes, Mostly RCA but lots of Tung-Sol, Amprex and PhilipsECG with the used ones marked. I was thinking of listing them on Reverb but... It's soooo many it would take years and most are singles. What would you do? 

ruraldave1
dill
2,525 posts
 

They are not going to be worth much unless they have been tested. Tube dealers will want them super cheap. Even though they are in the boxes doesn't mean they are NOS, they need to test NOS. I have sold 3400 tubes in a year and a half using eBay & Craigslist. 

oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,835 posts
 

Amen to that !   A lot of "NOS" tunes aren't really NOS.....

ruraldave1 OP
4 posts
 

 

dill,

 

they did have a methodology to their madness. All the used tubes have a penned "X" on them or have the tube type written over the original printed box. I've opened roughly 20 of each to see that the pins are visibly discolored and the silkscreening is not perfect on the X'd ones and the non-X'd ones have no heat discoloration on the pins and the silk screening is great. 

whart's avatar
whart
3,038 posts
 

And "NOS" doesn't mean never used. It's a marketing term for a tube that "tests" good. How are the tubes tested? At high voltage? Good luck doing this on your own unless @dill is suggesting he can do this and handle marketing. 

I buy quality tubes- I'm picky, I don't buy used up tubes- it's getting harder to find true never used NOS of desirable tubes. The OP will have to decide what amount of time and effort he wants to put into the process and how much return he expects. I'll pay for the right tube. Some are pretty much unobtanium on the open market. Or you pay through the nose for them. 

If gear can use a modern production tube and sound good, more power to you. 

petg60
1,486 posts
 

500 tubes can be listed on ebay "sold as is" and get you good cash.

Finding a dealer to sell them all at once will get you much less.

Buying a tube tester and list them with readings will get you much more.

Depends on rarity of tube, your time spent and how professionally you want to do it.

More to discover