The TechnoPhool page

The Technophool page links checked 19 Apr 07

Some retro-tech articles on this site:

1922 booklet on Armstrong's superregenerative radio circuit      Thanks to Larry Fowkes
1931 Service info from the Radio Television Institute   (separate page)   Thanks to Danny Gay
1934 Thordarson Sound Amplifier Manual                         Thanks to Bill Pulhamus for these
1934 Thordarson Catalog 341 - Replacement Transfomers
1935 Amertran (American Transformer) catalog
1935 Thordarson Radio Servicemen's Guide
1935 Thordarson Transmitter Guide
1937 Thordarson Sound Amplifier Manual
1937 Thordarson Servicemen's Guide                    (Lindsay Books has reprinted several of these)
1938 Thordarson Radio Service Guide (DjVu format - see Home page)
1938/39 Thordarson Catalog 400C
1938 Gernsback booklet: "4 Shortwave Sets by W. C. Doerle" 3.7 mb pdf   1.9 MB DjVu (Thanks John!)
A few '30s - '40s Philco Service Bulletins (separate page) - DjVu format
40s-50s data sheets from Utah Transfomer and Thordarson (universal series)
1947 article on Triplett 2413 (most emission tube testers are similar)     Thanks to Jimmie Stewart
1949 article by Frank McIntosh introducing his "unity coupled" amplifier - also thanks to Bill Pulhamus
The 1953 Radio's Master catalog had these pages from Freed, Kenyon, Peerless, and a few HiFi pages
1954 paper by A.B. Bereskin on building a high quality amplifier, with details on transformer design
1955 article by A. B. Bereskin on building a 3000 watt amplifier - Thanks to Caryl Pierson for these
1955 article on Stereophonic sound from Popular Electronics, and another on How Tuning Eye tubes Work
1956 article from Radio Electronics on Hi Fi Amplifier Output stages
1957 list of EIA codes from Sams - numeric list in DjVu format (better scans below)
1957 RCA COLOR TV brochure - DjVu format
Some 1950's hi fi scans
1958 Concord catalog Hi Fi pages Radios, etc. (Multiply prices x 5 for today's equivalent) DjVu format
1958 application notes on using a sine-square generator from Precision (DjVu format)
1959 list of EIA manufacturer codes from Sams Photofacts - DjVu - ZIP - .gif - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
1959 Mullard booklet on building a 2W stereo amp - thanks to Dennis Grimwood (DjVu)
1964 article on estimating ratings of unknown transformers 1, 2 (thanks to Alan Douglas)
More transformer catalogs (thanks to Pat Jankowiak), all in DjVu format:
Merit 1951, Triad 1952 (partial), Stancor 1954, UTC 1960, Stancor 1966, Triad 1971 (partial)
...and more: Chicago Transformer 1958, and Centralab (includes those pesky PECs or couplates)
...found at a hamfest: Kenyon Transformer 1940 and Stancor 1951 - and UTC Terminal Arrangements
...and Clarostat 1946

Schematic Links on theWeb:

