jimjimbo Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Well, after the day I had today, any issues I might have had here pale in comparison.... I'm getting too old for this crap....On the off chance that this was a possible gold mine (based on a CL description and another sites pictures) I drove almost 3 hours, stayed overnight last night close by in order to get there early this morning. OK, no big deal. Arrived at 6am for a 10:30 opening, and was the first person (read: moron) there by easily 2 hours. One guy showed up at 8am and I got out of my car to greet him and chit chat. When he made a comment something like..."Well, I was wondering what kind of competition I'd have today"....I knew this could be trouble. Then he asked, "So what are you after?", and I said something about some nice audio tubes (purposely vague), he then got snarky and said, "Well, isn't everybody?" OK, I'm done with this guy...and got back in my car to wait due to the 30 degree temps. The Estate Sale service folks showed up at 9 (whom I had already spoken with on the phone, and told them I would be there early). My new "buddy"....(I'll call him Mike), immediately announced that he was there first and wanted to be the first to get on the sign up list to get into the house. Shall we say that the situation degraded from there...I was furious. What a total jerk. Major DBag. I can't even begin to tell you the major fit he threw when the sale manager stated that he was in fact second in line, behind me. It actually got worse, but I'm still too pissed to keep writing....Long story short, all that time and trouble and BS yielded only a few decent finds, no major scores, as some previously here had predicted....But, I lived and learned. Yikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I have been looking for a single Mullard EL37. I have 3 of the 4 I need. Very hard to find, and pricey. They aren't necessarily hard to find - that certain auction site does have them - but you are correct that they aren't cheap. NOSValves's list is pretty comprehensive, and he and Maynard give good advice. Agreed. I did find one on fleaBay last night but didn't pull the trigger. $139 for one is cheap. Usually they are $180-250 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 In addition, since you will be buying tubes that are presumably untested and not guaranteed, spending more than a minimal amount (i.e. a dollar or two at most) for each would be a mistake. Even tubes which look like pristine NOS may not be, may have open filaments, shorts, etc. I've 'gambled' a bit on untested tubes and certainly have had both good and bad experiences in buying untested tubes. What I have found is that in some instances, it seems that some of the 'old timers' may have been afraid to throw anything out and would put the old worn out tubes in the box from the new tubes they bought and place the box back on the shelf. Now many years later someone comes along and buys the shelf of tubes in an estate sale thinking they are buying "new old stock" tubes because the tube is packed in a box. Next step is the eBay auction where the listing states "untested NOS tubes." However, I can't see how the description is even remotely accurate. I find it very difficult to determine much from pictures; however, sometimes the pictures in the auction will show a "white" getter flash and I know to stay away from that tube as white typically indicates the tube no longer has vacuum and is leaking. However, I believe that other colors such as silver, grey or brown doesn't really tell me much as the getter flash can be any of these. If I can tell the fllashing is worn from the picture, I'll pass on the tube as there is a really good chance the tube is weak and on the final legs of its life. When looking at some of the old 45 tubes, sometimes the getter is so thick that I can actually see it peeling somewhat in the pictures. Everytime I've gambled on these old 45 tubes with the thick shiny getter flashing, I've seemed to be fortunate in that the tubes then test extrememly strong for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) Jim, sorry to hear about your experience with the sale. Situations like what you described are more common than one would think (you should see what happens at some of the antique radio and audio equipment sales/auctions/estate sales!). And Fjd is quite correct about the color of the getter flashing not being indicative of a tube's condition or capability. The only exception I've encountered is with rectifiers like the 5U4 when used in the high voltage supplies of TVs. Their getters did seem to develop a brownish tinge after years of service in that application. Even so, the tubes were often electrically fine. Maynard Edited October 24, 2014 by tube fanatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick J B Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Well that sucks. Not completely surprising tho, me and a buddy of mine used to go to estate and farm auctions on weekends to look for treasure. After a couple of years of putting up with peoples nonsense I decided it wasn't worth the grief. Some of the worst situations I ran across was family members who didn't want dad's stuff sold off but had been out voted by siblings. I don't appreciate being called a vulture. I mean what the hey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Yea, my "mojo" and good nature were pretty much gone by the time I walked in the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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