For the tubes maniacs...

These are leftovers from the days my dad used to fix radios and TVs...long time ago.
Most have been extremely used... But some have few hours of usage. Various brands, but mostly Philips Miniwatt.

Continued...

And these were purchased by me at several electronics fair some years ago, except for #16 in the first picture, which is another leftover from my dad's arsenal.
They were such a bargain that I couldn't resist! 

Thank God i don't have those tubes. It would make me want to build Something!!

Any ECC88/6922/6DJ8's in there? 

Any ECC88/6922/6DJ8's in there? 

Nope, sorry Some EC88's but that's a totally different tube.

Today I went to the biggest electronics trade fair in my area. It takes place twice a year, and I use to attend it every time. At this fair I bought some years ago those tubes above; since then I didn't look for tubes anymore. Today I was looking for an ECC83 and an ECC81 to complete the tube arrangement for a phono preamp I'd like to build in the future.
Basically this preamp would need two ECC83 (one per channel) and one ECC81 (in common).
I already have one long plate and one short plate Philips Miniwatt ECC83, so I was looking for another identical to one of these two (not matched, but at least of the same type).
Also, in a batch of unbranded and unidentified tubes in my dad leftovers, I managed to spot, through the barely readable factory code, one Philips Miniwatt ECC81 manufactured by Siemens; and along those there is a Lorenz one without any code or name that looks like an ECC81. These two could be enough, but not being sure if they're still working, I decided to look for one of this babies at the fair.
So, when I got there, I found out that in the years between my last search for tubes, thing have got...very nasty. ECC 83, 82 and 81 have been basically decimated. Years ago I remember seeing some good European specimens, while the American ones were more abundant (RCA and GE mostly), with lots of 5751. Now there are almost only few American tubes, and prices have increased by at least 50%.
Not to mention the tubes conditions...one seller had a stock rescued from a flooded warehouse!!!  Years ago I bought one clean, good looking NOS short plate Philips for 10 euros, while today I could find only one identical (same factory, same year but Valvo branded) USED short plate for 20 euros.
Long plates: impossible to find. I've seen only one Telefunken: used, one of the last models, the most cheap, for 80 euros (keep in mind that fair prices are way lower than in the rest of the market).
ECC81: the same...I bought the cheapest one, which coincidentally is identical to the one I've got: same Siemens factory, same year, used, 15 euros (10 euros for a good NOS ECC81 back in 2004). All in all I was lucky.
As for other types, things are even worst. No 6V6's, 6L6's, EL34's or bigger audio tubes, just a couple of EL84. Smaller brands have disappeared, only the big ones like Philips, RCA and GE remain, with few exceptions.
Conversely, there are still lots of other types not used in hi-fi or guitar amps, like radios and TVs tuners or other amplifier stages. I asked the guy who sold me the 81 and the 83 if he could be interested in purchasing some of my dad's leftover, which are mostly radio and TV tubes. His answer: "Throw them away, no one wants them".
The request has far exceeded the offer, and I think hi-fi NOS tubes are going to be just a remembrance in the next few years...