Tech Info at Aiken Amps (not just for guitar amps...)
Ampage Schematics (Guitar)
Altec vintage pro poducts, Ampex Audio manuals
Vintage tube amp schematics at AmpsLab
Andrea Ciuffoli - Audio
Audio schematics from Claudio Bonavolta
AX84 - the "open source" guitar amplifier
BAMA (Boat Anchor Manual Archive): Ham radio, test equipment - if it's busy, try the Mirror Site
Scott's Beitmans Site - "Beitman's Most Needed Diagrams", or download the full volumes here
Steve Bench has a site with some unorthodox circuits - always interesting.
Blue Guitar - guess what?
Paul Cambie ~~has~~had many audio projects and schematics - but you can still rummage...
Canadian Radios and Sams Dial Stringing Guide
Bob Casey's Old Radio Page
Cool Schematics - Guitar amps and effects
Dynaco (tube) schematics from Gary Kaufman
Unofficial Dynaco Page - the rest (I have an SCA-80Q and two pairs of A-25s)
Eico Audio Components - gone - try the Wayback Machine - schematics here
Fender Field guide - photos, info, many schematics
Firebottle audio schematics
The Free Information Society - Electronics
Glowbugs, more Glowbugs, a favorite glowbug (haven't built it yet...), one I DID build 35 years ago
Ham Radio manuals online, Military radio manuals online
More Ham Radio, CB, Russian tubes
Heathkit Circuit Archive- GONE... some still on the Wayback Machine but here it is revived!
A few more Heath manuals here
Test equipment and ham manuals at K04BB.com
Heath, Knight, Eico and more at Kit Central
Tube audio scematics at MachMat
Marantz schematics - from an ex-Marantz engineer (now gone!)
James A. Moorer has a Boatanchor Page (and the rest of his site is worth a look too!)
Norman Koren has written an interesting page on amplifier design
Fred Nachbauer "mad retro techie" is gone, but I am glad I knew him.
Rider's Perpetual Troubleshooting Manual at Nostalgia Air - 20 volumes of radio schematics!
Pacific TV has many Audio schematics
Early Philco schematics - from Mister Philco himself! More here... and I have a few myself...
Radiotechniek has many (more than 1200!) European schematics
Radiomuseum.org in Germany... auf Englisch bitte
Luca Rossi has 261 schematics on line... and counting! Parlate italiano?
Schematic Heaven - Guitar amplifiers
Schematic Page at Triode Electronics: Audio and guitar amplifiers
A few classic audio schematics from SDS Labs
You're at the right place for Stromberg Carlson schematics
Tech Library at One Electron - Audio, Radio, Test Equipment
Test Equipment and a few radio manuals at Nostalgia Air
DIY Valve Amplifier Gallery from Japan
Many Vintage Schematics, also from Japan.
Vintage Radio and Audio from Brian McAllister
Wade's Audio and Tube page
Wizard Labs has an good article on Safety and Reliability for Vintage amps
Zenith Transoceanic page at Nostalgia Air

Not Schematics but...

Audio Basics newsletters from Van Alstine
Audio Transformer summary
Perhaps more than you'd like to know on transformer design from Patrick Turner
A few old transformer catalogs from Pat J. - are BACK at the Bunker of Doom!
More transformer catalogs from Pete Millett, and a few reference books too
Mmmm... Donuts! Plitron has several articles on toroid transformers for audio
TubeCad Journal
Amateur Radio Technical links
Technical publications at AMFone.net
Tube-o-Rama from Ken Gilbert
Visit the Vintage HiFi museum
Project Gutenberg has reproduced the 1922 Radio Amateur's Handbook (and others - search on "radio")
Literature Archives at Pearl Hifi
Let's Talk Speakers! at Weber Speakers
Audio Classroom series at Audio Express (start at the bottom...)
Boatanchors - some serious links for those old SW and Ham clunkers...
Allied Electronics Databook from 1966 (see below for tube substitutions...)
"Uncle Technology" from Audiotools
A History of American Broadcasting
Vintage radio ads - check 1930 tube prices...
Audio manuals at HiFi Engine
Hi-Fi Literature - ads from '40s to '60s (and check "MAD looks at Hi-Fi")
Crystal Sets and One-Valve Radio competitions from Historical Radio Society of Australia
For more on crystal radios, stay tuned...
Philco radio, more Philco, Silvertone, Firestone Air Chief, Atwater Kent, Grebe, Detrola, Truetone, Zenith (30's...)
Midwest Radio, another Atwater Kent site, another... can't forget Crosley, Packard Bell... or the Zenith T/O
Classic audio: McIntosh, H.H. Scott, Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer, Sherwood, Soundcraftsmen, JBL/Altec
Vintage Technics, classic speakers, FM tuners, Dual turntables, Voice of Music, ElectroVoice, AR turntables
The Reel Deal is at Vintage Texas
Tektronix 'scopes, Hickock tube testers, the Tube Tester page, an hp Museum, the hp Archive, the hp Memory Project
Stereo Manuals and more
Jim McShane is THE expert on Harman Kardon Citation tube amplifiers
An amazing list of audio links from Steve Ekblad
Antique Radios - forum, articles, classifieds, links
Daniele has tube boxes you can print and a few radio publications
Find radio stations by location, call letters, or format at radio-locator - coverage maps too!

