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Kinda kills me that my dad passed on before I got back to my roots. He undoubtedly would have gotten audio out of the Admiral Roundie From Hell. I envy Findm is still able to do that. My dad had me salvage, test, and sort tubes, so when somebody came by and needed a good used 6W4 or 1B3GT I could say "got it" or not. If I found the right one, in a timely manner, and got it to the "customer" before he left, I usually got an Eisenhower dollar for my trouble. Those always seemed like more money than a paper bill. It's probably been 20 years since I've seen an Eisenhower dollar, for that matter.
Funny, I have a TC-131 I got off of eBay and almost never use it because it's sentimental. Funny to hear somebody else out there did the same thing, I mean. And memorizing the setup numbers almost to the point of not having to look in the manual (12AX7 = 12-F-10-B/G-3).
I bought a TC-136 for my workhorse, use it constantly. I don't think there's any difference between the two, except cosmetics. Oh, yeah, the 131 has a CRT cable and socket but I never found any documentation on how to use it. Anyone?
I have to second your bold comments. I'm the youngest person I know personally who still knows what a vacuum tube does. It's a lost art and I was surprised by the number of 20-somethings that chimed in. I still personally know a few kids who can work with me on a vintage Hot Rod, but even those guys are dying out. With everything disposable and the throw-away mentality. Something arcane like vintage TV, I'm pretty much alone. It's nice to see a few "youngsters" in the mix. My hats off, too.
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