Thought I would post this here. This is the first one I have seen on Ebay. Too bad it is in Australia! The pin wheel is pained with color phosphors. When bombarded with electrons it rotates and is illuminated in color. Kind of works like a color CRT. This thing is pretty cool!!! This is one of the more simple designs of Crookes tube. I would love to get my hands on one of the bird tubes. Wonder if it is old or a remake?

More info on Crookes: http://members.chello.nl/~h.dijkstra19/page7-2.html


polaraman

http://cgi.ebay.com/Crookes-Paddlewheel-Railway-cathode-ray-tube-RARE_W0QQitemZ270105775639QQihZ017QQcategoryZ361QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Polaraman,

I picked up two of the paddle wheel crookes tubes at a local antique show. I believe they are 1970s from Japan? If you want one, I will bring it to the ETF convention and sell it to you for my purchase price of $40. Working condition is unknown. I have turned it to let gravity move the wheel but have not applied voltage to it.