Largest vacuum tube ever made

[N2IXK]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

It was a new in box Westinghouse WL 676. 4 prongs on the base, & a top cap.

A mercury vapor thyratron, used in various types of industrial equipment (welders, motor speed controls, etc.). If interested, the datasheet for RCA's version available here:

http://scottbecker.net/tube/sheets/049/6/676.pdf

[Sandy G]

Originally Posted by N2IXK

A mercury vapor thyratron, used in various types of industrial equipment (welders, motor speed controls, etc.). If interested, the datasheet for RCA's version available here:

http://scottbecker.net/tube/sheets/049/6/676.pdf

Yeah...I got it for almost nuthin' 'cause it was just layin' out where any little kid could get it & bust it, & I told the woman running the store that it was extremely dangerous to do that, & she was opening herself up for a big lawsuit, potentially. OK, so maybe that was an exaggeration, but back when I was a Snarky Little Boy, I developed a "Radar" for finding stuff like this & foolin' w/it...Never broke anything, but I was just VERY dam luicky, too..And I'm sure there are OTHER Snarky Little Boys out there...

[ppppenguin]

Mercury arc rectifiers are among the big boys. The biggest are in steel tanks but the largest glass ones are not small. I have a medium sized one which can be seen working on the "MAR" page of my website.

[6GH8cowboy]

A ham radio buddy of mine had some odd stuff stolen out of his garage, including a large transmitter tube from an old radio station. Being in a less-than ideal part of town one of the kids asked what happened . He told the kid that someone stole some old parts and that they were "radio active" and that he felt bad for the thief "cause in a week or so they'll be dead" The stuff was on his lawn the next morning!

[kc8adu]

ROFLOL!
reminds me of a neighbor who had a problem with getting batteries stolen from his spare car.
after the 4th one he asked me for help.
i had him disconnect the positive cable at the starter.i then installed a 24v aircraft battery.
2 weeks later the hood was ajar and the battery missing.
a few days later there was a big commotion a few doors up in the alley.kids were pushing a smoking car out of their garage.it was on fire under the dash.
after the fire dept got done putting it out(what was left of it)one of the firemen asked who was the idiot that put the 24v battery in it?
never had any more batteries stolen!

Originally Posted by 6GH8cowboy

A ham radio buddy of mine had some odd stuff stolen out of his garage, including a large transmitter tube from an old radio station. Being in a less-than ideal part of town one of the kids asked what happened . He told the kid that someone stole some old parts and that they were "radio active" and that he felt bad for the thief "cause in a week or so they'll be dead" The stuff was on his lawn the next morning!

[VintagePC]

Originally Posted by kc8adu

ROFLOL!
reminds me of a neighbor who had a problem with getting batteries stolen from his spare car.
after the 4th one he asked me for help.
i had him disconnect the positive cable at the starter.i then installed a 24v aircraft battery.
2 weeks later the hood was ajar and the battery missing.
a few days later there was a big commotion a few doors up in the alley.kids were pushing a smoking car out of their garage.it was on fire under the dash.
after the fire dept got done putting it out(what was left of it)one of the firemen asked who was the idiot that put the 24v battery in it?
never had any more batteries stolen!

Hehe... I woulda taken the 24V and wired each terminal to some thin aluminum foil strips running down the side... then painted the aluminum with conductive black paint. Nasty surprise for someone that tries to pick it up.
Mind you, they'd have to be on the same side so the current only goes through the hand and not the heart...