Artifax Books

Vacuum Tubes,
manuals and books

Questions are welcome, and offers will be considered.

Ordering and shipping:All items are subject to prior sale, so inquire first as to availability and shipping charge.
Shipping prices of single items are for the USA. Inquire for multiple items. Payment by cash, personal check, money order or paypal with shipping to confirmed address.
Foreign shipping, inquire.
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References: I recommend the book Saga of the Vacuum Tube by Gerald F. J. Tyne. The most recent edition is the "third printing," 1994. It is available from various sources including Antique Electronic Supply in Tempe, Arizona, and Antique Radio Classified in Carlisle, Massachusetts.

Manuals typically include application notes, specifications, ratings, base diagrams and envelope outlines. Shipping of one manual by media mail is $3.00 in the USA.

RCA Transmitting Tubes to 4 KW plate input. Technical manual TT-5, 1962, softcover, 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches, 320 pages. Very good, clean, tight, unmarked. $15.00

RCA Receiving Tube Manuals, Technical Series RC-#, softcover, 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches - we have the following editions:

-- RC-14, 1940, 255 pages. n/a
-- RC-15, 1947, 256 pages. Text clean, tight, unmarked. $10.00
-- RC-16, 1950, 320 pages. Complete and clean, pages are separating from binding. $10.00
-- RC-17, 1954, 320 pages. Pages clean and unmarked, tape on spine. $10.00
-- RC-18, 1956, 352 pages. Clean and tight. $12.00
-- RC-19, 1959, 384 pages. Clean and tight. $12.00
-- RC-20, 1960, 432 pages. n/a
-- RC-21, 1961, 480 pages. n/a
-- RC-22, 1963, 544 pages. n/a
-- RC-23, 1964, 608 pages. n/a
-- RC-25, 1966, 608 pages. n/a
-- RC-26, 1968, 656 pages. n/a
-- RC-30, 1975, 760 pages. n/a

Books... media mail shipping of a book is $4.00

Bucher, Elmer E. Vacuum Tubes in Wireless Communication, pub. NY: Wireless Press, c. 1918, 1919. Red cloth hardcover, vii + 202 pages + 10 blank "memoranda" pages + 4 pages of ads. No dust jacket. This "practical text book for operators and experimenters" covers the oscillation valve in radiotelegraphy, applications of the valve, cascade amplification, the regenerative amplifier, the vacuum tube as a detector, and more, illustrated with photographs (nice views of Marconi 106 tuner) and schematics. Cover dirty, spine ends worn, ink name and address on front endpapers, text clean and tight on quality coated paper. #804BUC1 $35.00

4-65A cooling chimney and display tube. Here is a scarce metal heat shield or cooling chimney for an EIMAC JAN-CBXT / 8165 / 4-65A power tetrode vacuum tube. This has a metal insert with dozens of fingers that contact the tube envelope. The upper part is stamped IERC T16-1031NLH and the lower base part is stamped T16-1002LH. It is in very good condition. Good looking and a great item for your next homebrew amateur radio transmitter. The tube, which is included, is clean and very nice looking for a display but I believe the filament is open.
Second photo #465A-SHIELD $19.50 (S&H = $5.00)

#SOCKET-12 medium 4-pin bayonet socket. This is a vintage E.F. Johnson no. 123-209 medium socket. It has a ceramic base, metal shell, and side wiping contacts. Filament, grid and plate connection locations are cast into the ceramic. It accomodates triode RF amplifier - modulator - audio amplifier tubes with a 1.377 inch diameter base (nominal 1-3/8"). Tubes like the United 310, 930, or 942, or the Sylvania 210, 830, or 865 -- and many other transmitter and amplifier tubes. The plate lead, at left in photo, has no solder tab but has the hardware terminal (seems to be made that way). ... SOLD

#TUBES-BSX2 Two scarce metal vacuum tubes. Shown at right is an RCA tube stamped M-R. To reduce a crippling shortage caused by WWII military wartime needs, in 1943 - 1945 there was a program of manufacturing a few popular tubes for the (maintenance and repair" of civilian home radios. These tubes were stamped "M-R."
... In the second photo (click below) is an early RCA Radiotron Cunningham 5Z4. Metal vacuum tubes were introduced in 1934. Those from the first production in 1934 - 35 carried steel-stamped brands and type numbers (unlike the later ones which had this information printed on the shell). These early steel-stamped metal tubes are the only correct replacements for 1934 - 35 metal-tube radios such as the Atwater Kent 317 or General Electric A-81.
... The M-R tube has a few chips in the black finish. Both tubes were checked with an ohm-meter; the filaments are good and there are no inter-element shorts. Photo of 5Z4
Both for $21.00. (S&H = $3.00)

De Forest spherical audion with Hudson filament. About 1914 - 1915, A double-wing audion with bright red and green leads. The label reads "Audion Amplifier, 3-1/2 volts, Hudson filament, for second & third step only, pat. Feb. 18, 1908." The filament devised by Walter Hudson and suggested to MCCandless (de Forest's bulb maker) used a tungsten filament for strength with a wrapping of fine tantalum wire for emissivity. Here are more photos of this scarce tube; notice the wrapped filament.
Second photo
Third photo
Fourth photo
Fifth photo
Sixth photo
Seventh photo
Visiually appears very good, filament seems to test OK, one side of the double filament is not securely soldered to the base but no insulation (indicating a spare) is apparent. SOLD

Photocell tube. This is an old photocell or photoelectric tube, I would guess from the mid 1920s. From the unmarked, cement-filled base and the style it appears to be an experimental or prototype tube. The small paper label on the neck is stained and unreadable.
Second photo
Third photo
Untested but visually appears very good. #TUBE.PHOTO001 SOLD

De Forest spherical audion. A double-wing audion with nice length and color in the plate and grid leads.
Second photo
The filaments are open. Visually very good and a nice display item. #TUBE.DEF002 SOLD