Contact the Global Electronics Recycling Network. This group maintains a network of electronic recycling organizations in many countries. Use its website to locate an electronics recycling organization near your home; you can find out the drop-off location and the cost of disposing of your vacuum tubes.
Is there a market for old vacuum tubes?
A market still exists for early tubes. Radio restorers are always on the lookout for 01A tubes ($10-$15) used in most 1920s radios. These tubes also used the numbers 201A and 301A depending on the manufacturer. By far the highest prices paid for tubes are by Tube Collectors.
Are old radio tubes worth anything?
According to many factors such as type, status, and use, old radio tubes value range in price from some to hundreds and thousands of dollars. For example, an RCA electron tube costs around $15, while a 101D vintage vacuum tube can take you $400.
What is the shelf life of vacuum tubes?
New old stock tubes seem to last indefinitely unless there is physical damage, corrosion, or they lose vacuum which is relatively uncommon. There are also plenty of original tubes from the 1920s and 1930s in radios which are still perfectly functional after more than 70 or 80 years.
Tubes can be manufactured in a range of high purity precious metals, including platinum, gold, silver, palladium, rhodium, iridium and other alloys upon request. Depending on the metal, tubes can be manufactured with very small inside diameters, wall thickness and long lengths.
What replaced the transistor?
Vacuum tubes were originally used in the earliest digital electronic computers back in the 1930s and 1940s, before being replaced by transistors composed of semiconductors, which can can be manufactured much smaller, making todays computers, smartphones, and tablets possible.
What do vacuum tubes do to sound?
We use tubes simply because they make the music we create sound better: smoother, warmer and cleaner. Ditto for guitar amplifiers used in creating music. The ways that tubes distort when pushed to the edge are much more musical than the artificial sounds that come from transistor amplifiers when overdriven.
What happened to vacuum tubes?
Beginning in the mid-1960s, thermionic tubes were being replaced by the transistor. However, the cathode-ray tube (CRT) remained the basis for television monitors and oscilloscopes until the early 21st century.
Do old radios have gold in them?
Older stereos and radios contain much more gold than newer ones since they often have more gold-plated components, but all stereos have circuit boards with some gold. Examples include: Radios: CB, ham, and shortwave radios.
Where do you find gold in electronic devices?
There are two standard methods for extracting gold from electronic scraps: burning off the gold using high temperatures, which is energy intensive, expensive, and releases toxic gases.
Is CRT better than LED?
As technology improves, old cathode ray tube, or CRT, televisions give way to lighter weight, higher definition flat screen versions. These screens also use less power than a CRT, making them a more environmentally friendly option. However, not all flat screen televisions are the same.
Did transistors replace tubes?
The invention of the transistor was one of the most important developments leading to the personal computer revolution. The transistor, which essentially functions as a solid-state electronic switch, replaced the less-suitable vacuum tube.