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From: wmartin@ALMSA-1.ARPA (Will Martin -- AMXAL-RI)
Newsgroups: net.ham-radio
Subject: Transmitting tube cost
Message-ID: <683@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 13-Dec-85 18:28:39 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.683
Posted: Fri Dec 13 18:28:39 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Dec-85 01:19:20 EST
Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA
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>Most of the ceramic metal tubes are more fragile, and much more
>expensive (I think the 8875 is on the order of $250 each, and the 8877
>is around $500!).  Paul Young, K1XM

Anybody have any data on just what makes these tubes cost so much? The
materials cost, after all, can't justify this -- they are not full of
platinum components (as far as I know -- if they were, there'd be a
brisk trade in worn-out ones!). I know that tubes for broadcast transmitters
cost vast amounts -- when WRNO's shortwave transmitter went out a few weeks
ago, they explained the length of downtime to the fact that they
couldn't afford to stock spare tubes at $10,000 each (!) and that was
what failed, and they had to wait for replacements.

As for these ham-type transmitting tubes, what contributes to the cost?
Is it just that they are so difficult to manufacture and that there are
many failures and broken products for each finished good tube? Or are
they sole-sourced from someone who is charging anything they want
because there is no competition? (Shades of the DoD spare-parts brouhaha!)

Regards, Will

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