Tech Tubes at Blackburn MicroTech Solutions

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Structo
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Tech Tubes at Blackburn MicroTech Solutions

Post by Structo »

We have all heard about the new tube technology that Tech Tube of Blackburn MicroTech Solutions is using to manufacture a new type of preamp tube, namely the ECC83.

I like to check in on their website at least once or twice a month to see if there are any updates.

They originally said the tube would be released in October but now have pushed it back to December, and since it is December I checked again a little while ago. No new news but I did notice they have a new question and answer section.


What will be the price of the valves?
Pricing for the Legacy series will be £20 - £30 (UK VAT included) depending on volumes ordered. The VAT rate will vary depending on the "ship to Country and for exports out of the UK there will be an amount of duty to pay. In all cases Customers will be presented with the cost build up before they are asked for payment. At every step of the purchase process the Customer will have the option to cancel the sales process.

Along with the pre-amplification valves what others are planned?
Power valves are on our roadmap for 2009. We plan to start with EL34, EL84, KT66 and KT88. Over the year other valves of various types will be investigated to assess their suitability to the new technology from TechTube™.

How do I buy product?
In the initial stages product can only be ordered direct form the factory. There are two ways to do this. First and most effective is via the web shop www.techtubevalves.com, secondly you can call direct using the contact numbers off the web and the operative will take your order over the phone but still you will require a credit / debit card for payment.

How much of the old equipment is still used?
Blackburn no longer has any valve making equipment from the "glory days". The new technology utilises similar equipment but made to today's higher specifications.

If you are on the Mullard site why are you not using the Mullard name?
The Mullard brand is still owned by Philips Electronics in the Netherlands but we did not consider using the brand name as it is clear from viewing our valve that it is not a "Mullard" valve. The Blackburn site has its history from 1938 as a Mullard site but in the mid 1980's Philips removed the Mullard name from its factories, offices and research facilities and rebranded them Philips. The Blackburn Mullard site became Philips Components Blackburn. In 2006 with the demise of the CRT Industry the Company changed its name once more to Blackburn MicroTech Solutions to better reflect its new business activities; manufacture of small high tech components and finished products.

From the data sheet I read that the capacitance is rated way below normal, why is this and what is the benefit?
One of the key advantages of the TechTube™ design is the lower surface area for the metalwork. Simplistically the resulting capacitance ensures the TechTube™ valve has an excellent response to high frequencies.

Why are you confident the life time will be improved as stated in your data sheet?
The heart of the TechTube™ valve is the cathode. The Blackburn facility has been making cathodes for the CRT industry (Televisions to you and me…) for over 35 years. After making over 1.5 billion we think we understand how to do it! The CRT industry standard life time was 10 years of normal TV usage, and so in a valve where the cathode is not driven as hard as in a TV we expect to get the same life time. Testing of this lifetime is an ongoing process but already valves that have had simulated five years of permanent usage show no drop in performance.

I don't see any mica support in the top of the valve. How are the tubes for microphonics?
The design of the construction used in the TechTube™ valve takes vibration aspects into consideration and negates the requirement for upper support.

Will any circuit redesigning be required to use the TechTube™ valve?
TechTube™ valves have been designed in such a way that they are direct plug and play replacements for their existing equivalent valve type. No circuitry alterations should be required.

Is the new TechTube technology like the Nuvistor technology?
No, the TechTube™ valve is manufactured just like a traditional valve, pumped, activated then sealed.

Do you think they are going for this design because materials are not available to make exact copies of the old Mullard range?
The materials used in the original valve technologies, Mullard included, are still available. The TechTube™ valve is based around the cathode from the existing CRT industry and as such uses very similar materials but in a different design that takes advantage of the existing cathode technology. The original cathode technology and construction used in the original valve manufacturing on site was utilised for the original CRT cathode technology 35 years ago. Our engineers, some of which served apprenticeships in the valve workshops, have now taken this technology full circle and used the CRT cathode back in valve making.
Tom

Don't let that smoke out!
CaseyJones
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Re: Tech Tubes at Blackburn MicroTech Solutions

Post by CaseyJones »

Yeah, great.