Vacuum Tube Data:

Amperite current regulators 1, 2, 3, 4 (Thanks to John Stewart)
The Obsolete and Seldom Used list from the 1946 Sylvania data book
My list of similar and equivalent tubes with different bases
A list of tube introduction dates which might help in dating an old radio (Thanks to Ken Owens)
1928 Price list for RCA tubes (multiply x 10 for today's equivalent)
1945 Sylvania Aids to Wartime Servicing (tube substitutes)
1945 Sylvania Tube Characteristics booklet
1946 Clarostat Ballast tubes
1946 articles from Sylvania News (thanks to Bas Horneman):
VR Tubes 1, 2 Plate Ratings 1, 2 Grid Emission 1, 2 Filament Failure 1, 2
1953 Sylvania Tube Substitution booklet
1954 Sylvania Transmitting Tubes booklet
1963 RCA Industrial Nuvistors booklet
1969 RCA Industrial tube booklet

Vacuum Tube Data on the web:

1943 wartime tube substitution guide from GE
Another tube substitution list
A list of common radio tubes (1920's to '60s)
Industrial to RETMA tube number cross reference
Tube numbering systems and more...
From the Allied 1966 Electronics Databook - tube substitutions:
0A2-, 2ER5-, 3W4-,5DH8-, 6AT6-, 6BM5-, 6CU6-, 6GK5-, 6L5-, 7DJ8-, 11KV8-, 12CA5-, 17D4-, 35C5-
Foreign - American: 1H33-, D77-, EF812-, PM07-
and American - Foreign: 0A2-, 4ES8-, 6BD7-, 6EL7-, 8A8-, 16GK8-
Duncan Amps Tube data search, design software, schematics...
Tube Classics has data on European audio tubes
NJ7P Tube Search A LONG list of tubes with basic data, pinouts, substitutes...
Pete Millett's HB-3 Over a thousand RCA data sheets - more tube manuals too
Frank Philipse Electron Tube pages - over 20,000 tube numbers!
Nostalgia Air Tube Substitutions
Gary's Tube Page Audio, Dynaco Archive
Audiomatica (maker of SOFIA tube tester) - measured curves for many tubes
VT52 - check under "Downloads"
Roehrentabellen (German for "Tube Tables") - in English too
DrTube Audio tube data
Amperex 1963 condensed catalog
1933 RCA tube manual (8 MB pdf file), 1937 RCA tube manual (15 MB pdf)
WPS Tube catalogs
Sylvania 1943, 1949 and 1959, RCA RC-25 (1966) and TT-3 and TT-4 - all at the Bunker of Doom
Mike's Electric Stuff - Nixies, many REALLY weird tubes
JMH's Virtual Tube Museum ...more unusual tubes
UK National Valve Musem ...basic data for many tubes
Ake Holm's Tube Data - many tubes including Magic Eye Tubes
More on Tuning Eye Tubes... (in German, it's "Magishe Augen") ...and even more...
Nextube has Russian tube data and a list of US equivalents.
More equivalents, Russian and Chinese
More on Russian tubes in German, though... translate with Google or Babelfish
Tom Schlangen couldn't find some tube data he wanted, so he measured them - here are a few more...
12V "Space charge" tubes
EIA manufacturer codes, Philips Codes, Telefunken Date codes, even more date codes
Data on grounded plate operation of 6AU6 - thanks to Ray Moth

Tube manufacturers / sellers (with data online)

