"Devalue" a 78 by reducing its re-tube cost by $700??
One of the biggest reasons I've never wanted a 76 or 78 is the re-tube
cost. My assumption is that even if I get one with good tubes, at some
point in the future I'll be replacing tubes that are literally worth their
weight in gold -- either through accident, neglect, or no fault of my own.
And if I got one with soft tubes or even dead tubes, the replacement cost
would just come that much sooner.
Working from the classic "dollar a watt" figure and subtracting the cost
for re-tubing from the purchase price, a 78 with dud jugs almost falls into
the "pay somebody to haul it off" category.
Maybe my perception is wrong, but I don't see any Alpha amp having the same
cachet and collectible value of something like a Collins -- or, for that
matter, even the same collectible value as some of the more infamous CB
amps. So when collectible value goes away, all you're left with is the
amp's value as a plug-and-play functional unit. At that point, a plywood
box starts to look very attractive!
For that matter, so does a G2DAF made from a 6076 -- I've been finding
these on ebay for mostly under $50 each, and now have four of them sitting
on the mantel reminding me to start building.
Hmm, I wonder how four of these in parallel would work. Maybe I should
dummy up a deck and see if it looks like something I should tease Riley
with.
Rich, got any 2/0 nichrome buss bar for suppressors?
Jim N6OTQ
"Dear Peter, I need a quote on a 7.5 KV, 12 A CCS plate transformer ...."
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