(Roll yer "R's" while you recite this:)

The worldwide economy has gone for a complete crap (crap sounds sophisticated when you roll the "r" :lol: ) so take anyone's rollout schedule wif a grain o' salt. I hope to be the last man standin' after y'all go broke although as they say, "hope springs eternal". :lol: Anyway... spendy tubes are gonna be way down anyone's priority list somewhere down below food and rent.
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Merlinb
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Re: Tech Tubes at Blackburn MicroTech Solutions

Post by Merlinb »

CaseyJones wrote:Anyway... spendy tubes are gonna be way down anyone's priority list somewhere down below food and rent.
Fortunately the world of hi-end hifi is pretty immune to recession, since the very rich remain very rich regardless of what people with mortgages are doing. The problem won't be with demand, but with how much determination the manafacturers have.
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Structo
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Re: Tech Tubes at Blackburn MicroTech Solutions

Post by Structo »

Hi Merlin,

You're in the UK right?

Have you heard much about these new tubes?
Tom

Don't let that smoke out!
Kregg
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Re: Tech Tubes at Blackburn MicroTech Solutions

Post by Kregg »

The second deflation hits the market hard, drop a sh*t load of cash into NOS tubes. Otherwise, if you happen to be sitting on "too much" cash the evil uncle
will come after it with reckless wealth envy. 8)
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Structo
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Re: Tech Tubes at Blackburn MicroTech Solutions

Post by Structo »

Got an update from Tech Tube.
Not real encouraging, they are having problems with the design......


Hi there,

It’s now been three months since our last notice and activity has been frantic and very productive but as yet the elusive solution is not quite ready for public unveiling. Despite the economic downturn our drive to launch the new TechTube™ valve technology is not diminished. We still have full management backing and are getting closer to the specification we have set ourselves.

Our target for the E813CC valve is to have every triode and consequently every valve with an Ip current within a band from 0.8mA to 1.2mA. We targeted this band after benchmarking several competitor valves. The benchmark analysis showed that current valve production has Ip ranging between 0.7mA and 1.6mA, even though the data sheet specification is 1mA! Within a valve, the triode to triode variation ranges from nothing (both triodes having the same output) to 0.5mA difference between triodes.

NOS valves perform better having Ip varying between 0.7mA and 1.3mA. Mullard NOS (Blackburn production) have excellent within valve (triode to triode) variations of less than 0.1mA against a norm of 0.25mA. Sovtek have a slightly wider triode to triode variation of 0.25mA but valve to valve they are very consistent with all the valves we tested falling between 0.95mA and 1.4mA.

Currently, our Ip ranges from 0.75mA to 1.5mA, too much variation considering our claim that we are benchmarked against the Blackburn Mullard valve. We continue to work on the factors that give this variation and are near to a resolution.

The other characteristic that we needed to improve upon according to feedback from the September show is microphony. Again we benchmarked several valves already in the field, both current production and NOS. Once again the variation seen was incredible. It’s no wonder end users complain about inconsistent performance!! Over the months the team has been working on this problem, we have come to know how valves shake, rattle and role in intimate detail. Our use of high speed cameras, differing construction techniques and numerous mechanical designs has led us in several directions. Unfortunately even though most were successful in removing microphony they created problems with other characteristics of the valve and consequently they have been scrapped. The down side of this process is that time moves on. Our knowledge base is rapidly increasing but that elusive solution that can be industrialised and automated is still to be found. We continue with numerous parallel paths and the team continues to work hard.

As a result of these factors we will not be in a position to launch the web sales to our plan of April this year. The team continues to work hard on the problems and we will keep you informed as we move through April and probably May.



From all in the TechTube™ team @ Blackburn
*******************************************************
Tom

Don't let that smoke out!
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