Svetlana US is GONE but check the Wayback Machine - Tube list Tech notes
JJ Electronic
Penta Laboratories
Eimac Transmitting Tubes
FAQ list - commonly used tubes from Vacuum Tube Valley.. and Eye Tubes
MachMat Tube data sheets
IGA Valves has this reference page - Russian tubes and more
Ask Jan First has Infozone - including this neon glow lamp manua l
Dons Bulbs has a Bulb Data Library
Tube Tidbits from Vacuum Tubes Inc.
Vintage Components, in the UK
Vintage Tube Services has started a history of tube makers
For Western Electric tube data, go to the source...
Amperite still makes ballast tubes and time delay relays
Retrovox (Australia) has some interesting data
Richardson Electronics has data sheets for SOME of the tubes that they stock...
Russian tube data at GSTube.com
Triode Electronics Tube data page
Ned's new site has Tube data too...
House of Tubes online store has a few tube manuals
Nixie tube data at Sphere

Other technophools...

Tube Audio forum... another forum... another ... Ok, just one more...
Affordable Audio webzine, and Bas Hornman's DIY Audio Magazine
The title sez it all... Odd Toobs
The Hollow State Newsletter
Now THIS is a power tube!
The Museum of RetroTechnology
High-speed photography at Liquid Sculpture
Where's Waldo? At the Silicon Zoo!
This is Patently Silly
The future isn't what it used to be...
Technofossils! OK, historic scientific apparatus...
The Evil Mad Scentist's laboratory and the Steampunk Workshop
How to make... stuff at Instructables and Hacked Gadgets... or maybe you'd rather take it apart...
Japanese Design Database... Wow!
"Spread Spectrum" radio stems from this 1941 patent. You may have heard of the Inventor...
Arthur C.Clarke proposed communications satellites in geostationary orbit in 1945
As for inventors, Edwin H. Armstrong rates right up there... his 1936 paper on FM radio
Remember Popular Electronics Magazine? You'll remember Don Lancaster!
Dave's Homemade Radios - more homemade radios at Sparkbench
Now HERE is a radio collection - Radiotiques
And Radiola Guy !
Bob Pease is Staff Scientist at National Semi. His columns in Electronic Design are great!
Vacuum Tube page from Elizabeth Tuttle
D. W. Grimwood's Electron Tube page
Take a look at the radio collection of Deco Dan, and here's another interesting collection
From Lebanon - Mid Century Radios
The Valve Page
A collection of Radio Direction Finders
The web page of... Philco Grump
And heeere's Triode Guy!
Thermionic madness at Tubelab
A page devoted to the Knight-Kit Wireless Broacaster
Broadcasting From the Home! at SMECC
Homemade vacuum tubes and semiconductors, among other experiments...
More DIY devices - Instruments of Amplification
More things that glow: Neon University, Kilokat's Antique Light Bulbs, Xenon flash tubes
OK, I admit it, it is the 21st century... so here's the LED museum!
Before there was a 555 timer... there was the lowly neon bulb...
The transistor is now over 50 years old - history at Mister Transistor and the Transistor Museum.
Obsolete calculators, computers, semiconductors... at Decode Systems
Transistor radios at Childhood Radios
Backyard Ballistics...
and then, of course, you'll need Proximity fuzes
Build your own laser - or a basement nuke
DON'T try this at home (but if you do, I want to watch...) Teslamania!
Fun With Tubes - just what it says....
High Voltage, lasers, other fun stuff - The Gadget FAQ from Sam Goldwasser
MORE stuff you shouldn't do at home (but SOMEBODY did...)
The Tube Lust page at Enjoy the Music
World Tube Audio Portal - links to everywhere
Tone Lizard's Lounge
A site dedicated to my favorite science fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein
Was Ghost Riders in the Sky the greatest song ever written? Or was it one of these?
Boozhound Labs ... well, hard to explain...
Doctor Gizmo has left the planet...
What to do with those useless TV Tubes...
All you geetar pickers need one of these here geetar tunas...
Data sheets for the Belchfire 6000SUX, the Umac 606, and Signetics Write-Only-Memory 1, 2
Light emitting Vegetables ... and Kimchee
Pay attention, because It's the Law!

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